Fixed guard rail system with toe boards and roof attachments on a 12/12 (45 degree) sloped roof

We occasionally receive requests for fall protection guard rail systems to be used on sloped roofs. Our permanent guard rail system can be customized for many applications, and we’ve used it on roofs with a surprising degree of slope (or pitch).

For roofs with very minor slope, our non-penetrating Portable Guard Rail system can be used as is. This will work for roofs with a slope of  0 to 1 (or 1/12 — for every 12 feet of horizontal length, the roof rises vertically 1 foot, for a slope angle of 4.76 degrees).

For roofs with a slope of 1-2, we recommend a customized, fixed guard rail. These permanent guard rails have angled posts to keep the rails vertical, are drilled into the roof to prevent the rail from slipping or tipping, and have a toe board (or “toe rail”). OSHA requires a 3″ toe board on flat roofs whenever there is a possibility of tools being kicked off the roof and onto people below. For permanent guard rails for use on a sloped roof, we use an 8″ high toe board that is strong enough to withstand the impact of a sliding body.

For roofs with a pitch between 2 and 4, most fall protection companies recommend a fall protection tie-off system. OSHA regulations require a tie-off system for all roofs with a slope of 4/12 and greater.

We have, however, created permanent guard rail systems for slopes much steeper than 4/12. In one unique example  (shown here), an older building with a pitch of 12/12, or 45 degrees, a tie-off system was not practical. There was an unusual amount of equipment on the roof and limited installation options, and the owner felt that a tie-off system would make it difficult to maneuver around the machinery. He asked for a guard rail around the edge of the roof so that workers could access equipment by travelling around the eaves.

We have over 30 years of experience designing and installing fall protection guard rail systems and have the customization capability to accommodate all your application needs. We are a single source, turnkey provider committed to keeping your workers safe and your facility compliant. To learn more about customized fall protection guard rail systems for all types of roofs and applications, or to request a quote, contact us for more information.

Vertical lifelines — also known as a cable ladder safety systems — are not intended for use on portable ladders, and should not be used on ladders less than 75 degrees from horizontal. The number of users allowed on a vertical lifeline system at one time ranges from one to four users, depending on the type of system and installation.

A full body harness with front D-ring should be used with vertical lifelines. The harness attaches to the lifeline with a shuttle/sleeve deceleration device that travels along with the worker as they move higher or lower. A body belt is not recommended due to the risk of unintentional release and possible suffocation because of improper body support.

Using Vertical Lifelines with a Climb Assist System

When using vertical lifeline systems with a climb assist system, you should consult the climb assist system manufacturer’s instructions for any restrictions or limitations concerning simultaneous use of these systems. Some connection combinations may interfere with proper operation of the vertical lifeline components and may result in failure to arrest a fall.

Inspection of Vertical Lifelines

All the components of a vertical lifeline system should be inspected regularly. Inspection of the ladder structure and of the body harness should be done according to the manufacturers’ instructions. An inspection of the vertical lifeline installation should take in the top and bottom brackets, cable guides, carrier cable, and fasteners. When inspecting the safety sleeve, look at the handle and cable shoe, fasteners, locking lever, rollers, and gravity stop. Also check to make sure that all service labels and markings are present and fully legible.

Workers should inspect the vertical lifeline, ladder structure, and body harness before each use. They should verify that the system has been formally inspected within the last year.

A formal inspection of the ladder safety sleeve, installation, and the ladder structure must be performed at least annually by a “competent person” other than the user who has been certified by OSHA standards for this function.

If a fall occurs with the ladder safety sleeve or on the system, the entire system must be locked out, and a formal inspection of the entire system must be performed by a competent person other than the user. A separate fall protection system should be used during this inspection.

If inspection reveals an unsafe or defective condition, remove the ladder safety system or the safety sleeve from service and destroy it, or contact an authorized service center for repair.

