Training in fall protection is an absolute, peoples health, safety, welfare and life depend on it. It is important to note that this image is for illustration purposes only and has nothing to do with the manufacturer of the system and is a contractor issue. It’s like blaming BMW for a driver who doesn’t understand the highway code, or hasn’t undertaken the correct training or had enough lessons.

The swaged end should have 5 ‘turned’ swages and should never be in straight alignment, and this is explained during onsite training by the manufacturers of the system as well as being provided with the installation manuals. Swaged ends are a critical element of the fall protection system, get this wrong and the cable can simply slip out in the event of a fall.

It is concerning that a fall protection contractor has tested, passed and certified this system as fit for use.

It can only be assumed that the contractor testing is untrained in this system, although what is further concerning is that this is the same for ALL swaged systems for ALL fall protection manufactured systems. Businesses need to step up and ensure that their engineers and contractors are suitably trained in the installation and testing processes and requirements.

If you ever find yourself in a position where you need to use a cable based fall protection system you should ensure that undertake your own due diligence and carry out your own pre-use checks, this can be done by consulting the operations and maintenance manuals (O+M) that the duty holder should have in their possession.

In the images below you can see the technical fixing detail of a MSA Latchways MANSAFE constant force post.