How to Properly Use a Safety Harness

Roof work can be dangerous. Whenever possible, you should always seek professional help when making roof repairs or building a new roof; However, if you have decided to do the work yourself, you should take some time to familiarize yourself with the correct safety measures. Because roofing work requires you to work high off the ground, most job safety laws require roofers to wear a full seat belt. So how do you properly use a seat belt?

First of all, a safety harness should be used as protective equipment when there is a risk of falling. These harnesses include straps that run across your shoulders, across your chest, and around your legs so that the force of a potential fall impact is more evenly distributed over a larger area of your body. Always inspect your body harness, buckles, straps, and other attachments before use. Get more here about this or similar articles here.

If you notice any signs of wear or damage, do not use the strap. Buckles should be free of bends, tears, or nicks, and clutches should be security tested. The webbing or straps in your harness should not show any signs of fraying, tearing, cuts, burns, or other damage.

In addition, your safety harness includes a flexible lanyard and anchors to secure you to the roof. Lanyards should be no longer than 1.2 m (4 ft) to limit fall height. Again, you should inspect your lanyard for signs of damage; You should not use a frayed, torn, torn, or otherwise broken lanyard. You will also need carabiners to attach your lanyard to roof anchors. 

Carabiners, oblong-shaped connectors, should be self-locking, self-locking, and have a minimum breaking strength of 5,000 pounds. Finally, anchorages are a key element of your seat belt. Anchors are attached to an essential structure of the building as these devices attach you to the roof. Essentially, the anchor attaches to the roof and the lanyard attaches to both ends of the anchor and your seat belt.

When you put on a harness, you'll notice adjustable nylon straps that fit around your legs and straps that go around your shoulders, chest, and back. When adjusting these straps, your strap should be snug, but not so tight that it restricts movement. You also have a "D-ring" on the back of your harness to which you can attach your lanyard to. 

Ideally, you should attach anchors to a rafter or truss every few feet; This allows you to detach and reattach your lanyard as you move around the roof. Anchors can also be removed and reinstalled, but most professionals prefer to have multiple anchors installed so they don't have to change anchor positions frequently.