Bainbridge Island, Wash. - November 23, 2007 - The much-anticipated American National Standard Institute's (ANSI) Z359 Fall Protection Code became effective today. The original effective was date was Oct.15, 2007, before the ANSI/American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) Z359 Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) announced an extension to allow safety, health, and environmental professionals (SH&E) additional time to adjust to the new Code.
The Z359 Code is a family of five voluntary national consensus standards which provide guidance for fall protection equipment manufacturers, workers at height, and their employers. Z359.1 has been the benchmark standard for fall arrest equipment since its adoption in 1992. In 15 years, only minor editorial changes were made to the standard in 1999. The Z359 Code now includes significant revisions to Z359.1-1999 and four new standards have been added to address managed fall protection programs, work positioning and work restraint systems and rescue systems. The new standards are:
- Z359.0 - Definitions and Nomenclature Used for Fall Protection and Fall Arrest
- Z359.1 - Safety Requirements for Personal Fall Arrest Systems, Subsystems, and Components
- Z359.2 - Minimum Requirements for a Comprehensive Managed Fall Protection Program
- Z359.3 - Safety Requirements for Positioning and Travel Restraint Systems
- Z359.4 - Safety Requirements for Assisted-Rescue and Self-Rescue Systems, Subsystems, and Components
"The Z359 Fall Protection Code is one of the most important safety-related voluntary national consensus standards in the last 20 years," said Randall Wingfield, Z359 ASC chair and president of Gravitec Systems, Inc. "In particular, the Z359.2 managed approach to fall protection standard will have significant impact on SH&E professionals. The Z359 ASC is eager to work with the safety profession to implement the new standards to better protect and train the worker at height."
The Z359 Code is a living document and will continue to grow as twelve new standards are drafted and adopted in the next few years.
Since 1986, Gravitec has remained committed to consistently setting the standard for excellence and professionalism in the fall protection industry. The core elements of Gravitec's services include training, engineering, consulting and technical equipment sales. No matter what fall protection challenges an organization faces, our clients can be confident that Gravitec possesses the right combination of industry experience, technical expertise, and resources to assist in the implementation of a managed fall protection program that best suits the individual needs of our clients. For more information, contact Gravitec at 1.800.755.8455.