1926.502(e)(8): Positioning Device Snaphook Limits

In plain words:

Unless it is a locking type designed for the connection, a positioning device snaphook must not connect directly to webbing or rope, to another snaphook, to a D-ring holding another connector, to a horizontal lifeline, or to any object that could open the keeper.

Personal fall arrest: 5,000 pound anchor, 6-foot free fall maximum, 3.5-foot deceleration maximum
Personal fall arrest limits. Not to scale; the official text controls.

Official text: 29 CFR 1926.502(e)(8)

(8) Unless the snaphook is a locking type and designed for the following connections, snaphooks shall not be engaged:

(i) directly to webbing, rope or wire rope;

(ii) to each other;

(iii) to a Dee-ring to which another snaphook or other connector is attached;

(iv) to a horizontal lifeline; or

(v) to any object which is incompatibly shaped or dimensioned in relation to the snaphook such that unintentional disengagement could occur by the connected object being able to depress the snaphook keeper and release itself.

Source: eCFR, text current as of 2026-10-15. Read all of 1926.502.

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About this page

Official text from the eCFR. Citation and injury numbers from public U.S. Department of Labor enforcement and accident records, copied nightly; 3-year window; data as of . Federal OSHA only; state-plan rules are not counted. Plain-language text is a summary, not legal advice; the official text controls. Black Belt Safety is not part of OSHA or the Department of Labor.

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