Dayton, OH — Communications tower employees: Always use lanyards with acceptable fall clearance – and by no means join the tools again to itself except that’s the best way the lanyard is designed.
Those are two of the highest takeaways of a brand new video from NATE: The Communication Infrastructure Tower Contractors Association.
The video gives an overview of how NATE’s Safety Equipment Manufacturers Committee works with the University of Dayton’s Structures and Materials Assessment, Research, and Test (SMART) Laboratory to check tools – below real-world circumstances – that meet the requirements of the American National Standards Institute.
Recent testing examined the impression of long-distance falls involving the use of issue 1 lanyards, by which fall safety is tied off to an anchorage level above the top, and issue 2 lanyards, by which the anchorage level is at foot degree.
John Lamond, vp of gross sales at GME Supply Co., says within the video that issue 1 lanyards are designed to restrict the space of potential falls, whereas the foot-level tie-offs in issue 2 lanyards might enhance the fall distance.
Workers ought to by no means join with an element 1 lanyard when an element 2 lanyard is critical, NATE says.
“We wanted to make sure we replicated how they’re using them in the field, what situations are most dangerous and what they may not know impacts them as they’re using a specific lanyard as they work,” Lamond stated.
In the video, Sheri O’Dell-Deuer, vp at Deuer Developments, says the SEMC checks lanyards after testing to make sure the carabiner and gate nonetheless work correctly, and that the stitching stays intact. The committee additionally determines whether or not the shock pack has been deployed.
The video is the latest installment in NATE’s Climber Connection sequence, which promotes secure work practices for communication tower employees.
