Personal Protective Equipment Testing Lab
Personal protective equipment against falls from a height are products designed to protect against the risk of falling from a height and from slipping, which can seriously damage health.
SCOPE OF TESTED PPE
The following personal protective equipment against falls from a height is tested at the PPE workplace:
- EN 341: Descender devices
- EN 353-2: Guided type fall arresters including a flexible anchor line
- EN 354: Lanyards
- EN 355: Energy absorbers
- EN 358: Belts and lanyards for work positioning or restraint
- EN 360: Retractable type fall arresters
- EN 361: Full body harnesses
- EN 362: Connectors
- EN 364: Personal protective equipment - test methods
- EN 564: Accessory cords
- EN 565: Tape
- EN 566: Loops
- EN 567: Rope clamps
- EN 568: Ice anchors
- EN 795: Anchor points
- EN 813: Sit harness
- EN 892+A2: Dynamic climbing ropes
- EN 893: Crampons
- EN 958: Energy absorbers
- EN 959: Rock anchors
- EN 1496: Rescue lifting devices
- EN 1497: Rescue harnesses
- EN 1498: Rescue loops
- EN 1891: Static ropes
- EN 12270: Chocks
- EN 12275: Connectors
- EN 12276: Frictional anchors
- EN 12277+A1: Climbing harnesses
- EN 12278: Pulleys
- EN 12841: Rope adjustment devices
- EN 13089+A2: Ice tools
- EN 15151-1(2): Braking devices
- EN 17520: Personal belay lanyard
Test equipment
Drop tower
Dynamic tests are performed with torsion tests from a crane hook and with guided test weights on a drop tower. The design of the drop tower ensures it has sufficient rigidity to absorb the impact force. The fall of the test weight is detected by modular tower lights. A device for measuring the maximum impact force when absorbing the fall (GRAVIMETER) is mounted on the test weight.
- Drop length up to 5.0 m
- Test materials up to 120 kg
- Torsion tests 100 and 136 kg
Descender Devices Test Tower
The test equipment consists of a winding drum with a frequency converter and a supporting structure with a pulley through which the abseil rope passes. One end of the abseil rope emerges from the abseil device (free end), passes over the pulley and is wound onto the winding drum. The frequency converter can regulate the winding speed of the free end of the abseil rope onto the winding drum so that the test weight in the guide and suspended on the abseil device is, if possible, at approximately the same constant height above the floor throughout the functional test.
- Rappelling lengths maximum 300 m
- Test materials maximum 300 kg
Tensile Testing Machine
Static strength tests are performed on a static strength test equipment – TIRA 50 kN bursting machine, which is designed for tensile, compressive or bending tests of components or simple load-bearing units.
- Load forces maximum 50 kN
- Clamping jaw range maximum 900 mm, i.e. using a hydraulic cylinder with static test load detection
- Load forces maximum 25 kN
- Load length maximum 1,500 mm
Test dummies
Test dummies are done in accordance with EN 364, EN 12277, ANSI / ASSE Z359.1 and NFPA: 1983. For dynamic tests, they have weights of 100 and 136 kg, for static strength tests the weight of the torsion test is insignificant.
Salt Spray Chamber
The salt chamber is designed for corrosive tests of metal components according to EN ISO 9227 with a 5% solution of chemically pure NaCl, or with higher concentrations in agreement with the customer. The salt chamber has a volume of 400 liters.
