Safety equipment and personal protective equipment (PPE) are often not designed to accommodate female bodies, often resulting in women feeling uncomfortable when working at heights, owing to ill-fitting fall-arrest systems, says women’s safety wear manufacturer Sisi Safety Wear fall protection product specialist Ruaan Breedt.

One of the challenges for women is that ill-fitting fall-arrest systems can cause severe injury, should they fall on site.

“The main problem with harnesses is that if the chest strap is fitted to high on the chest, this could cause strangulation should they fall,” he adds.

Hence, Sisi Safety Wear’s harnesses have been designed with an elastic chest strap to mitigate severe injury. The elastic also prevents women from choking or being strangled, with the adjustment strap being made from Velcro to allow for comfort.

“It is important to consider comfortability as much as safety – they go hand in hand to avoid women working at heights from removing their PPE on site,” he cautions.

To address PPE issues, Sisi Safety Wear has designed harnesses specifically for women by considering the correct fit of workwear to avoid, for example, having overalls that open inappropriately.

This, consequently, enables women to concentrate better on the task at hand.

“As a technical team of experts and safety partners in the industry, we keep our finger on the pulse to ensure safety for women in various sectors. We keep up to date with what the unique challenges in different sectors are, and provide education and support in this regard,” says Sisi Safety Wear brand manager Desiree Hlubi.

Breedt says the local market uptake for harnesses designed for women is slow, despite the company selling its harnesses at the same price as unisex harnesses.

He attributes the slow uptake to a lack of awareness and education among players in the industry about the issues that women face.

Hence, he says PPE manufacturers should embark on education initiatives to create greater awareness about the importance of PPE designed specifically for women.

Sisi Safety Wear’s products are designed in Pinetown, in KwaZulu-Natal, and are manufactured in its factory in Johannesburg, Gauteng, which Breedt says contributes towards building the local economy.

Further, Hlubi notes that the company aims to continuously highlight the importance of PPE for women working at heights.

“Our dedicated team of experts is ready to educate, train and offer support regarding safety wear. This is Sisi Safety Wear’s long-term investment in women who work in high-risk environments – we want to journey with women as they move up the ranks in their high-risk professions,” she concludes.