Update of the Highline System Standard ISA:21
After publishing the first ISA Highline System Standard we recieved feedback from our Slackline Safety Partners, Members of the UIAA Safecom and independant third parties. All their feedback has been reviewed and incorporated into the new version of the standard. Summarzing, the most important points:
- Enables Highline Systems that fulfill this standard to be used in workplace situations if maintenance checklists are utilized. These workplace situations may include, but are not limited to: shows, courses, competitions and festivals, etc.
- Expanding the scope of the standard, allowing the use of industrial and climbing equipment if used properly and with a seperate backup
- Simplifications and Clarifications of Wording and Definitions
- Adding intermittent connections, meaning connections of main- and backup webbings along the line
- and much more
The standard has allowed lots of festival organisers and professional riggers to better negotiate access and safety with insurance companies, landowners and officials from a local to a national level.
The ISA:21 Highline Systems Standard is a formal engineering definition and description of what a highline is and what the various components it consists of are.
On one hand this standard provides a framework for highliners as well as slackline manufacturers to understand what components are where and how they interact. On the other hand, it also provides a legal framework for highlines to be categorized as temporary installations and even permarigs with the prober maintenance checklists in place.
In addition to that, it also defines the forces that are acting upon the webbing, anchors and the highliner. In essence, it allows our partners, testing laboratories and technical engineers to communicate more effectively.
This standard further allows manufacturers to sell highline gear legally without being certified according to PPE standards. For this manufacturers further have to certify the individual components of the highline system.
Check out the list of highline certified products, more coming shortly:
Can’t find your highline gear on this list? Ask your manufacturer about certifying it!