Inventory, Inspection, and Sign-out

The OHS Regulation requires that each employer ensures that a fall protection system is used when work is being done at a height by their workers and that the worker must use the fall protection system provided by their employer (OHSR § 11.2(1) & (7))

That said, the reality is that sometimes equipment breaks, gets damaged, or simply left behind. To accommodate for these infrequent but foreseeable conditions, and to facilitate work at the project, it may be necessary to maintain an inventory of Fall Protection Equipment and provide it for the temporary use of workers who find themselves otherwise unequipped. Following this guideline will help to ensure that any equipment kept for this purpose is maintained and ready for use.

Inventory

Use the Inventory – Fall Protection Equipment worksheet to maintain a list of the equipment currently available for use. Examples of items that should generally be in an inventory are:

• Fall Protection Harness
• Lanyard
• Rope Grab
• Lifeline
• Retractable Lifeline
• Temporary Anchor Device (e.g. gap anchor, concrete insert, anchor plate)

Note: temporary fabric anchor slings do not need to be inventoried as part of this process since they are considered single-use items.

Inspection

Each piece of equipment must be inspected before being placed into the inventory and being made available for use. In addition to this initial inspection, each piece of equipment in the inventory must be inspected before use on each day by a qualified person and have a documented inspection performed each month by a representative of PCML.
If any piece of equipment is no longer in good working order it must be retired from the inventory and no longer made available for use.

Sign out

Use the Sign out sheet – Fall Protection Equipment worksheet to record what equipment is being used, when, and who signed it out. The worksheet also allows you to record the equipment being returned and who received it.

Pro tip: take some collateral from the person signing out the equipment to help ensure you get it back. Holding on to a person’s driver license, car keys, or mobile phone is generally a pretty solid way to motivate them to return the equipment.

Version 2018.12