Gear inspection and thorough examination: what the rules say, by country

This page reports what regulations, codes of practice and official guidance say about inspecting and examining gear. It is not legal advice. The maker's instructions and the rules where the work happens decide what applies. The guides on buying used gear and line and saddle care cover the questions about used kit and the day-to-day care of lines.

The rules use three different ideas, and the wording matters. A pre-use check is the user looking at the item before work. An inspection is a more formal look, often with a written record. A thorough examination is done by a competent person, usually on a fixed cycle, and ends in a written report. Not every country uses all three words.

United States

Personal fall protection, OSHA 1910.140

OSHA 29 CFR 1910.140 says personal fall protection systems must be inspected before initial use during each workshift for mildew, wear, damage and other deterioration, and that defective components must be removed from service. It says a system that has been impact loaded must be removed from service immediately and not used again until a competent person inspects it and determines that it is not damaged and safe for use. It also says a competent or qualified person must inspect each knot in a lanyard or vertical lifeline before any employee uses it. The rule defines a competent person as someone capable of identifying existing and predictable hazards in a personal fall protection system, who has authorization to take prompt, corrective action. The full wording is in the text of 1910.140.

OSHA's tree care inspection memo of June 24, 2021 says the criteria in 1910.140 generally apply to personal fall protection used while climbing, changing locations and working in trees. The same OSHA tree care memo quotes section 8.1.11 of ANSI Z133-2017, which has a climber installing a line from the ground visually inspect the anchor point for condition and, if suitable, load it to about twice the climber's weight before climbing. The memo says no citation is issued where a qualified person does this and the employer otherwise follows that section.

Other OSHA rules that name inspections

Electric power line work. 1910.269 says work-positioning equipment must be inspected before use each day, and equipment not in safe working condition may not be used. The text is on the 1910.269 page, and a note there says appendix F to that section contains guidelines for inspecting work-positioning equipment.
General PPE. 1910.132 says defective or damaged personal protective equipment shall not be used.

ANSI Z133

ISA publishes ANSI Z133, the voluntary safety standard for tree work. Its Z133-2026 page says the 2017 edition was effective until May 27, 2026. OSHA's tree care standards page says compliance with ANSI standards does not ensure compliance with OSHA policy.

Canada

Workplace safety law is provincial, and each province writes its own regulations. British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario are set out below.

British Columbia

In British Columbia, the Part 26 forestry operations rules have a tree-climbing section in force from December 1, 2021. It defines a tree-climbing system as the equipment a person relies on for support and security while climbing, including harness, climbing lines and lanyards. The employer must ensure the system is inspected by a qualified arborist before it is first used on each work shift. Each piece of equipment is removed from service as the manufacturer specifies or if it is defective. If any piece arrests a fall, the system is not returned to service until it has been inspected and certified safe by the manufacturer or its authorized agent, or by a professional engineer. Section 26.7.1 says a climber must inspect the climbing equipment before each use to ensure it is in good order. Section 26.42 says forestry rigging must be inspected at regular and frequent intervals by a qualified worker.

The wider Part 11 fall protection rules ask for inspection by a qualified person before use on each workshift, and say equipment that has arrested a fall stays out of service until inspected and recertified by the manufacturer or its authorized agent, or by a professional engineer.

Alberta

In Alberta, the Part 9 fall protection rules say fall protection equipment is inspected by the worker as the manufacturer requires before use on each work shift, and re-certified as specified by the manufacturer. Equipment that is defective, or that has contacted excessive heat or a chemical, is removed from service and either returned to the manufacturer or destroyed. The employer ensures a worker visually inspects the anchor before attaching.

Ontario

The construction projects regulation, Ontario Regulation 213/91, says a fall arrest system, a travel restraint system and a fall restricting system are each inspected by a competent worker before each use. After a fall, the fall arrest system is removed from service and not used again unless the manufacturer has certified all components safe for re-use.

CCOHS and CSA

The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety is a federal information body, and its pages are guidance, not law. Its fall arrest equipment page says every piece of fall arrest equipment should be inspected and certified at least yearly by a trained and competent person, with written records. It says CSA Z259.10-18 on full body harnesses suggests an annual or more frequent inspection by a trained and competent person. It also says Alberta law requires re-certification as the manufacturer specifies, while British Columbia and Ontario law has no such specific requirement.

United Kingdom

The regulations and HSE pages below are Great Britain's (England, Scotland and Wales). The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER) define lifting equipment as work equipment for lifting or lowering loads, including its attachments for anchoring, fixing or supporting it, and say a load includes a person. HSE's arboriculture page lists rope access and work positioning systems, anchor points, ropes, karabiners, harnesses and strops as lifting equipment, and says anchor points in trees form part of it. The ACOP to LOLER, L113, lists the harness used by an arborist among the carriers that support people being lifted.

