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In permit required confined spaces, workers are routinely entering areas which were not made with peoples’ comfort or safety in mind. They often have irregular entrances, tight spaces, and dangerous drops. Fall protection for confined space workers has been dramatically improving over the years, but even trained personnel don’t always know the correct configuration of equipment for each work site. To discuss fall safety in a confined space, we first need to define some of the common terms. …

Personal protective equipment like hard hats and harnesses aren't made to last forever. So much of this equipment has elastomeric or plastic parts that are particularly susceptible to deterioration over time. Abrasion can weaken stitching, nylon straps can be snagged and torn - even metal pieces corrode. Typically it's recommended by manufacturers that reusable PPE be replaced every 2-5 years even if it hasn't been damaged. But there are ways to extend the life of your PPE. Safety eq …

Working at height can be challenging enough without having safety equipment that binds and weighs you down. Many of our customers climb regularly, and the feedback we are getting about the Miller AirCore Full-Body Harnesses is positive across the board. There are a range of requirements for harnesses meeting OSHA and ANSI fall safety standards. With the AirCore, Miller has managed to meet these standards using 16% less material overall. The results are greater mobility, reduced weigh …

At height workers, whether they are working solo or as part of a team, must be supplied not only with proper fall protection, but also a plan for rescue. If you or a co-worker fall and aren't able to conveniently self-rescue, what is your plan? Typically workers wearing self-retracting lifelines (SRLs) are generally stopped quicker and closer to the spot they fell from than workers wearing traditional shock-absorbing lanyards. The second group, when they fall, often are stopped relat …

On March 5th, a Tuesday, the western span of the Bay Bridge in San Francisco Bay was transformed into a 1.8 mile long art installation while continuing to serve as a major traffic artery for the area. The project involves over 25,000 LED lights attached to the vertical suspender cables of the bridge and coordinated into computer-driven imagery. The artist, New York-based and Yale-educated Leo Villareal, creates works of art that bridge the gap (pun marginally intended) between art and t …

Harnesses are made to protect you in the event of a fall. But they're not made to protect from multiple falls over time. That won't stop workers from suiting up for work today wearing their "lucky harness" that saved them last June.The problem is, that lucky harness isn't going to be so kind the next time something happens. According to Miller (now under the umbrella of safety giant Honeywell), harnesses have about a 5 year life expectancy from their first date of use even if they never experi …

Lots of folks out there are finding they need to put together a post fall rescue program. But wouldn't it be easier if a fallen worker could simply rescue themselves? How much time and manpower could be saved, not to mention allowing the fallen worker to avoid the discomfort and possible long term health effects of suspension trauma. Now there is a product called the Latchways Personal Rescue Device (PRD) does just that. Rescuing a worker after they have experienced a fall is often a …

Scissor lifts are one of the most popular ways for workers to reach projects at heights. But do the guard rails on these lifts provide all the fall protection necessary for the workers utilizing them? The American National Safety Institute ( ANSI) deems guard rails around the work platform to be a sufficient fall prevention measure. But in practice they may not be. Fall protection needs to be evaluated in relation to the work being performed. If you have a scissor lift in operation at …

Workers and employers are becoming more aware of the problems associated with suspension trauma (also called orthostatic intolerance) which can affect a fall victim who is held aloft by their full-body harness. What people have been asking with some regularity lately is if the suspension trauma straps from one company will work with a harness from another. The answer, as far as we can tell with the products we have tried and the manufacturers we've talked to, is yes. Last week a cust …

Boom trucks, scissor lifts, and other Genie Lift work vehicles are everywhere these days. A question we receive regularly is how workers should hook up their fall safety equipment to the work platforms. Workers operating between 6 and 18 ft. above the closest obstacle, even if they are just passing through those heights, need to be wearing either complete fall restraint or a self-retracting lifeline (SRL). Because the close tether of a fall restraint system limits the work that can be a …