Near-miss: quarantine of fall arrest equipment

  • Safety Flash
  • Published on 20 March 2015
  • Generated on 24 August 2025
  • IMCA SF 04/15
  • 1 minute read

A Member has reported a near miss incident in which lift arrest equipment was found to be faulty and was subsequently removed from use.

What happened?

During an annual inspection of equipment on a vessel, the inspecting person found that on three fall arrest devices, there was no stencilling on the arrestor and the safety device on the hook did not function correctly, as the hook could be opened without using the safety clip.

Quarantined fall arrest devices

Quarantined fall arrest devices

Hooks with faulty safety clips

Hooks with faulty safety clips

PICC Fall arrest devices

PICC’ Fall arrest devices

The inspector noted the following:

  • A clear guideline was the readability of the label. Because the fall arrest devices didn’t have the original labels showing the year of manufacture proof of this could not be ascertained.
  • The safety device on the hook was not working; the hook could be opened without using the safety clip.

Members may wish to carry out further spot checks of fall arrest equipment, and ensure that fall arrest equipment is always sourced from a reputable contractor.

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