There has been quite a bit of confusion around the Australian and New Zealand Standard for manufacturing requirements for single-point anchor device used for harness-based work at height’ (AS/NZS 5532: 2013).
AS/NZS 5532 was introduced back in 2013 and remains the current standard which anchor points, one of the most critical fall protection devices, need to comply with.
One of the main sources of confusion with the Standard has been whether anchor points installed prior to 2013 need to comply with AS/NZS 5532:2013.
The short answer is, no. AS/NZS 5532:2013 is not applied retrospectively and therefore, any anchor points installed prior to October 2013 are required to comply with AS/NZS 1891.4: 2009.
The Working at Heights Association recently issued statements that aimed to clear up the confusion and assist manufacturers, installers and building owners to understand their compliance requirements.
Click here to view the WAHA Compliance Statement – AS/NZS 5532 Single Point Anchors
Key points
- For a single-point anchor device to be compliant with AS/NZS 5532:2013, it needs to meet the performance requirements and test methods specified within the Standard.
- The anchor device must be subject to and pass both the dynamic and static tests to comply with the performance requirements.
- AS/NZS 5532:2013 is a manufacturing standard and does not address ongoing inspection, proof loading and maintenance.
- Inspection and maintenance criteria for all installed anchors should be based on AS/NZS 1891.4:2009, including annual load testing of glued-in (chemical) and friction anchors.
- Where anchors are found to be damaged or not to have been installed in accordance with the manufacturers’ instructions, these anchors must be made compliant with the manufacturer’s instructions or replaced.
What do you need to do?
It’s better to be safe, than sorry. If you’re not sure your anchor points are compliant or if they haven’t been tested for a while, we’d be happy to get a member of the Anchor Safe team out to your site to inspect and test your anchor points to ensure they’re compliant with the appropriate Standard.
If you want to book an inspection or you’ve got any questions about the Single Point Anchor Standard, give us a call on 1300 475 186.