Arborist saddles and harnesses: the standards and markings

Regulators, codes of practice and standards bodies each set out what they expect of the body-support side of climbing kit. The descriptions below come from regulations, codes and the standards bodies' own scope notes. The sources put the maker's instructions for the item in hand first.

Words the sources use

Saddle or sit harness. A work positioning harness for supporting a worker on a line or lanyard. The New South Wales code describes a work positioning harness as an adjustable waist belt connected to a pair of leg loops or a sit strap, and says it is often called a saddle.
Full-body harness. OSHA defines a body harness as straps that secure about the employee so as to spread fall arrest forces over at least the thighs, pelvis, waist, chest and shoulders, with a means of attaching it to other components of a personal fall protection system.
Body belt. OSHA defines it as a strap for securing about the waist with a means of attaching to a lanyard used with positioning, travel restraint or ladder safety systems.

United States

Which rules apply to whom

OSHA's tree care inspection memo of June 24, 2021 names the rule sets it uses for fall protection in tree work: the Walking-Working Surfaces standard (29 CFR 1910 Subpart D), the Personal Protective Equipment standard (Subpart I, which holds 1910.140) and the standard for vehicle-mounted work platforms (1910.67). The memo says the criteria in 1910.140 apply to personal fall protection used while climbing, changing locations and working at height in trees. These are employer duties.

1910.140. It establishes performance, care and use criteria for all personal fall protection systems. Body belts are prohibited as part of a personal fall arrest system. A fall arrest system limits the maximum arresting force on the employee to 1,800 pounds (8 kN). Systems are worn with the harness attachment point in the center of the back near shoulder level, and an anchorage supports at least 5,000 pounds (22.2 kN) per employee attached unless the rule's alternative applies. Positioning systems, other than window cleaners' systems, which have their own test, withstand a drop test of 250 pounds (113 kg) falling 4 feet (1.2 m). The employer provides for prompt rescue after a fall.
1910.67. It covers vehicle-mounted work platforms, called aerial lifts. Paragraph (c)(2)(v) says a personal fall arrest or travel restraint system meeting Subpart I is worn and attached to the boom or basket when working from an aerial lift. The guide on bucket trucks and elevating work platforms covers lift work.
1910.269. It covers electric power generation, transmission and distribution work. Line-clearance tree trimming is covered when it is done for the purpose of clearing space around those lines and on behalf of an organization that operates or controls the operating procedures for the lines: the whole section applies when qualified employees do it, and paragraph (g), fall protection, also applies when trimmers who are not qualified employees do it. Paragraph (g)(2)(i) says personal fall arrest systems meet Subpart I, and (g)(2)(iii) sets hardware and material requirements for body belts and positioning straps.

Voluntary standards

OSHA's page on tree care standards lists ANSI Z133 and ANSI Z359.1, Safety Requirements for Personal Fall Arrest Systems, Subsystems, and Components, among voluntary standards that may apply to tree care, and says compliance with ANSI standards does not ensure compliance with OSHA policy. The American Society of Safety Professionals' page on the ANSI/ASSP Z359 series lists Z359.11 as the standard for full body harnesses.

The International Society of Arboriculture says the ANSI Z133-2026 standard became available on May 27, 2026. ISA's second public review draft of the revision, posted in January 2024, is a draft and the published text may differ. Section 8.1.3 of that draft said arborist saddles comply with an appropriate governing standard and are marked accordingly when new, with the example of saddles marked ASTM F887 if made after January 1, 2018. Section 8.1.4 said climbing equipment is not altered in a way that compromises its integrity.

Canada

Workplace safety law is provincial. In Alberta, Part 39 of the Occupational Health and Safety Code applies to arboriculture work at height where the worker depends on the tree for support. Section 795 says a harness made on or after March 31, 2023 and used as part of a work positioning system is approved to one of these:

NFPA 1983 as a Class II or Class III life safety harness.
CEN EN 813:1997, Sit harnesses.
CSA Z259.10-18, Full body harnesses.
ANSI/ASSE Z359.1-2007.
CEN EN 361:2007, Full body harnesses.

Part 9 of the same code, section 142.1, says a body belt made on or after July 1, 2009 is approved to CSA Z259.1-05, ANSI/ASSE A10.32-2004 or EN 358:2000, and that a worker uses a body belt only as part of a travel restraint system or a fall restrict system.

