Montreal, October 17, 2017 — From October 17 to 19, the IRSST will be hosting a meeting of the CSA Z259 technical committee on fall protection. The committee takes a leadership role in fall protection to promote the occupational health and safety of people working at heights. Some forty delegates from various countries develop, draft and maintain product standards, as well as testing standards for these products for the purpose of their certification or registration.

Having IRSST staff members on such committees helps to ensure that the results of our research are taken into consideration, study needs are identified and we learn about findings made elsewhere, while also facilitating networking.

Researcher André Lan has represented the IRSST on the Canadian Standards Association’s CSA Z259 technical committee since 2005, while researcher Bertrand Galy joined the committee in 2014.

“Standardization is an important part of the permanent transfer of knowledge to users, manufacturers and regulatory authorities. Standards are the outcome of a consensus among experts in the field and help protect workers,” noted Mr. Lan, one of the proponents of holding this meeting at the IRSST.

In its most recent five-year plan (2013–2017), the IRSST established a research program to develop and apply test methods for identifying the personal and collective protective equipment best adapted to different work environments, taking human factors into account.

“At the IRSST, we have continued our work on the deterioration and aging of vertical lifelines, and we regularly use the test methods prescribed in the standards for our various research activities, including for the validation of horizontal lifeline systems installed on braced trusses.”

“By being on this committee, the IRSST can make sure that appropriate fall protection standards are available to workplaces to help them keep people working at heights safe,” added Marie Larue, President and CEO of the IRSST.

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Source
Maura Tomi
Communication Advisor
IRSST