[RE-wrenches] Fall Protection Equipment

[Dan Fink]

Ray, looking at my tower climbing class reference materials I also can find
no reference that to be OSHA approved, equipment *must* be ANSI, all I see
is "suggested." But the tensile strength and full-body harness requirements
are in OSHA. William, harnesses with both front and rear D-rings are
available.

Dan Fink
Buckville Energy
IREC Certified Instructor™ for:
~ PV Installation Professional
~ Small Wind Installer
NABCEP / IREC / ISPQ Accredited Continuing Education Providers™
970.672.4342



On Sat, Jan 17, 2015 at 12:00 PM, Ray Walters <ray at solarray.com> wrote:

>  I prefer climbing gear as its much lighter weight and doesn't drag you
> around.  I actually think in some cases that traditional fall protection
> gear can be more of a tripping hazard than the safety it provides.
> However, I was previously under the impression that if OSHA (or in the
> islands: HIOSH) came around, we had to ditch the climbing gear and get into
> the 3 times as heavy regular harnesses.
> I just looked at the OSHA website though, and it doesn't seem to specify
> certification, just that the equipment meet the fall criteria as Dan
> mentioned.
> https://www.osha.gov/Region7/fallprotection/fall_protection_info.html
> This doesn't mention test procedures or certification of equipment.
> Here's more from the actual OSHA 1926 book:
>
> *1926.502(e)(3)*
>
> Connectors shall be drop forged, pressed or formed steel, or made of
> equivalent materials.
>
>  *1926.502(e)(4)*
>
> Connectors shall have a corrosion-resistant finish, and all surfaces and
> edges shall be smooth to prevent damage to interfacing parts of this system.
>
>  *1926.502(e)(5)*
>
> Connecting assemblies shall have a minimum tensile strength of 5,000
> pounds (22.2 kN)
>
>  *1926.502(e)(6)*
>
> Dee-rings and snaphooks shall be proof-tested to a minimum tensile load of
> 3,600 pounds (16 kN) without cracking, breaking, or taking permanent
> deformation.
>
>  "Equivalent materials" ?  Seems that an aluminum caribiner that meets
> the other criteria would be equivalent.
>
> Here, Petzl also makes a full line of worker safety equipment:
> http://www.petzl.com/en/Professional/Verticality?l=US#.VLqw4nuLXfc
>
> This is really interesting, and I would like to have a more definitive
> answer from OSHA.  It would be great if we could use lighter weight
> climbing gear; just compare a caribiner to the heavy steel monsters you get
> at Grainger's.  As long as it is strong enough:
> Lighter weight = less fatigue= safer,  IMHO.
> As with so many discussions on this list, it will ultimately depend on
> your local authorities.
>
> R.Ray Walters
> CTO, Solarray, Inc
> Nabcep Certified PV Installer,
> Licensed Master Electrician
> Solar Design Engineer303 505-8760
>
> On 1/16/2015 11:20 PM, Benn Kilburn wrote:
>
> James,
> This looks like a pretty nice lanyard w/ shock-absorber, rope-grab and rope.
>
> What type/style harness did he bring along?
>
> Re: OSHA approved...great question. Prior to looking into it further I'd suspect it falls in a "grey area".
>
> Benn Kilburn
> SkyFire Energy Inc. 780-906-7807
>
>  On Jan 16, 2015, at 9:29 AM, James Rudolph <jamesrudolph99 at gmail.com> <jamesrudolph99 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Aloha my Wrench Brothers!
> We have a recent defector from a very large National Solar company here that brought in this great Fall gear (see attachment). To be honest it blew my mind how simple and light it was....Is anybody else using this rock climbing equipment as fall protection gear? Is this approved by OSHA.
>
> You would figure if humans just free climbed El Capitain with gear like this it would do just fine keeping me safe and compliant at 6 feet and above.
>
> The rope grab is made by KONG.
>
>
> Mahalo in advance!
>
> James Rudolph
> Haleakala Solar
>
> <20150114_074111.jpeg>
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