Engineered Lifelines vs. Pre-Engineered: What’s the Difference?

What Will You Learn About Engineered vs. Pre-Engineered Lifelines?

— Engineered lifeline systems versus pre-engineered lifeline systems. What’s the difference? Can you buy something out of the box, or do you need something completely custom? How can you figure out which is the best option for you?

By the end of this video, you’ll understand the differences as well as which will work best for you. My name is Ben and this is the Lifting and Rigging Channel. Today I’m joined by Mazzella Fall Protection Division Manager, Hillari Frost, and she is going to help us understand the difference between an engineered and a pre-engineered fall protection system.

Hillari, in simple terms, what’s the difference between an engineered system and a pre-engineered system?

Difference Between Engineered and Pre-Engineered Lifelines?

— Sure. An engineered system is completely custom and it’s customized to your site, your application, your conditions. For a pre-engineered system, they’re more of a plug and play system and they come in specific spans with specific components and they can be installed by a regular service technician.

— Would you say that a simple way to differentiate an engineered system and a pre-engineered system would be like custom built versus store bought?

— That’s exactly what the difference is between the two.

Are Horizontal Lifelines and Rail Systems Pre-Engineered?

— Where do horizontal lifelines and rail systems, where do they fall into pre-engineered versus engineered?

— They can be both. Typically, you’ll see horizontal lifelines tend to move more towards the engineered side. It gets a little bit more convoluted when you start looking into a rail system.

So they are pre-engineered at the factory. However, if you need to meet a specific specification in your facility, then you would bring in an engineer to look at your facility, determine the system that would be needed, and then work with that manufacturer to see if you can re-engineer that system.

When Do You Need Custom Engineered Lifelines?

— [Ben] What are some top factors that are gonna help determine if you need a custom engineered system?

— Sure. Number one would be your span. We have a facility that we put a lifeline into that’s 15,000 feet and that requires a ton of engineering. If you need more users than are typically okay on that system for a pre-engineered system, then you would need to go back to the manufacturer and they would determine if it can be re-engineered to accommodate additional workers.

If you’re in a unique layout, so say you need a horizontal lifeline that spans a square radius, you now have angles that you have to go around. So especially if you don’t wanna have to unhook and rehook once you hit a dead end. So all of those factors would push you more towards engineered versus pre-engineered.

— So to be clear, a pre-engineered system can be used in an engineered environment. It’s just going to take an engineer to actually

— Correct

— engineer that system.

— Right. So every component for fall protection is engineered and rated for fall protection. Common misconception, you cannot use rigging items for fall protection. Working load limit is not the same as downward force.

OSHA/ANSI Standards for Engineered and Pre-Engineered Lifelines?

— Do OSHA and ANSI standards apply differently to pre-engineered versus engineered systems?

— A engineered system has to be designed by a qualified person. In some cases, we do require, and our manufacturers do require that we have a qualified person on site during that installation. So typically a PE, a professional engineer.

For a pre-engineered system, because of the system’s already been engineered, it just requires a competent person who’s there to complete that installation. Now there are some instances where the manufacturer also requires you to have gone through a certification program within their company, and then there’s others that if you have the ability to install and are certified to install an overhead crane, you’re a certified to install fall protection system.

What Is a Non-Engineered Lifeline?

— We talked about pre-engineered and engineered, but there’s actually another type of system, non-engineered. What is a non-engineered system?

— Yep, so those are typically homemade. Those are rat lines. When you see a piece of wire rope, you know, circled around one beam and then circled around another beam, those are considered homemade systems. Those are also considered 100% non-compliant. ‘Cause there’s no engineering involved in it, right?

So when you’re in a pre-engineered scenario, your manufacturer’s already done all the engineering on that system and the components within that system and that system’s inspection criteria has a direct correlation to the lowest rated component on that system.

Even if you do have an engineer on your staff, if they don’t have background in fall protection and they tell you, throw that piece of wire rope on this beam and then throw it up on this beam and you’re good to go, you will not be good to go. OSHA will come in and fine you or warn you.

— What are the dangers of using a non-engineered or homemade system?

— You have the OSHA fines that can come behind it. You have the risk of injury, you have the risk of fatality.

Difference Between Temporary and Permanent Lifelines?

— What about temporary systems? Is this a different category or is that also pre-engineered?

— Temporary systems typically fall into pre-engineered. They’re usually used in bridge work and road work and they’re not meant to be up for extended periods of time. They’re meant to be up and taken down when the project is completed and moved on, that system can be utilized over and over again, obviously with proper inspection.

— And do you need a competent person to install a temporary system as well?

— Anytime a system is being installed on a pre-engineered side, you have to have a competent person doing that installation.

— Let’s say it’s not being put up temporarily, it’s being put up long term, but someone only uses it every once in a while.

— Temporary versus permanent comes down to the design of the system. Is the system designed to be in a structure permanently or is it designed to be attached to a structure temporarily?

What Does a Proper Hazard Assessment Look Like?

— So if a company’s ready to figure out what is best for them, pre-engineered or engineered, what does a proper hazard assessment look like and how can they know they’re getting a good one from a reputable provider?

— One of our specialists are gonna come out to your site. We’re gonna walk that entire facility with you and we’re gonna listen. We don’t just want to hear from the person who’s purchasing the system or the safety manager, we’d really like to hear from the worker because nobody knows more about what they’re up against every day than the person who’s got his boots on the ground every day.

So once we really get a real assessment of what your hazard is, we’ll go back to our home base. We’ll get our entire team together, especially if it’s something a little bit more complex and we’ll try to determine what we believe the best solution is. From that, we typically will go back on site or we’ll set up a teams meeting. We’ll show you those solutions that we’ve come up with and we’ll start to have a conversation about what you believe the right fit for your facility is.

So we want to make sure that we’re giving you a solution that doesn’t slow your workers down, doesn’t slow your production down, but keeps your people safe. Once we’ve come to an agreement, we’ll quote that out for you and then we’ll have another Teams call or onsite meeting to really help you understand that application and how it can keep your workers safe.

Scheduling a Risk Assessment

— Now that you understand the difference between an engineered system versus one that is pre-engineered, you might still be wondering which is best for you. Schedule a working from height risk assessment and a fall protection expert can help determine which system is best for your specific needs. Mazzella is here to keep you compliant and more importantly, safe whenever you’re working from height.

Whether you need a custom engineered or pre-engineered system, a risk evaluation or a lifeline inspection, we’re here to help. If you found this video useful, informative, entertaining, or you just feel like being friendly, then hit that like button so we can get this information out to everyone who needs it. If you have a question, drop it in the comments so we can get you an answer. Remember, safe rigging is smart rigging. My name is Ben. Stay safe out there.