Rank: Forum user 
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Hi Just wondered if thers any legislation out there for carrying out inspections/maintenence of such equipment.I work for a rope access company to which they are working above water descending from a bridge. Thanks in advance.
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Rank: Super forum user 
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The applicable legislation is the PPE Regs, which however do not tell you how or how often to inspect. You are probably better off looking at the manufacturer's recommendations.
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 1 user thanked Kate for this useful post.
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Rank: Super forum user
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In addition to Kates comments a lot will depend on the jackets themselves, from what you are saying i guess that the jackets will be self inflateing with a CO2 cylinder if they hit the water? But there are many variations about.
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Rank: Super forum user
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Yes there is: it’s called the Health and Safety at Work Act and Section 2 says that employers must” so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who may be affected thereby are not thereby exposed to risks to their health or safety.” So if they are working above water and there is a risk that they might fall in and drown and giving them a life jacket might save their lives they need to be supplied with a suitable working life jacket. If you supply anything for H&S purposes then it is reasonable to assume that you check that it is working. A regime of inspections would help. Checking with the manufacturer is a good start. We do not need to wait until specific regulations or guidance or standards are published. We just need to do the right thing.
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Rank: New forum user
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Personal Floatation Devices or Life Jackets fitted with CO2 inflation systems should be serviced & inspected annually by a service agent or Sea Survival Equipment Company authorised to do so by the manufacture. Owners of such equipment should contact the manufacturer or the equipment supplier. PFDs also come under PUWER and should be subject to user checks and periodic inspection by a competent authorised persons, to ensure that the inflation mechanisim is functional and that a full CO2 cyclinder is fitted correctly to ensure that gas does not escape during discharge and that the inner blader has been correctly folded. If an auto inflator is fitted then checks of the tell-tales clips should also be carried out to see if the PFD has been activated and to ensure that the water disolvable ring or pellet is fitted correctly as per manufacturers instructions. Would also conduct function and manual inflation test of PFDs once a month, leaving them inflated for a few hours, to ensure that do not have any leaks.Also inspect for wear and tear on the harness, operating lanyards and outer cover. Also allows for checking of foriegn objects and other items that get shoved inside the front cover, i.e. hand tools, vape machines, knives books etc. A record of annual inspections is included within the Life Jacket blander itself, along with the unit serial number and date of manufacture. A care manual should accompany each individual unit when sold outlining the inspection and daily checks requirement. This should form part of your PUWER pre-use checks, inspection procedures and equipment register. Finally you are required to provide information training and instruction to all staff required to wear PFDs, in how to conduct pre-use checks, how to wear the unit, action to taken in the event of inadvertant inflation and actions to be taken in the event of an uncontrolled entry into the water. PFD equipment manufacturers offer training for staff in inspection and monthly checks along with user demonstration videos on their websites and on YouTube. Good Luck.
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