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Falls from height are one of the most common causes of fatal injury and the second most common cause of major injury to employees, and this alarming fact is a key priority in National Health and Safety Injury Reduction Programmes. Safety harnesses and belts are used to protect people and prevent serious injuries whether at work or during sporting activities. Human lives often depend on the quality of these products, so when the federal authority in Spain became incorporated into the network of the European Agency for Safety and Health at work one of its leading institutes required a specialised solution for testing safety harnesses and belts.
The customer required a complete solution which allowed complex tests on the harnesses to be carried out systematically, using as much automation as possible, and thereby improving the reliability of the complete process and resulting test data.
The Zwick Solution
Zwick was chosen to supply the testing machine mainly because of their reputation for precision engineering, and flexibility. The test comprises of a special dummy weighing 100kg which is filled with concrete, suspended by a harness in the testing machine, and then subjected to complex load cycling tests until failure.
After detailed discussions with the customer, Zwick found an innovative solution. It took a standard load frame and adapted it from its original height of 3.2m to an overall height of 5.54m. The test applications could be controlled by the intelligent and reliable testing software testXpert�. In addition to the complex cyclic tests, the customer can also carry out tensile testing of textile fabrics to ISO 13934, and determine the maximum force to seam rupture using the strip method according to ISO 13935. Puncture resistance of safety gloves can be carried out to EN 388, and penetration tests on the packaging materials containing the protective clothing themselves, according to EN 863.
The testing system itself is also subject to safety issues due the energy released at specimen failure. Once again Zwick was able to demonstrate its leadership in materials testing and supplied a fully CE compliant safety protection system.
For more information on how to save cost and improve accuracy of test results using sophisticated automatic testing equipment offered by Zwick see our website at www.zwick.com, or contact us at info@zwickroell.eu to discuss any aspect of your testing requirements.
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