British Columbia's OHS Regulation, section 11.4, says a worker wears a full body harness or other harness acceptable to the Board when using a personal fall protection system for fall arrest. Section 11.1 defines a full body harness as connected straps designed to spread the force of a fall over at least the thigh, shoulders and pelvis.

CSA Group describes Z259.10-18, reaffirmed in 2023, as specifying requirements for the design, testing, performance, marking and instructions for use of full body harnesses, and says the 2018 edition added Class R, arc resistant harnesses. The Standards Council of Canada's notice on Z259.1 describes it as covering body belts and saddles used in work positioning and travel restraint, including arborists' saddles. It adds that these are not intended as body support in the arrest of a fall, and that with a work positioning system, fall protection comes from a fall arrest system with a full body harness meeting Z259.10.

United Kingdom

The Arboricultural Association's Industry Code of Practice for tree work at height (ICoP, May 2020), which HSE's tree work pages point to, lists these standards for work equipment:

BS EN 813, Personal fall protection equipment, sit harnesses.
BS EN 361, Personal protective equipment against falls from a height, full body harnesses.
BS EN 358, belts and lanyards for work positioning or restraint.
BS EN 12277, Mountaineering equipment, harnesses, safety requirements and test methods.

On the harness itself the ICoP says it has a means of adjustment and gives adequate and comfortable support, and allows components to be replaced subject to authorisation from the manufacturer. For lanyards it says they are attached to the harness so as to prevent torsion or cross-loading of components. It also says cranes are not specifically designed for raising and lowering people in a tree climbing harness or personnel carrier.

HSE's climbing operations page says the Work at Height Regulations 2005 allow climbing with a personal fall protection system, ropes and harness only if a risk assessment shows the work can be done safely, a safer item such as a mobile elevating work platform is not justified, and the user and enough available people are trained for the task, including rescue.

HSE lists harnesses among lifting equipment in arboriculture, and regulation 9 of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 sets a thorough examination at least every 6 months for equipment for lifting persons and for lifting accessories, unless an examination scheme says otherwise. The guide on looking after a line and saddle covers what the ICoP and HSE say about inspection, records and withdrawal.

Australia

SafeWork NSW's tree work code of practice, in force from March 27, 2026, applies in New South Wales; other states and territories have their own codes. On harnesses it says:

A work positioning harness is an adjustable waist belt connected to a pair of leg loops or a sit strap, with side attachment hardware for hands-free work and front attachment hardware for suspended work.
It is limited to situations that may result in a restrained fall or a limited free fall, and is not used where there is a risk of a free fall greater than 600 mm.
The harness should prevent the wearer slipping out if inverted, and if that cannot be ensured a full-body harness is worn instead.
Inspections are carried out at least annually.
Harnesses used for the rope access methods of tree climbing are not suitable for the crane access method.

The code points to AS/NZS 1891.1:2020, Personal equipment for work at height, manufacturing requirements for full body, combination and lower body harnesses, and to AS/NZS 1891.4:2025 on selection, use and maintenance. The Standards Australia store describes AS/NZS 1891.1:2020 as specifying requirements for the materials, design, manufacture, testing and marking of full-body, combination and lower-body harnesses designed for working at height.

New Zealand

WorkSafe New Zealand's Approved Code of Practice for Safety and Health in Arboriculture, written under the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992, says (WorkSafe adds that the guidance has not been updated for the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 and may still contain relevant information):

Work positioning (sit) harnesses are the most common harness used in tree climbing, and such a harness is not suitable for fall arrest situations.
Harnesses conform to the relevant AS/NZS 1891 standards or equivalent.
Harnesses are not altered in a way that compromises their integrity.
Excessively worn or damaged components are replaced, or the whole harness is removed from service.
No climbing equipment is marked for identification, for example by engraving.
Whenever a climber is aloft, fall restraint should be used.

Side by side

Place	Standards named for body support	Source
United States	OSHA 1910.140; voluntary ANSI Z133, Z359 and ASTM F887	OSHA, ISA, ASSP
Alberta	CSA Z259.10, Z259.1, EN 813, EN 361, EN 358	OHS Code
United Kingdom	BS EN 813, 361, 358, 12277	ICoP
New South Wales	AS/NZS 1891.1 and 1891.4	SafeWork NSW
New Zealand	AS/NZS 1891 or equivalent	WorkSafe code

The guide on climbing lines and lanyards covers the ropes, lanyards and connectors that attach to these harnesses.