Falls from Lifts

[jmellc]

One of my guys was working on a one man lift in a big box home improvement store when one of their employees came flying by on a forklift and hooked one of his outriggers dragging it about 10’ while he was 20’ up in the air! He wasn’t happy! Before we started using lifts in them, I was on an extension ladder in an aisle when a customer rammed me with a lumber cart. He said “Oh! I didn’t see you there! As he untangled the barrier tape from his cart!

I hated those lifts with outriggers. Never room to spread them without having to move junk A ladder was usually easier. I was glad they came out with the Genie 1 man driveable lift.

 

[jmellc]

Aside from comfort, the place where the leg straps squeeze is the spot that cuts off blood flow to a major artery. When they get you out, you can have a blood clot for there and you stroke out, instant death.

Older harnesses are one thing but newer ones have a trauma strap. If you end up hanging the idea is to unfurl the trauma strap and hook your feet on it so that you can sit or stand in the harness comfortably and let the pressure off.

My main issue with harnesses is that I have seen very few that were a good fit. They are binding & straps are forever twisting. I am tall waisted & most do not adjust well for that. I looked into buying my own a few years ago but the cost was pretty high. I couldn’t pay for it.

 

[infinity]

My boss buys the cheapest harnesses made. They're ill fitting and uncomfortable to wear. I cannot image how someone would feel if they had to hang in one for 15 minutes. If I worked where there was an actual danger of falling I would buy my own that was well designed and actually fit.

 

[Coppersmith]

I had a "big and tall" working foreman a while back. He brought his own harness to the jobsite since company supplied ones never fit him.

 

[zbang]

My main issue with harnesses is that I have seen very few that were a good fit. They are binding & straps are forever twisting. I am tall waisted & most do not adjust well for that. I looked into buying my own a few years ago but the cost was pretty high. I couldn’t pay for it.

The good ones are expensive, I think I spent over $300 for my DBI Sala but that was well worth it- the come in 6 or 7 sizes and I wrote off the expense on the taxes. I can comfortably wear it all day.

 

[jmellc]

The good ones are expensive, I think I spent over $300 for my DBI Sala but that was well worth it- the come in 6 or 7 sizes and I wrote off the expense on the taxes. I can comfortably wear it all day.

I forget the brand but 300 was roughly the price of the one I found. I think it came in a 5 gallon bucket but I don’t recall for sure.

Some of the harness fever is over the top. I think OSHA now has a rule that if a lanyard is used for any other lifting, it cannot be used again for safety. So, you use a lanyard to lift a 10 pound tool bag up to a platform & it is disqualified. So, a new army of busybodies is needed to police that issue alone.

 

[hillbilly1]

The last batch we bought seem to be of good quality and easier to get on. I swapped out my old one. Seems like there is also an expiration date on them too. Most people don't know there is an expiration date on hard hats too.

 

[jmellc]

The last batch we bought seem to be of good quality and easier to get on. I swapped out my old one. Seems like there is also an expiration date on them too. Most people don't know there is an expiration date on hard hats too.

 

[jmellc]

I knew harnesses had to be inspected periodically but didn’t recall for hard gates or expiration dates. I worked one place where you were supposed to inspect your hand tools before each use. Place was crawling with little Nazis peeping around every corner, looking over your shoulder, getting in your way. I really needed a flamethrower there.

 

[paulengr]

My main issue with harnesses is that I have seen very few that were a good fit. They are binding & straps are forever twisting. I am tall waisted & most do not adjust well for that. I looked into buying my own a few years ago but the cost was pretty high. I couldn’t pay for it.

I know the feeling. The cheap ones are utter garbage. They are for quick/temporary use (one hour or less). They never fit right...it’s not your build. Midrange Millers fit tall guys pretty well. By tall I mean waist.

ALL harnesses If adjusted right are snug and not what I would call comfortable especially around your calves. The more expensive ones have more padding for all day/every day use and better adjustment systems, not just buckles.

I don’t know any harness under $200 I would call comfortable. I’m 6’1” but fairly skinny.

 

[paulengr]

The last batch we bought seem to be of good quality and easier to get on. I swapped out my old one. Seems like there is also an expiration date on them too. Most people don't know there is an expiration date on hard hats too.

They removed the expiration date stuff from the standards about 5-10 years ago. Now they are good until used or fail inspection.

 

[Fred B]

They removed the expiration date stuff from the standards about 5-10 years ago. Now they are good until used or fail inspection.

But what if there is one on the safety product itself, like the hardhat, would that then supersede the standards?

 

[paulengr]

But what if there is one on the safety product itself, like the hardhat, would that then supersede the standards?

That gets into a grey area. The expiration date is silly and was removed for that reason. Materials of construction should not decay over time. The dates were there to satisfy the standard. Hardware for instance could corrode in minutes under the right conditions.

But continuing to use an “outdated” harness gets into a grey area. It is certainly possible that there is some sort of age related issue that we are not aware of. So replace it with a newer no-expiration harness.

The biggest issue I see with harnesses is they need to be properly adjusted, the rigging needs to be set up properly, and the tie off point needs to be adequate. Adequate is 5,000 lbs. per person. A lot of things don’t qualify, like electrical conduits, trays, trapeze, and so on. Second six foot shock lanyards expand to 12 feet in a fall. They are totally useless until you get high enough to use that extra six feet. The chest strap of it has one is required. And if the leg straps aren’t snug (not dangling between your legs) it doesn’t work properly.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk