Chemco Electrical Contractors Ltd.
Safety - It's Everybody's Business

 Fall Protection Program


Falling incidents constitute as one of the greatest hazards in our workplace. Our Fall Protection Program consists of five major components:

  • People
  • Engineering
  • Environment
  • Materials
  • Equipment/Tools


We strive to develop a greater understanding of what is required to protect workers at elevation. We must remain focused on both the needs and abilities of the worker.


With the progression of fall protection, the practice of using anchor slings had resulted in introducing other conditions the end user needed to consider. In the construction industry, the lanyard connected to the anchor sling had not been shortened; as a result the combination of the two pieces of equipment had increased the potential free fall distance. The amount of equipment the end user carried and used at elevated heights had increased. When comparing the equipment required to maintain a continuous tie off with the traditional by-pass lanyard, the end user required five pieces of equipment. This combined with the use of a by-pass lanyard had put a burden on the end users.

In 2002, we reviewed our fall protection program and considered many changes and improvements suggested by our workers and supervisors.

  • Girth hitching the lanyard around an improvised anchor
  • Anchor sling
  • Cleaning of the lanyard
  • Cleaning of the harness
  • User-friendly equipment
  • Maintenance
  • Retractable Lifelines
  • Cost Savings for Owner and Contractor


The following is our successful outcome:

Girth Hitching


In recent years, the normal practice within the construction industry had been to girth hitch the lanyard around an improvised anchor point. Manufacturers did not support this practice, as there was a potential for forced roll out. Industry practice was to use anchor slings combined with  carabiners to provide compatible hardware to go around an improvised anchor points.


 

 

Action Taken

To make it simple and user-friendly we looked at other alternatives.

Designing a safe method to connect back to the lanyard without the need for additional hardware reduced the amount of equipment required to do their job safely. With the new design, the end user only required one piece of equipment.

The tieback lanyard allowed the end user to wrap their lanyard around an improvised anchor and connect back to the lanyard, which was designed to reduce the potential for forced roll out.

This design also reduced the potential fall distance, therefore reducing the potential of injury from the arresting forces.

The new design is a safer, cost-effective and user-friendly solution.

Anchor Sling 

We reviewed our method of connecting to improvised anchors with the use of anchor slings and carabiners. The end user carried both of these components which was cumbersome. Also, many carabiners were lost or just simply disappeared. A hazard also existed with the carabiners being dropped from heights while the end user was connecting the anchor sling. There had been cases in the industry where workers were hit by  falling carabiners that resulted in medical aids.


Action Taken


We designed an anchor sling with a ring and snaphook and provided our workers with a more user-friendly system with a huge cost saving.

We looked at the costs of this equipment and for example:

On average 3 to 4 carabiners per anchor sling were lost or disappeared. If 2000 workers required this equipment; this new design would result in a money savings easily exceeding $300,000 to us and ultimately our clients. Replacing two carabiners costs more than replacing the existing equipment with the new design. As a result this design has been implemented with a 100% cost saving to the company.

Cleaning of the Equipment


Fall protection equipment is designed to protect life, and if poorly maintained may not provide protection. Equipment maintenance is generally overlooked for fall protection equipment. To maintain this equipment these were the areas we considered.


• Storage of equipment, both in the field and in the warehouse.

• Inspection program to meet manufacturer’s recommendations, 
  equipment inspected prior to each use, as well as annually by 
  someone other than the user.

• Cleaning is essential to maintain fall protection equipment. It also 
  demonstrates to the user, management’s commitment to providing safe equipment.

Cleaning of the equipment can be challenging; most harnesses can be placed in a washing machine and hung to dry. Machine washing the lanyards is not practical, as the shock absorber may not dry completely after they are washed. The lanyards should be hand washed which is time consuming and costly.

Some organizations had chosen to have the shock absorber sewn onto the “D” Ring on the harness for easier connection of the lanyard. We had concerns regarding washing the harness with an attached shock absorber.

Action Taken


Our approach needed to address the cleaning requirements, manufacturer's concerns and the needs of the end user.

We first reviewed the shock absorber with snap hook and “D” ring design. This design increased the weight of the equipment making it more uncomfortable for the end user and also increased the potential of misplacement of components as the lanyard could be connected to the harness without the shock absorber in the system. This design did not address the manufacturer’s concern of the new tieback design. With this design there was a possibility of equipment failure if the tieback lanyard was used without a shock absorber in the system.

To address this we placed a snap hook on the shock absorber for lanyard attachment and a soft loop to attach to the "D" ring making a short lanyard. Connecting the shock absorber to the safety harness with a soft loop allows the removal of the shock absorber.

This design assists in the cleaning of the equipment as the shock absorber is removed from the safety harness and lanyard, which allows for machine washing. The location of the shock absorber reduces the need for cleaning.

User Friendly- Equipment


With the introduction of the new shock absorber, which consisted of changing the configuration of some of the connecting components, we were able to meet the needs of the manufacturer, the end user and the Chemco Maintenance Program.

During the design process, we worked with the manufacturer to receive CSA approval on an aluminum hook. The new aluminum hook design greatly decreased the weight on the “D” ring of the end user’s harness, adding more comfort for the end user as well as addresses the concern of “D” ring slippage. The decreased weight has fewer tendencies to cause the “D” to slide down.

The new configuration required a “D” ring to be placed on the lanyard to connect to the shock absorber. This design does not permit the tieback component to be connected to the “D” ring on the harness without the presence of the shock absorber with the soft loop and snap hook.

The design moves the connection point from between the shoulder blades to a moveable point and is easier and more convenient for the end user to access.


Successes


We contacted a fall protection equipment manufacturer (Safety Direct Ltd.) and worked together with them on a design prototype. We completed the testing procedures on the equipment for the CSA application. In September 2002, we were successful in receiving CSA approval on our design.

In Conclusion


Cleaning of the equipment was made easier as the shock absorber can be removed from the safety harness and lanyard and both components can be washed in the machine, decreasing maintenance costs. This ensures our workers are provided with equipment that is clean and maintained.

The design is cost-effective, as the shock absorber has been removed from the lanyard. The lanyard receives the most wear and tear and by removing the shock absorber there is a huge cost saving when equipment requires replacement.

The new design allows for greater variety and more user-friendly equipment for the end user. The amount of equipment required for workers to do their job safely has been greatly reduced.

This design also addresses the concerns of the manufacturer, as the Tie Back Lanyard can not be connected to the “D” Ring on the safety harness without the presence of a shock absorber with a snap hook.

The system allows the end user to easily remove the webbing portion of the lanyard when not required, so it can be easily stored out of the way.

Working with the manufacturer we came up with a unique solution to identify the fall protection components: 

  • "Chemco" and the unit number was embroidered on the chest strap of the harness. A sleeve was added to allow workers to write thier name on the harness.
  • Our lanyards have a Chemco embroidered sleeve along with the unit number. It also serves as protection for the manfacturer's information tag.
  • The manufacturer uses a clear sleeve on the shock asorber to clearly identify Chemco and the Unit Identification Number under the sleeve.
  • The unit number is utilized for tracking and maintenance purposes. By having the manufacturer label the equipment it decreases the manpower costs for Chemco having to label the equipment and increases the return rate of our equipment once in the field.