Category Archives: fall protection

Construction Pump Jack Braces

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Construction Pump Jack Braces

Support Brace

There are two types of braces for aluminum pump jack scaffolding: The rigid brace and the folding brace. In the rigid brace, the piece resting against the roof does not swivel, allowing it to provide unmoving support. In the folding brace, there are two separate supports, each of which can swivel. This allows it to provide support against two planes with differing angles. There are advantages to both, and generally we recommend that you own both styles. Each scaffold will usually need both types, as described below. Continue reading →

Aluminum Pump Jacks Offer Benefits of Efficiency

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pump-jackUsing aluminum pump jack scaffolding is one of the most efficient ways to do any type of work on a house. Jobs where scaffolding is essential include painting, carpentry, masonry and exterior cleaning.

Be sure to adhere to all OSHA rules for erecting pump jack scaffolding, using equipment with two positive gripping mechanisms for a secure grip. Do not try to improvise scaffold platforms. Workbenches and other items not intended for the purpose should not be used.
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How much does a jobsite injury really cost?

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I recently can across a very interesting tool to help you to realize how much does a jobsite injury cost you.  Employers can use the” $afety Pays” to assess the impact of occupational injuries and illnesses on their profitability. This program uses a company’s profit margin, the average costs of an injury or illness, and an indirect cost multiplier to project the amount of sales a company would need to generate to cover those costs. The program is intended as a tool to raise awareness of how occupational injuries and illnesses can impact a company’s profitability, not to provide a detailed analysis of a particular company’s occupational injury and illness costs. Your local OSHA On-site Consultation Office can help small businesses identify workplace hazards and develop and implement an effective injury and illness prevention program.  This tool is part of the OSHA Small Business program that provides links to numerous OSHA resources and information designed specifically for small business employers, including safety and health tools and publications, easy-to-follow guides for specific OSHA standards, and descriptions of benefits that small businesses receive from OSHA. The page also includes information on the Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP), which recognizes small business employers who operate exemplary injury and illness prevention programs.

Ladder Safety

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Is your ladder safety training up to date?

This free ladder safety training is a tool for the proper selection, care and safe use of all ladders, including stepladders, single and extension ladders, articulated ladders, and mobile ladders. Provided by the American Ladder Institute, this ladder safety training outlines safe ladder practices in all applications, such as construction/painting, building and custodial services, warehousing, power, manufacturing, chemical and petrochemical, oil and gas, and at home.  Please visit our web site for more info.

Battery Powered Scaffold

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Granite Industries has developed a new product that is designed to help eliminate OSHA citations when using narrow rolling scaffold.   When working on narrow scaffold the wheels must be locked.  When employees are doing repetitive work, which require constant moving of the scaffold from one location to another,  employees tend to forget to lock the casters.  In some cases they move the scaffold while on it. Trades that do this can be painters, electricians, and ceiling installers.  Granite has developed a motorized narrow scaffold that will eliminate the issue of not locking the casters and also increase production by eliminating the need to get down off the scaffold to move it.  The product is called Power Snappy.  It is available in three sizes.  It is battery powered by two 12 volt sealed batteries, has a built in battery charger, all controlled by a joy stick while standing on the work platform.  It can transported easily, both to and around the job site and will fit on a standard elevator.

Fall Protection Video

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This fall protection video outlines the steps to develop safe practices when working from heights including a fall protection plan and proper protection equipment.

On April 10, at 11 a.m. EST, OSHA’s Director of Construction Jim Maddux, and NIOSH’s Director of Construction Safety and Health, Dr. Christine Branche, will co-moderate a webinar to discuss ways of stopping the leading killer of construction workers – falls from heights. To register for the free webinar and to learn more about efforts by OSHA, NIOSH and CPWR to protect construction workers from fatal falls, visit the registration

Werner Fall Protection Full Body Harness

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Werner has three basic types of fastening systems on there Full Body Harnesses. Parachute, Quick connect, and Tongue Buckle. Everything they manufacture has 5 point adjustment.  We would not recommend 3 point adjustment on a harness due to circulation issues if a fall does occur.

buckle-qc

The parachute  or pass-through style is the least expensive and comes on the harnesses that are generally less than $50.

You will find it in the roofers kits, and any price point product.  Again, beware of three point adjustment.

This is the worst type of fastening system. It constantly is loosening up, and creates a situation where the worker is not “fitted” properly and can be fined by OSHA.

H133102_FI_QuickConnectBuckle

The Quick connect is the most expensive version available, this was created to make it quick to disconnect with your gloves on.

There are certain scenarios that this may be necessary.

Generally though, this buckle is harder to adjust for comfort and is similar to the parachute buckle in the loosening up part.

buckle-tb

The Tongue Buckle, is the middle of the road in price.  But it is far and away the best type of fastening system. There are two reasons: first is that it is a fixed in place, it will not loosen up on you. The second is that it is very easy to adjust.

Here are some harnesses made by Werner Ladder.

Fall Protection

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We sell Fall Protection.  Harnesses, Lanyards, all that stuff.  We have sold numerous brands, Miller, Elk River, DBI-Sala, Guardian, and now Werner. What differentiates them? Why should someone pick one over the other?

Honestly, most people never really NEED it, except for the poor unlucky soul who’s time has come. I personally only know one person who is alive because of his harness and rope grab, when a swing stage let go and dropped 10 feet while he was on the 12th story.

Now, that being said, do you really NEED flood insurance? How often does that baby seat really get used? Not very often, and hopefully never, but the one time you NEED it . . . it needs to function properly.

So, what does that mean?  “Function Properly” could mean it prevents you from falling to your death. But, if you are in a situation that you cannot be rescued within 10 minutes your body can go into “orthostatic intolerance” or “suspension trauma”. This means that your harness is killing you by cutting of  blood flow. If you are wearing a poorly designed harness your femoral arteries can be pinched and you could go into cardiac arrest before you are rescued.

With this in mind, we first recommended the suspension trauma safety strap. This allowed a worker to stand in a loop attached to the harness to relieve the pressure applied to their legs. BUT, this didn’t address the real problem. The real problem is that most harnesses are designed poorly. If a harness was designed so the worker could be suspended and not risk cutting off blood flow you would have a solution.

This is why we have chosen to go with Werner Ladders’ new fall protection line. It is designed with a 5 point adjustment system, and the sub-pelvic strap is stitched in a different way than all of the other harnesses on the market. This is designed so that after a fall, there is enough room in the sub-pelvic strap, that the worker can actually pull themselves to a sitting position. This design was made possible after bringing in some super people who started their business in the rigging of stuntmen in Hollywood productions.