When it comes to fall protection, the most common failures are also the most preventable: a cracked buckle, a frayed strap, a tag that no one’s checked in months.
That’s why we’ve created a harness inspection checklist—field-tested, easy to use, and built to help crews spot small issues before they turn into serious incidents.
Because when harness inspections fall behind, the warning signs aren’t always obvious. And too often, they’re only recognized after the fact—when someone gets hurt, a site gets shut down, or a claim gets denied.
In this guide, we’ll walk through the real risks of missed inspections, the five key areas every check should cover, and how to build a repeatable process that keeps your crew safe and compliant.
Why Skipping Harness Inspections Is a High-Risk Move
Skipping an inspection doesn’t just put a worker at risk—it creates a ripple effect across your entire operation.
Missed checks can lead to safety violations, insurance complications, project delays, and even lost contracts. Once trust is broken—whether with your team, your client, or a regulator—it’s hard to get it back.
Yes, OSHA requires a visual inspection before every use. But it doesn’t stop there. CSA and ANSI standards go further, calling for formal, documented inspections at set intervals and requiring that they be done by a competent person.
Skip that process, and you could be looking at:
- Fines of up to $16,550 per violation
- Insurance claims denied due to lack of documentation
- Removal from a GC’s preferred vendor list for non-compliance
Inspections keep jobs moving, protect your workers, and ensure you’re covered when something goes wrong.
Want a deeper dive? Read: The Hidden Dangers of Skipping Harness Inspections
How Often Should You Inspect a Safety Harness?
Every harness on your site needs to be inspected on two schedules: daily by the user, and periodically by a competent person. Both are essential—one protects workers in the moment, the other protects the company long term.
1. Daily Pre-Use Checks
Before a worker straps in for the day, they should give their harness a quick but thorough once-over. This doesn’t take long—just a few minutes—but it’s often the only opportunity to catch damage before it turns into something dangerous.
Daily inspections are required by OSHA, and they’re the most consistent safety checkpoint on any jobsite.
2. Periodic Formal Inspections
Beyond daily checks, each harness also needs to go through a scheduled inspection by someone qualified to do it right. Most manufacturers recommend this every 6 to 12 months, depending on how and where the harness is used.
More frequent inspections may be needed if:
- The harness is exposed to chemicals, concrete dust, or high heat
- It’s used heavily or shared between workers
- It’s stored in less-than-ideal conditions (like tossed in a truck bed)
These inspections need to be documented with the date, the inspector’s name, and any notes. That’s your proof of due diligence — and often the first thing asked for during an audit or after an incident.
Whether you’re using a paper form, a shared spreadsheet, or logging inspections directly into Corfix, the important thing is having a process you can count on—and records you can actually find.
What Should You Look for During a Harness Inspection?
Every harness inspection should cover five areas—visually and by touch. Here’s what to check:
Webbing Damage
- Cuts, nicks, or fraying
- Burn marks or chemical exposure
- Fading from UV
- Brittle or stiff spots
Even if it looks okay, feel for uneven tension or rough areas. These can indicate deeper internal damage.
Stitching Integrity
- Missing or unraveling threads
- Faded or shiny thread areas (signs of stress)
- Damaged seams around buckles or D-rings
This is where hidden failure often starts, especially if the harness has been heavily used.
Hardware Check
- Rust, cracks, pitting
- Deformed or bent buckles
- Sticking mechanisms
- D-rings that don’t move freely
Make sure everything locks and releases as intended. One stuck buckle is enough to fail an inspection.
Tagging and Labeling
- Clear manufacturer, model, and serial number
- Manufacture date and last inspection
- No fading, tearing, or missing information
If the tag is unreadable, the harness is out of service—even if it looks fine.
Cleaning and Storage
- Stored clean and dry
- Not exposed to sun, water, or contaminants
- Not balled up in the back of a truck
Harnesses break down faster when they’re left dirty or stored in poor conditions. A little care goes a long way.
Common Harness Inspection Mistakes to Avoid
Even well-meaning teams make these mistakes:
- Only doing a visual check: Damage like stiffness or internal fraying won’t be seen—it has to be felt.
- Ignoring hardware: Cracks and corrosion often go unnoticed if buckles aren’t checked closely.
- Skipping documentation: If it’s not recorded, it didn’t happen—at least not to OSHA or your insurer.
- Letting unqualified people inspect gear: Only a trained, competent person should handle periodic reviews.
We recently spoke to a safety manager who discovered that a harness being used daily hadn’t had a formal inspection in over 18 months. It looked fine—until they checked the stitching and found serious wear. They caught it just in time.
Free Harness Inspection Checklist PDF
A good harness inspection process starts with a clear checklist—and this one is built to be used on real jobsites, not just in training sessions.
Whether you’re working from a trailer, a truck tailgate, or a mobile device, this checklist gives your team an easy way to stay consistent and compliant.
Here’s what’s inside:
✅ Simple pass/fail fields that remove the guesswork
✅ Covers all five core inspection areas: webbing, stitching, hardware, labeling, and storage
✅ Built-in space for notes, initials, or timestamps
✅ Designed to support compliance efforts and make inspections easy to track
✅ Available as both a printable PDF and an editable Word doc
You can use it as a standalone safety form or add it to your Corfix system for automatic tracking.
Harness inspections are quick. The consequences of skipping them are anything but.
So make this part of your team’s daily routine. Print the checklist. Post it on site. Add it to your toolbox talks. Because no one wants to be the reason something preventable becomes something tragic.
Download it. Share it. Start using it today.