What is the primary purpose of safety harnesses in construction work?

The primary purpose of safety harnesses in construction work is to prevent falls. Safety harnesses are designed to secure a worker to an anchorage point, minimizing the risk of injury by catching them if they start to fall. This is critical in construction environments where workers may be exposed to heights or unstable surfaces. By effectively distributing the force of a fall across the body, the harness serves as a vital component in fall protection systems, ensuring that workers are safe when working at elevations.

While aspects like comfort or weight support may be secondary benefits of a well-designed harness, the fundamental reason for their use is to mitigate the hazards of working at heights and protect workers from potentially fatal falls.