EN 341 sets the requirements for rescue descender devices. They control the rate of descent by friction and are used when a person must come down, or be lowered, safely from height.
Classes
- Class A
- Multiple-use automatic descender
- Class B
- Limited multiple use
- Class C
- Single use, discarded afterwards
- Class D
- Multiple use, manually controlled
Use scenarios
- Evacuation from wind turbines, cranes and masts.
- Recovery of a suspended worker after a fall has been arrested.
- Lowering a casualty out of a confined space.
- Emergency evacuation from buildings.
The marking states the maximum descent height, the permitted mass range and the total energy the device can absorb. Those figures must match the site — a device rated for 30 m is useless on a 100 m mast.
Rescue equipment is useless without training. Staff must know where it is, how it works, and practise regularly — in an emergency there is no time to read the instructions.