Personnel fall-arrest systems

A personnel fall-arrest system for arresting the fall of a person relative to a fixture (2) wherein there is a flexible safety track (1), track supports (5,31,53) which are secured to the fixture (2) by fastening means (6), each of said supports having a track-locating head portion (10,25,52) of tubular form through which such track extends and is thereby held in spaced relation to said fixture (2);

• including a coupling component (7) by which a safety line (8) attached to a worker's safety harness can be coupled to said safety track (1), said coupling component (7) being coupled to said track but being freely displaceable therealong;
• and wherein each of said track supports (5,31,53) comprises a metal strap device which follows a course extending from said fastening means (6) to the safety track, around the said safety track and back again to said fastening means (6), which fastening means extends through overlapping portions of said strap device;
• said metal strap device having an ultimate strength more than sufficient to prevent release of the track under the greatest load liable to be imposed on it in the event of the fall of a person using the system, but undergoes obvious permanent deformation under a load substantially smaller than that maximum whereby the occurrence of permanent deformation of the strap device serves as an inspectorate alert signal warning that the support has been subjected to heavy stress which might be due to a fall.