Thorough examination

For the periods, the examination rule in LOLER regulation 9 asks, for lifting equipment exposed to conditions causing deterioration that is liable to result in dangerous situations, for a thorough examination at least every 6 months if it is used to lift people or is an accessory for lifting, and at least every 12 months for other lifting equipment. The alternative is an examination scheme. It also asks for an examination after exceptional circumstances. HSE's thorough examination page gives damage or failure, long periods out of use and major changes as examples. HSE's leaflet INDG422 says a longer period in a scheme must rest on a rigorous assessment of the risks. L113 says wet, abrasive or corrosive conditions speed deterioration and call for more frequent examination.

The same regulation says that, if appropriate for the purpose, the equipment is also inspected by a competent person at suitable intervals between examinations. It says lifting equipment may not leave the employer's undertaking, or be used if obtained from another, without physical evidence of the last thorough examination. L113 says used equipment supplied with a current report that found it safe does not need a further examination before first use at the new premises, and that an examination is needed after substantial or significant modification or repair.

Who examines, and the records

Competence. HSE says the competent person should not be the one who does the routine maintenance, because that person would be assessing their own work. HSE says the examiner may be in-house if sufficiently independent and impartial. L113 says in-house examiners need genuine authority and independence.
Report. Under LOLER regulation 10 the examiner notifies the employer at once of any defect that is or could become a danger, and makes an authenticated written report. A copy goes to the enforcing authority where a defect involves an existing or imminent risk of serious personal injury. After notice of a dangerous defect, the employer does not use the equipment until it is rectified.
Content. HSE says the report must hold the 11 items listed in Schedule 1 of the regulations, and that there is no set form provided all 11 are included.
Keeping reports. Under LOLER regulation 11, a report of the examination of an accessory for lifting before first use is kept for two years after it is made. A report of a periodic in-service examination is kept until the next report is made or two years pass, whichever is later. Inspection records are kept until the next record is made.

Inspections and pre-use checks

HSE's arboriculture page says the main climbing rope and associated equipment are to be inspected every day by a competent person, that arborists should be trained to make a daily pre-use check, and that for high-wear items such as ropes a written weekly record of inspection should be kept. It says all lifting equipment, including accessories, is marked with its safe working load. INDG422 says thorough examination does not replace the operator's checks before use. HSE's thorough examination page says lifting accessories do not normally need formal inspection between examinations if proper pre-use checks are made.

The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 have an inspection duty in regulation 6, with the result recorded and kept until the next one. That regulation does not apply to equipment for lifting loads including persons, which LOLER covers instead. The Work at Height Regulations 2005 have their own inspection duty in regulation 12, limited to equipment covered by regulation 8 and Schedules 2 to 6, with results recorded and kept until the next inspection is recorded. The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 ask for PPE to be maintained in efficient working order and in good repair. HSE's INDG401, Working at height: a brief guide, says work equipment is inspected every time something happens that may affect its safety or stability, such as adverse weather or accidental damage.

Australia

Safety law is state and territory based, and codes of practice are guidance that regulators say should be followed unless another method gives an equivalent or higher standard.

In New South Wales, the Tree works code of practice commenced on March 27, 2026 and replaced the 1998 Amenity Tree Industry code. It says the climber should thoroughly inspect climbing equipment before and after each use. It says harness inspections must be carried out at least annually, rope made unsafe by damage, defect or wear should be removed from service, and lanyard webbing should be retired on any visible cut. It says connection hardware is inspected before, during and after use, and tree lowering equipment is inspected before, during and after each use. A lifting equipment register is named as one way to record rated strength. It also says plant is checked daily before and after use, with logbooks and inspection check sheets kept.

The Queensland managing the risk of falls code of practice says each component of an individual fall arrest system should be inspected by a competent person after installation but before use, at regular intervals, and immediately after arresting a fall. It says procedures should include an inspection program naming each item by unique identification, the frequency and type of inspection, the action on finding defective equipment, and how inspections are recorded.

New Zealand

WorkSafe New Zealand's arboriculture approved code of practice says arborists shall check climbing lines, work lines, lanyards and other climbing equipment for damage, cuts, abrasion or deterioration before each use, and remove it from service if signs of excessive wear or damage are found. It says tackle blocks, pulleys, connecting links, chokers and slings are inspected before use, and helmets are inspected before use. WorkSafe notes the code has not been updated for the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.

The same regulator's working at height guidance says all fall arrest and abseil anchors should be tagged and recertified annually to remain compliant with the AS/NZS 1891 series, and that each permanent anchor is uniquely identified so its installation, testing and maintenance can be tracked. It says mobile elevating work platforms need a six-monthly inspection certificate displayed.

Side by side

Country	Before each use	Periodic examination
United States	Each workshift (1910.140)	After impact loading, a competent person
Canada, BC	Each work shift, qualified arborist	After a fall, maker or engineer
Canada, Alberta	Each work shift, by the worker	Re-certified as the maker specifies
United Kingdom (Great Britain)	Daily (HSE arboriculture page)	6 months for people lifting and accessories
Australia, NSW	Before and after each use (code)	Harness at least annually (code)
New Zealand	Before each use (code)	Anchors annually (guidance)

The table is a short index. The sections above say who each rule applies to and whether a regulation, code of practice or guidance states it.