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Let’s take a look at an often overlooked fall protection product, the Horizontal Rope Lifeline.  It’s a shame though, because a horizontal rope lifeline is just as safe as a cable lifeline, but can shed almost $400 off the cost.

With that in mind, we’re taking a look at Guardian’s Horizontal Rope Lifeline Kit.

Now, let’s talk some features to get any fall protection nerd excited.  For example, this kit includes 100 ft. of rope.  That’s a pretty long rope in a situation where size does indeed matter.

The kit also includes all of the required accoutrements you need to make a fully functioning lifeline system, even a rope tensioner to make sure the limp rope stays taught.  Pretty darn fancy eh?

And for those of you that still think that cable is better, this rope lifeline system accommodates a two worker system.

And a carrying case!

Okay, the carrying case isn’t that big of a deal, but it’s still nice.  Trying to carry 100 feet of rope can be… um… tricky.

Hopefully, you’ve been awoken to the hidden potentials of a horizontal rope lifeline, including the awesome cost savings.  So, please at least give a look at Guardian’s Horizontal Rope Lifeline System.

You can also check out some more lifeline kits if you’d like.   For our full collection…

Come on people give rope another chance!  And let us now about your experiences working with rope lifelines…

Technorati Tags: fall protection, lifelines, rope lifeline

Posted in Fall Protection Articles by Safety Frank. Safety Frank is our resident all around safety guy. He specializes in making safety easier to understand though humor, video, and a general irreverence for a very stuffy industry.

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Not necessarily.  Like most safety questions, this conundrum is difficult to answer due to variables.  Every situation is unique.

However, if you happen to work in an environment with machines that grab loose clothing and mess you up do some damage, you may want to consider a break-away style hi-vis vest.  An example of this would be a wood chipper, or your sink’s garbage disposal.  If you’re going to be directing traffic all day, you may not need one.

However, it doesn’t hurt.  Having a break-away vest is not going to be a bad investment if you happen to get one.

The only time we would recommend not getting one is if you have portly gentleman on your crew that wants to rip the vest off everyday after his shift. ugh.

On a side note, a break-away high visibility vest is an ideal costume for a  stripping construction worker. Dudes need not apply.

Technorati Tags: break away vest, hi vis vest, high visibility, safety

Posted in Fall Protection Articles by Safety Frank. Safety Frank is our resident all around safety guy. He specializes in making safety easier to understand though humor, video, and a general irreverence for a very stuffy industry.

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On July 21, 2008, Dateline presented “Tower Dogs,” which was marketed as “a never-before-seen look at the most dangerous job in America,” and there was quite a bit of flurry of the sensational exposé shown by Dateline.

NATE (National Association of Tower Erectors*) issued an open letter with their concerns to Dateline. Most recently they posted the following in their Tower Times newsletter. We thought some of you might be interested in this-

Please Give Us Your Two Cents!
What do you think of the NBC Dateline Tower Dogs episode?  Let us know your input.

Visit the NATE website at www.natehome.com and submit your company as a case study today! Are there media relations efforts that you feel should be made that you haven’t seen put into action yet?  We would love to hear your from you.

Send an email to industryrelations@natehome.com with your opinions and recommendations.
The results will be posted in future issues of Tower Times, and we will use the information when
targeting various media, speaking and organizational opportunities for the coming year.

IT’S UP TO YOU!

Technorati Tags: fall protection, tower dogs, tower erectors

Posted in Fall Protection News by Sassy Safety Glasses Queen. The Sassy Safety Glasses Queen is our resident safety glasses expert. She specializes in the news, trends, and fashions of the Safety Glasses industry while dabbling in the world of fall protection.

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In case you didn’t know, there are actually three different color materials you can choose when selecting a high visibility safety gear for your next job. But what color should you be choosing? Should you be wearing fluorescent yellow-green, fluorescent orange-red, burnt umber, or fluorescent red?

It all depends on your situation, which includes the work environment and risk involved.

Before selecting your color, take a look at the environment around you. Are you in a rural or urban setting?  Is there heavy foliage or desert around you?  Another thing to take a look at is the work zone devices and equipment around you. Is it yellow or orange?  Have you ever seen a grown man naked?

Ultimately, you need to ask yourself these questions and select the color safety vest that is going to make a worker look fabulous stand out the most. Which color provides the most contrast from the environment?

Unfortunately, there is no hard and fast rule for this selection process. However, keep in mind that if a worker doesn’t stand apart from his environment and gets destroyed hit, the high visibility safety vest you bought was a waste of money. Choose wisely.

Technorati Tags: hi vis vest, safety gear, safety vest

Posted in Fall Protection Articles by Safety Frank. Safety Frank is our resident all around safety guy. He specializes in making safety easier to understand though humor, video, and a general irreverence for a very stuffy industry.

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Once in a while, we like to showcase a product you might not know about, or never really had the chance to investigate and ask, “what the hell does that thing do anyway.”  This time around we’re going to be taking a look at a steel beam anchor, the French Creek Bolt Hole Girder Anchor.  I know, it’s quite a mouthful…  Gutter control please!

This handy little item is completely temporary, reusable, and recyclable.  Yep, it’s completely portable, which is definitely a nice feature to have in this economy.  There’s nothing worse than having to buy new anchors every time a new job comes up.  In fact I’m quite sure that’s one of the factors that contributes to fall protection non-compliance, but I digress.

The girder anchor is meant to be used overhead and quickly installs into pre-drilled rivet holes on beams.  And when I say quickly, I mean it.  You squeeze the end and it slides right in…. uh…. anywho.

Another awesome feature of this bad boy?  It plays well with horizontal lifeline systems, and should work with equipment you already have.  Oh an for you technical nerds, the anchor fits in a 3/4″ – 1 1/4″ hole diameter and meets all applicable OSHA Standards.