Diversified Fall Protection offers routine inspection services and can also train and certify staff to inspect and maintain vertical lifeline equipment. Equipment inspected and approved by a competent person can then be documented as OSHA compliant.

Maintenance and Storage of Vertical Lifelines

In general vertical lifelines do not require scheduled maintenance, but should be cleaned or lightly oiled when appropriate. Store the detachable cable sleeve in a cool, dry, clean environment, out of direct sunlight or areas where chemical vapors exits. Thoroughly inspect the sleeve after extended storage.

Vertical Lifeline Safety Training and Rescue Plans

Even in the best of circumstances, accidents happen. As with all fall protection systems, a safety and rescue plan should be on file. Workers should be trained in how to use and inspect the fall protection equipment, and on what steps to take should a fall occur. Diversified Fall Protection can help you build a safety and rescue plan based on your needs.

Partnering with a certified company that understands fall protection regulations is an important step towards becoming OSHA compliant. Our years of design, fabrication, installation, and inspection of fall protection systems will keep your company compliant… and your employees safe. To learn more about fall protection vertical lifeline system inspection and certification, or to request a quote, contact DFP for more information.

A common type of PPE is the safety harness, which is combined with some other fall protection element like a shock absorbing lanyard or a self-retracting lifeline. Harnesses come in varying degrees of sophistication, depending on the use. An oil rig worker who spends all day working hundreds of feet up will use a full body harness designed to arrest a more severe free fall. For more limited fall hazards, where there is no danger of a vertical free fall, a chest harness might be used. (Body belts cannot be used as a fall arrest system due to the risk of internal injuries and asphyxiation.)

There is some difference between industry standard practice and OSHA regulations regarding safety harnesses that have been involved in a fall, or in OSHA parlance, PPE that has been “subjected to impact loading.” It is industry standard practice to remove from use and destroy all harnesses involved in a fall. Many fall protection companies recommend cutting up harnesses that have been deployed during a fall, which in turn removes the temptation to re-use potentially unsafe PPE.

“If you’ve fallen, the harness has served its purpose,” says Ryan Spikowski, sales manager at Diversified Fall Protection.

This practice is more stringent than OSHA’s guidance on the subject, which says that such items should be “immediately removed from service and shall not be used again for employee protection unless inspected and determined by a competent person to be undamaged and suitable for reuse.”

Safety harnesses are made with a variety of built-in fall arrest indicators, such as a red fabric lining that becomes exposed during the stress of a fall, which make it easy to determine if the PPE needs to be removed from use. Unfortunately, we do see harnesses still in use despite clearly having been in a fall. This often happens when workers do not report the falls, fearing they may be cited for a violation, reprimanded, or have wages cut as a result of an accident.

If a fall has not occurred and the harness passes routine inspections, the PPE can be used for the period of time determined by the manufacturer.  The useable lifespan is often indicated on the harness label.

In addition to normal wear and tear, other factors can degrade the harness’ hardware and material. Exposure to daylight, fumes, or moisture can all contribute to the breakdown of the harness’ nylon fibers.  Workers should inspect their safety harnesses before each use, looking at the belts and rings, D-rings and D-ring metal wear pads, attachments, rivets, webbing, the tongue and friction buckles and their frames, bars and rollers.

Harnesses also need to be routinely inspected by what OSHA designates as a “competent person” who has been certified for this function. DFP offers routine inspection services and can also train and certify staff to inspect and maintain the equipment, looking for indications of deterioration such as tears in the stitching, discolored fabric, non-functioning hardware, etc. Harnesses inspected and approved by a competent person can then be documented as OSHA compliant.

Upon inspection failure, OSHA regulations state a safety harness “must be withdrawn from service immediately, and should be tagged or marked as unusable, or destroyed.”

Partnering with a certified company that understands fall protection regulations is an important step towards becoming OSHA compliant. Our years of design, fabrication, installation, and inspection of fall protection systems will keep your company compliant… and your employees safe. To learn more about fall protection safety harness inspection and certification, or to request a quote, contact Diversified Fall Protection for more information.

