Fall arresters based on EN 353-1:2002 unsafe

By the decision of the European Commission of 19th March 2010 the harmonized standard EN 353-1:2002 for Personal protective equipment from a height – Part 1: Guided type fall arresters including a rigid anchor line will be withdrawed.

The United Kingdom considers that the specifications relating to the user instructions fail to satisfy the requirements of the directive 89/686/EC and that the test method prescribed does not test for reasonably foreseeable fall conditions such as a “fall back” or “sideways fall”, which leads to a significant risk that the device could fail.

The argumentation of the UK and the examination of the Commission led to the withdrawal of EN 353-1:2002

Consequently, this decision makes Notified Bodies to use the draft standard EN 353-1:2008 for current EC type examinations of these devices.

Source : Official Journal of the European Union L 75/27