Nov 19, 2010 Posted on Nov 19, 2010 in Fall Protection, Standards | 0 comments

Climbing Safety from the 70s with Fred Dibnah

Over in the UK during the 70s there was a guy called Fred Dibnah – a steeplejack by trade who had a thing for steam engines as well as an old Victorian way of demolishing old mill chimneys.

The north of England was the spine of the Industrial Revolution that fueled the Empire -the predominant industry being cotton.

Fred was a no nonsense type of guy who’d strap a load of ladder together with rope to clamber up a 300+ ft chimney prior to setting fire to the bottom where he’d placed wooden struts, which, once burned out would cause the chimney to topple – hopefully in the direction of Fred’s choosing.

He never used dynamite. He was also something of a national hero.

Anyway, if you enjoy this kind of thing and hark back to more innocent times when you could climb up chimneys unaided without safety harnesses and be stood next to a chimney as it topples, then the following video might interest you:

And if you liked that then you may be interested to hear his thoughts on health and safety – especially how he felt better climbing chimneys with a couple of pints inside him!

Now those were the days…

Aug 19, 2010 Posted on Aug 19, 2010 in Fall Protection | 1 comment

Fall Protection Basics

Written on Thursday, May 21, 2009

Each year, falls consistently account for the greatest number of fatalities in the construction industry, and are always a major concern in other industries.

The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) has specific regulations for employers whose workers are in danger of injury from falls on the jobsite. When a worker is exposed to a potential fall of 6 feet or greater, the employer must select either a guardrail system, safety net system, or personal fall arrest system to protect the worker from a fall.

Personal Fall Arrest Systems

A Personal Fall Arrest System is made up of 3 key components: an anchorage connector; body wear; and a connecting device.

The Anchorage is commonly referred to as a tie-off point (Ex: I-beam, rebar, scaffolding, lifeline, etc.). The Anchorage Connector is used to join the connecting device to the anchorage (Ex: cross-arm strap, beam anchor, D-bolt, hook anchor, etc.).

Anchorages must be capable of supporting 5,000 pounds (22kN) of force per worker and must be high enough for a worker to avoid contact with a lower level should a fall occur. The anchorage connector should be positioned to avoid a “swing fall.”

Body Wear is the actual personal protective equipment worn by the worker (Ex: full-body harness).

The only form of body wear acceptable for fall arrest is the full-body harness. Body wear should be selected based on work to be performed and the work environment. Side and front D-rings are for positioning only.

The Connecting Device is the critical link which joins the body wear to the anchorage/anchorage connector (Ex: shock-absorbing lanyard, fall limiter, self-retracting lifeline, rope grab, etc.).

Potential fall distance must be calculated to determine type of connecting device to be used – typically, under 18-1/2 ft. (5.6m), always use a self-retracting lifeline/fall limiter; over 18-1/2 ft. (5.6m), use a shock-absorbing lanyard or self-retracting lifeline/fall limiter. The connecting device should also be selected based on work to be performed and the work environment. Shock-absorbing lanyards can expand up to 3-1/2 ft. (1.1m) when arresting a fall; attach lanyards to the harness back D-ring only; never tie a knot in any web lanyard – it reduces the strength by 50%.

(Source: MillerFallProtection.com)

Written by: Carissa Kelley