And for the pricers out there, this is a great value.  Trust us.  You’re wasting your money if you’re paying for a glassy metal work of art.

(On a side note, the picture is very deceiving. From that picture it looks like a plastic key to a set of toy handcuffs.  It’s much more substantial, and is sure to impress.  After all, it can support a body.)

So, if you work in the steel industry, this might just be the anchor for you.  I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at the French Creek Bolt Hole Girder Anchor. If you need other anchors for steel construction, take a look at some of these steel anchor products.

Oh, make sure to let us know what anchors you use in the field of steel construction.  What do you like best?

Technorati Tags: bolt hole anchors, fall protection, girder anchors

Posted in Fall Protection Articles by Safety Frank. Safety Frank is our resident all around safety guy. He specializes in making safety easier to understand though humor, video, and a general irreverence for a very stuffy industry.

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Window washer John Badour fell through a skylight at GVSU’s Allendale campus this past July. (If you follow safety blogs you may have seen some of the photos already. Please note: that I take the blame/fame for having Perez Hiltonized one of the photos.)

Badour was applying caulking to the window when the window broke and he fell through. His harness kept him from a close encounter with tile flooring below.

Although firefighters arrived to rescue him, they were not sure of the best way to do it. His quickly thinking co-workers were able to pull him up safely by bringing in a crane lift to bring him back onto the roof outside. Perhaps this is a timely reminder to have your own retrieval plan and learn about suspension trauma?

Thankfully, no serious injuries were reported.  Badour suffered some minor cuts requiring stitches and is now back to work.

Technorati Tags: fall protection, safety harness, suspension trauma

Posted in Fall Protection News by Sassy Safety Glasses Queen. The Sassy Safety Glasses Queen is our resident safety glasses expert. She specializes in the news, trends, and fashions of the Safety Glasses industry while dabbling in the world of fall protection.

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So you’re not much for articles?  Don’t worry, we’ve just released a new video intended to guiding you through the steps of selecting your next high visibility safety vest.  If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to call toll free… 1-888-549-1700.  Enjoy.

Technorati Tags: hi vis vest, high visibility vest, safety vest

Posted in Fall Protection Videos by Safety Frank. Safety Frank is our resident all around safety guy. He specializes in making safety easier to understand though humor, video, and a general irreverence for a very stuffy industry.

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Some of you may need reflective safety gear in the near future, or maybe you’re already wearing it on your job site. But some of you might not know the difference between ANSI classes. So in order to help clear up any confusion about these three classes, we will be explaining the differences over the next few weeks.

Finally onto ANSI Class 3…

Class 3 High Visibility safety garments are never supposed to be attractive vests.  In fact Class 3 garments are meant to be at least a t-shirt, as well as jackets, coveralls, or rain suits.  These are highly reflective garments that are meant for the most dangerous of situations where visibility is of grave importance.

A Class 3 garment is to have 1240 square inches of visible background material, which can consist of either fluorescent yellow-green, fluorescent orange-red, hot pink, and fluorescent red.  In addition to the visible background, a Class 3 safety garment must have 310 square inches of visible reflective material which must have a minimum width of 2 inches.  You can wake up now.

A Class 3 safety garment is to be used with complex work backgrounds, when workers are working at great distances and must be identified as a person. Class 3 garments are also to be used in extreme weather conditions.  For example, a Class 3 garment is ideal for emergency response, utility workers, roadway personnel, and survey crews.

Well, there you have it, our complete rundown of the three ANSI classes for reflective safety gear.  Hopefully, this will help you determine what class you should be using to stay safe. Remember, there’s a difference between the classes.

Technorati Tags: ansi, high visibility vest, safety vest

Posted in Fall Protection Articles by Safety Frank. Safety Frank is our resident all around safety guy. He specializes in making safety easier to understand though humor, video, and a general irreverence for a very stuffy industry.

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British Royal Erectors, Jacko and Fish, on contract to the British Antarctic Survey check and raise masts for communication and scientific experiments.
Photographer: Miriam Iorwerth

Technorati Tags: antarctica, fall protection

Posted in Fall Protection News by Sassy Safety Glasses Queen. The Sassy Safety Glasses Queen is our resident safety glasses expert. She specializes in the news, trends, and fashions of the Safety Glasses industry while dabbling in the world of fall protection.

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Some of you may need reflective safety gear in the near future, or maybe you’re already wearing it on your job site. But some of you might not know the difference between ANSI classes. So in order to help clear up any confusion about these three classes, we will be explaining the differences over the next few weeks.

Onto ANSI Class 2…

Class 2 garments are intended to be t-shirts and vests, anything less would be a bra.  Remember, no matter how bright a bra may be, it should never be worn for reflective safety.

A Class 2 vest should have 775 square inches of visible background material, which can consist of either fluorescent yellow-green, fluorescent orange-red and fluorescent red.  In addition to the visible background, a Class 2 safety vest must have 201 square inches of visible reflective material which must have a minimum width of 1.375 inches.  Holy technical mumbo-jumbo Batman!

The Class 2 safety vest is the ANSI whore most common class and is used in riskier situations than the Class 1 flavor.  A Class 2 safety vest is to be used with complex work backgrounds, when the weather is inclement and requires higher visibility, and while working in close proximity to vehicles traveling at 25 mph or higher.  For example, a Class 2 vest is ideal for forestry, ship cargo work, roadway construction, airport baggage/ground crew, emergency response, and pigs law enforcement.

There you go, check back to learn about class 3 garments…

Technorati Tags: ansi, high visibility vest, safety vest

Posted in Fall Protection Articles by Safety Frank. Safety Frank is our resident all around safety guy. He specializes in making safety easier to understand though humor, video, and a general irreverence for a very stuffy industry.

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