Article Title

Full Body Harness Design Modifications and Evaluation: A Senior Design Project

Authors

Martin Mead, South Dakota State UniversityFollow
Jordan Von Seggern, South Dakota State UniversityFollow

Faculty Mentor

Anamika Prasad

Abstract

Full-body harness (FBH) is critical for the safe operation of industrial and recreational activities, from installing and maintaining infrastructure such as wind turbines to ziplining and mountaintop adventures. However, harness design remains in the proprietary information of companies with limited technical information available for improvements or readjustments to specialized applications. As the outcome of the Capstone project, the paper focuses on multiple technical aspects and the engineering processes for designing FBH for ziplining recreational users, from selecting and testing materials for operation in cold weather to improvements in design and manufacturing for user comfort. The project is guided by technical input from local industry Rushmore Tramway Adventures (RTA), a ziplining and Rope Course company in the state. The contribution comes from technological design improvements such as a 12% reduced weight and redesign of contact points for increased user comfort and first-of-its-kind design documentation for FBH design.

Recommended Citation

Mead, Martin and Von Seggern, Jordan (2023) "Full Body Harness Design Modifications and Evaluation: A Senior Design Project," The Journal of Undergraduate Research: Vol. 18, Article 4.
Available at: https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/jur/vol18/iss1/4