Performance dynamics of full-body harness webbings: a review

Purpose Webbing is the main load-bearing element of the full-body harness, which arrests and holds falling objects. Webbing dissipates the kinetic energy of the falling object, and it is stored in the form of strain energy to reduce the fall arrest force (peak impact force) acting on the object being arrested. The performance of webbing can be evaluated in terms of fall arrest force and durability. Environmental factors such as UV radiation, moisture, temperature and mechanical factors such as abrasion with sharp edges deteriorate the webbing’s performance. Conventional webbing raw materials are replaced with modern high-performance fibres with exceptional strength and durability and additional functional properties such as flame retardancy and weathering resistance to improve the performance of the webbings. The purpose of this paper is to utilise the technical information and data from various available research publications for improvement in the performance of webbing used in full body harness. Design/methodology/approach This review covers basic details of full-body harness webbing, such as raw materials, construction particulars and their effect on the behaviour and performance during application. Advancements in the raw material and construction are also discussed. Findings Full-body harness webbing should have a lower peak impact force with minimum dynamic elongation to ensure minimum fall arrest force and safe fall arrest distance during application. Originality/value All aspects of full-body harness webbing are covered in this review and can be utilised to design advanced webbing for full-body harness.