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Waste Water Treatment Fall Protection

Although every water treatment plant contains similar process equipment, each facility’s access points and fall hazards are unique. Providing safe access to your facility’s clarifying, settling, and sediment tanks requires a comprehensive fall prevention strategy, which includes the proper mix of fall protection equipment, a descent and rescue plan, personnel training, and partnering with a fall protection company that appreciates the unique nature of the potential fall and drowning hazards associated with the water treatment industry.

We are a complete turnkey provider of fall protection systems designed for the water treatment industry and have the years of design and installation experience in this market sector. Contact us for expert assistance with your fall arrest, fall restraint and fall protection requirements.

Fall Protection Solutions

Design Considerations

Waste Water Treatment Fall Protection Design Considerations
Water treatment plant maintenance staff may find themselves climbing on top of clarifier domes or servicing sleds in sledge tanks.  In both plant areas, fall protection systems need to arrest falls and prevent workers from drowning or coming into contact with untreated water and sewage.

Since water treatment plants are corrosive, caustic environments, fall protection systems must be fabricated using stainless steel, hot dipped galvanized or hard coat anodized materials.  Whether the application is a small, private facility, or a large, municipal water treatment plant, your maintenance staff is exposed to slip-trip hazards on a frequent basis.

A fall protection system comprised of a walkway system, single point anchor, and horizontal lifeline can allow maintenance personnel to safely access key service areas on your clarifying tank.  Although horizontal lifelines are used in some applications, fall arrest systems designed to protect workers servicing sludge tank sleds typically take the form of overhead rigid track or rigid beam systems to stop personnel from actually making physical contact with the untreated water and sewage below.  Sludge tanks, by their nature, combine slip-trip hazards that can lead to falls and drowning.  Water treatment plants also present underground pumps requiring confined space equipment for safe access.   In addition to fabricating and installing a comprehensive fall protection system, Diversified Fall Protection can instruct your staff in the proper use of PPE and rescue procedures to ensure your water treatment is in full compliance with all OSHA fall protection regulations.  Diversified Fall Protection has years of experience installing OSHA compliant fall protection systems for the water treatment market including:

  • Horizontal Lifelines
  • Rescue and Descent
  • Rigid Systems
  • Single Point Anchors

OSHA Regulations

  • HLL/VLL
    • 1926.502(d)
      'Personal fall arrest systems.' Personal fall arrest systems and their use shall comply with the provisions set forth below. Effective January 1, 1998, body belts are not acceptable as part of a personal fall arrest system. Note: The use of a body belt in a positioning device system is acceptable and is regulated under paragraph (e) of this section.
    • 1926.502(d)(8)
      Horizontal lifelines shall be designed, installed, and used, under the supervision of a qualified person, as part of a complete personal fall arrest system, which maintains a safety factor of at least two.
    • 1926.502(d)(9)
      Lanyards and vertical lifelines shall have a minimum breaking strength of 5,000 pounds (22.2 kN).
    • 1926.502(d)(10) 1926.502(d)(10)(i)
      Except as provided in paragraph (d)(10)(ii) of this section, when vertical lifelines are used, each employee shall be attached to a separate lifeline.
    • 1926.502(d)(11)
      Lifelines shall be protected against being cut or abraded.
    • 1926.502(d)(12)
      Self-retracting lifelines and lanyards which automatically limit free fall distance to 2 feet (0.61 m) or less shall be capable of sustaining a minimum tensile load of 3,000 pounds (13.3 kN) applied to the device with the lifeline or lanyard in the fully extended position.
    • 1926.502(d)(13)
      Self-retracting lifelines and lanyards which do not limit free fall distance to 2 feet (0.61 m) or less, ripstitch lanyards, and tearing and deforming lanyards shall be capable of sustaining a minimum tensile load of 5,000 pounds (22.2 kN) applied to the device with the lifeline or lanyard in the fully extended position.
  • Personal Fall Arrest Systems
    • 1926.502(d)
      'Personal fall arrest systems.' Personal fall arrest systems and their use shall comply with the provisions set forth below. Effective January 1, 1998, body belts are not acceptable as part of a personal fall arrest system. Note: The use of a body belt in a positioning device system is acceptable and is regulated under paragraph (e) of this section.
    • 1926.502(d)(16)
      Personal fall arrest systems, when stopping a fall, shall:
    • 1926.502(d)(16)(i)
      limit maximum arresting force on an employee to 900 pounds (4 kN) when used with a body belt;
    • 1926.502(d)(16)(ii)
      limit maximum arresting force on an employee to 1,800 pounds (8 kN) when used with a body harness;
    • 1926.502(d)(16)(iii)
      be rigged such that an employee can neither free fall more than 6 feet (1.8 m), nor contact any lower level;
    • 1926.502(d)(16)(iv)
      bring an employee to a complete stop and limit maximum deceleration distance an employee travels to 3.5 feet (1.07 m); and,
    • 1926.502(d)(16)(v)
      have sufficient strength to withstand twice the potential impact energy of an employee free falling a distance of 6 feet (1.8 m), or the free fall distance permitted by the system, whichever is less.
  • Ladders
    • 1926.1053(a)(18)
      Fixed ladders shall be provided with cages, wells, ladder safety devices, or self-retracting lifelines where the length of climb is less than 24 feet (7.3 m) but the top of the ladder is at a distance greater than 24 feet (7.3 m) above lower levels.
    • 1926.1053(a)(19)
      Where the total length of a climb equals or exceeds 24 feet (7.3 m), fixed ladders shall be equipped with one of the following:
    • 1926.1053(a)(19)(i)
      Ladder safety devices; or
    • 1926.1053(a)(19)(ii)
      Self-retracting lifelines, and rest platforms at intervals not to exceed 150 feet (45.7 m); or
    • 1926.1053(a)(19)(iii)
      A cage or well, and multiple ladder sections, each ladder section not to exceed 50 feet (15.2 m) in length. Ladder sections shall be offset from adjacent sections, and landing platforms shall be provided at maximum intervals of 50 feet (15.2 m).

Talk to a fall protection specialist

Tell us about your fall protection needs, and we’ll configure a system that rises to your challenges.