Message: I work in a plastic injection shop. Our machines are as high as 20 feet. We are looking for fall protection to protect employees when they clamp in molds.   Can my employees stand and work at greater heights than the tie-off area they connect lanyards to? 

Response:  This is a very good question and we are glad you asked because there are certain fall distances that are taken into account in various situations.  If you are attaching at your feet you will need a shock absorbing lanyard– typically a 6ft length one.  To give you a tally of how far the worker will fall if attached at the same height as their feet: 6ft lanyard + 5ft person length to D-ring + 3.5ft pullout from lanyard + 1ft harness take-up = 15.5ft total fall distance from attachment point/working platform.  This worker is going take a significant fall that leaves them just a few feet from the ground.  You also need to consider a rescue plan and make sure you can reach workers in the event of a fall.

If you need to limit the distance the worker falls in order to make for a smoother rescue plan, you might want to explore the option of an overhead fall protection fixed rigid rail or a fold away jib type system.  This type of system will also decrease the total fall distance for your worker.  I am enclosing some pictures of our work in the plastics and rubber industry to show how these systems work.

Identifying workplace fall hazards and partnering with a certified company that understands fall protection is an important steps towards becoming OSHA compliant.  Our years of design, fabrication, and installation of fall protection systems will keep your company compliant…and your employees safe.  To learn more about fall protection systems for the rubber and plastics industries, or to request a quote, contact DFP for more information.

]]> http://www.fallprotect.com/techtalk/fall-protection-systems/height-of-tie-off-point-for-fall-protection-systems-is-it-important.html/feed 0 http://www.fallprotect.com/techtalk/loading-dock-fall-protection/loading-dock-rolling-safety-gate.html http://www.fallprotect.com/techtalk/loading-dock-fall-protection/loading-dock-rolling-safety-gate.html#comments Fri, 24 Feb 2012 15:13:59 +0000 http://www.fallprotect.com/techtalk/?p=206 The DFP loading dock rolling safety gate is an improved gate system with the pivot side anchored and the movable side fitted with a rolling wheel to eliminate lifting of the gate. It provides total accessibility to the dock opening.  A dock worker or delivery person can easily move this OSHA compliant gate for complete access to the overhead door and truck opening. When finished and ready to move, the gate is rolled to the locked and protected location.  The DFP loading dock safety gate provides cost effective protection to stop serious accidents.

Applications:

• Any dock area that requires fall protection
• Fits all docks including concrete, lift, and ramp

Specifications:

• 8′ and 10′ sizes to fit standard dock doors
• Available custom sizes to fit any situation
• 8’ and 10’ sizes to fit standard dock doors
• Tested to OSHA regulations
• 200# top rail 42” and 150# mid rail 21”

Features:

• Safety yellow powder coating for long life protection
• Galvanized and additional colors available
• Manufactured in the USA
• In stock for immediate shipment
• Shipped packaged with hardware and anchors.
• Also available with Hilti  3/8” and 3/4” Masonry drills
• Installation avalable at extra cost

To learn more about this innovative approach to loading dock fall protection, or to request pricing, contact Diversified Fall Protection for more information.

OSHA Compliant Horizontal Lifeline

Diversified Fall Protection recently installed a horizontal lifeline system (also known as an HLL or HLL system) on a flat standing seam roof for a State Highway Patrol facility in Columbus, Ohio.  Periodic inspection and maintenance of rooftop HVAC equipment and communication towers create potential fall hazards for building maintenance staff and contractors working during wet, windy, snowy, and icy conditions.

This rooftop’s front and rear sections protect contractors and maintenance staff from falls with a parapet wall.  The remaining sides present significant fall hazards due to unprotected leading edges.  OSHA regulation 1926.501 (b) (1) addresses these portions of the rooftop and states “each employee on a walking/working surface (horizontal and vertical surface) with an unprotected side or edge which is 6 feet (1.8 m) or more above a lower level shall be protected from falling by the use of guardrail systems, safety net systems, or personal fall arrest systems.”

