Category: Engineering

This article is posted with permission from Occupational Health & Safety. Click here to read this article as it appeared in the April 2009 issue of Occupational Health & Safety. By W. David Lough Compatible connections. No, we’re not talking about dating and whether a love match will crumble or bloom. We’re concerned with fall…

This article is posted with permission from Windpower Engineering. Click here to read this article as it appeared in the May 2010 issue of Windpower Engineering. All fall-arrest equipment must meet some sort of standard and pass sometests so equipment manufacturers can ensure end users and employers that the equipment will perform to specifications. These…

This article is posted with permission from North American WINDPOWER. There are significant benefits to understanding fall protection and rescue systems as a whole and designing, planning and purchasing accordingly. Over the last few years, several thousand miles, four different countries and more ladders and lifts than one cares to mention, new themes in fall…

One of the questions most frequently asked is, “What kind of training do I need to be a Competent Person in regard to fall protection?” Although it seems like a straightforward question, the answer can be a little tricky. Many people believe the singular requirement to achieve Competent Person status is completion of a fall…

Building or maintaining a wind farm can be a tall order, especially when crew members need to scale soaring turbines. When working on a wind project, preparations should be made in the event a rescue situation occurs. A single rescue system cannot efficiently handle every scenario an authorized rescuer may encounter in the wind energy…

The accuracy and repeatability of test results for fall protection equipment has always been in question.  Fundamental problems such as liberties taken with interpretations of standards, limited conformity of testing apparatus between laboratories, unknown testing uncertainties, technicians that do not understand the equipment and the spirit of the standard, non-calibrated measuring equipment, etc., have led…

This article is posted with permission from the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE), publisher of Professional Safety. For years, it has been a buyer beware mentality for SH&E professionals responsible for procurement of workplace fall protection equipment. The acquisition of equipment that does not meet the standards implied by the manufacturer is a real…