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My employee requested a positioning belt, Is this the right fall protection for my employee?

Positioning Belts A few decades ago, when fall safety was first introduced, body belts were the main form of fall protection. Thankfully, our world has evolved and in turn technology has soared. Over the years, safety professionals have found that body belts are actually dangerous to use in fall arrest scenarios because, if a fall occurs, the body belt actually puts extreme physical forces on vital organs during an arrest.https://youtu.be/gtJRa8Br_oI The Full Body Harness Once professionals realized the damage that body belts can cause, a new solution was required. The full body harness was introduced. These harnesses are comprised of straps that are worn over the shoulders, around the legs, and sometimes around the waist. The lifeline is attached to a back – or front – D-Ring. Because the straps encompass the whole torso, if a fall occurs, all the arresting forces will be distributed more evenly across the body and limit the trauma on just one focused arrest area. Full body harnesses come in a variety of designs and each one is suited to a different work environment. Positioning Belts Nowadays, body belts are used strictly for positioning purposes. There are only a few niche industries that are allowed safely to incorporate these belts into their safety plan. One acceptable example of positioning belt use is for a line worker or someone on a telephone pole. Are You Still Using a Body Belt? Fall Protection Resources If you’ve somehow avoided the requirements of upgrading from a body belt to a full body harness for fall arrest purposes, you should act quickly. Remove all belts from service in your fall arrest system and immediately replace them with OSHA compliant full body harnesses. Fall Protection Resources At Malta Dynamics, we have created a library of fall protection resources for you to use and share with your employees. Complete with customizable fall protection plans, hazard assessments, rescue plans, and inspection forms for all the components of your personal fall protection system. Download all your essential safety resources here. Have a fall protection question? Submit your question, and you could be featured on Dynamic Discussions!