(57) The present invention relates to a fall arrest harness for persons working at height,
and in particular a fall arrest harness for reducing the risk of suspension trauma.
The fall arrest harness comprises a pair of leg straps (12,13) for encircling the
thighs of a wearer, a first and a second shoulder strap (5,4), a lanyard connection
member (18) separately connected to the shoulder straps via one or more extension
straps (16,17), and a rear section that extends between the leg straps and the shoulder
straps. The rear section has a seat portion (2) and a back portion (3). The first
and second shoulder straps extend from, respectively, left and right side regions
of the seat portion (2) and over left and right shoulders to an upper region of the
back portion (3). The lanyard connection member (18) is releasably attachable to the
back portion (3) at a dorsal position by releasable securing means (21,22) and is
detached from the back portion (3) when a tensile force applied to the lanyard connection
member (18) exceeds a predetermined threshold. In the event of a fall the lanyard
connection member (18) separates from the back portion, causing the one or more extension
straps (16,17) and the lanyard connection member (18) to move automatically to a sternal
suspension position to suspend the wearer from both shoulder straps in a supine position
with the weight of the wearer being borne by the seat portion (2) and the back portion
(3) of the rear section and being transferred to the lanyard connection member (18)
via both shoulder straps and the one or more extension straps (16,17) with none of
the weight being transferred by the leg straps.
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