Anyone working on the outside of high-rise buildings must be suspended from eyebolts and work positioning eyebolt installation must be carried out to strict standards. There are two British Standards involved – BS EN795 and BS 7883:2005.
There is a difference between a Fall Arrest system and a Work Positioning/Rope Access system. Both require the same standard of eyebolt installation but have different uses. The eyebolts can be installed directly into brickwork, concrete, masonry, or steelwork and the anchor systems which are used will vary according to the material. The actual eyebolts are made from stainless steel or galvanised or powder coated steel and should be marked with the BS numbers and PPE directives.
Work Positioning eyebolt testing must be carried out regularly as must Fall Arrest eyebolt testing, but the periods are different for a Fall Arrest eyebolt and a Work Positioning/Rope Access eyebolt. The latter must be tested every six months, while the Fall Arrest eyebolt must be tested every 12 months. They are tested using a test meter which itself must be calibrated every 12 months and at any time the meter is damaged or is dropped. The load testing meter has to be loaded to 6 kN (kiloNewtons) and it must hold for 15 seconds without the anchor point moving. (A kiloNewton is a measurement of force as opposed to a kilogram which is a measurement of mass).
While a Fall Arrest eyebolt only needs to be tested every 12 months, it is there to save a worker from a fall on ONE occasion only. After this, it must be replaced with a new eyebolt in accordance with HSE and LOLER standards.
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