A number of fall protection systems could have been used to protect workers and ensure OSHA compliance.  Leading edges of this rooftop could have been protected with the installation of a passive restraint fall protection system such as guardrail or the erection of safety nets to provide fall arrest.  Both of these options were rejected due to aesthetic considerations.  An HLL system was chosen because horizontal lifelines offer lower profiles than guardrail systems and because they are lower to the roof deck, they are not visible at ground level.

These two horizontal lifeline systems, designed and installed by Diversified Fall Protection consists of 380′ and 550′ lengths and feature energy absorbing tip over posts that are attached to the standing seam roof with S5 clamps. If a fall occurs, the posts physically tip over, putting the fall load into shear therefore protecting the metal roof panels from damage.  Another significant advantage to this type of HLL installation is that the S5 clamps eliminate the need to penetrate the roof in order to secure the tip over posts to structural beams.  These HLL systems are rated at 310lbs per user and can accommodate four workers simultaneously.

DFP has over 30 years of experience designing and installing OSHA compliant horizontal lifelines and fall protection systems.  We are a single source, turnkey provider committed to keeping your workers safe and your facility compliant.  To learn more about horizontal lifelines, or to request a fall hazard assessment or quote, contact Diversified Fall protection for more information.

In addition to issues relating to fall protection, the ASSE Conference will have sessions on a wide range of safety oriented topics, including:

• Safety Management

• Technical / Engineering / Standards

• Regulatory Issues / Government

• Ergonomics

• Risk Management / Insurance

• Construction / Mining

• Environment / Hazardous Material

• Transportation

• Fire Protection

• Health / Industrial Hygiene

• Emergency Management / Security

Be sure to stop by and visit Diversified Fall Protection in booth 931.  See you in Chicago!

Safety Yellow Portable Guardrail

Although Diversified Fall Protection is perhaps best known for providing engineered, single source, turnkey fall protection solutions, we also manufacture portable guardrail from our plant in Cleveland, Ohio.

Although many fall protection and safety oriented companies offer portable guardrail, not all of these suppliers are actually manufacturers.  Buying manufacturer direct doesn’t just mean avoiding middle men who mark up the product you buy.

Buying factory direct means that your guardrail can be customized to fit your specific application.  Choice of color is a good example of how we can customize your portable guardrail.  In some instances, powder coated safety yellow is an obvious choice.  Other situations, having the ability to specify color means that safety and fall protection CAN come with a sense of style as well.

Portable Guardrail with Red Finish

Although most portable guardrail found on rooftops is yellow, this is not always the case.  There are instances where the goal is to have the fall protection system blend in with the overall look and feel of the building.  In these types of situations, yellow is seldom the first choice of color.

Galvanized Portable Guardrail

Powder coating with a custom color is not the only way the finish surface of PGR can be customized.  In certain applications, a galvanized finish is requested.  Because all of our portable guardrail is manufactured in-plant, a galvanized finish is no more bother than custom powder coated colors.

Portable Guard Rail from DFP complies with OSHA requirements 1910.23 and 1926.502 for guardrail systems.  It is free-standing, non-penetrating, and as the name suggests, modular, or portable.  Because the system does not require attachment to any structure in approved applications, it is the ultimate in “customized” guardrail.  PGR can be moved as new fall protection needs arise, and the working perimeter length can be increased by adding new sections.

To learn more about PGR, visit the portable guardrail section of our website or contact DFP to discuss your fall protection needs.

The picture here illustrates an example of a permanent installation.  Although this methane vault is only a few feet off the ground, OSHA regulations require fall protection to mitigate the risk of maintenance staff going over the leading edge of this circular platform.  Do you wonder if areas on your property or in your plant require permanent fall protection in order to comply with OSHA regulations?  If you have concerns, consult the overview of common OSHA fall protection regulations on our website, or contact the experts at Diversified Fall Protection for a consultation.