How Lifeline Systems Support Fall Protection Training at Height
Lifeline systems help protect workers and apprentices performing work at height by providing a secure connection to fall protection equipment. In training environments, these systems can give new workers hands-on experience with the fall protection practices they may encounter on the job site.
In this video, the Pittsburgh Local Steamfitters Union discusses its apprenticeship training tower and the need to add engineered lifeline systems to the facility. The tower was designed to help apprentices learn rigging and perform trade-related tasks at height, but it initially did not include a lifeline system.
Working with Mazzella, the training center installed a track system on a simulated pipe rack, catwalk, and ladder system. The installation gives apprentices 100% tie-off while allowing them to walk, work hands-free, and train with fall protection technology in a controlled setting.
What You’ll Learn:
- Why training towers and elevated work areas need appropriate fall protection
- How lifeline systems can support hands-on fall protection training
- The role of a track system in providing 100% tie-off
- How apprentices can work hands-free while remaining connected to the system
- Why training centers may use industry leading fall protection technology
- How an engineered fall protection solution can be evaluated, designed, and installed
Who This Is For:
- Apprenticeship programs and trade-training centers
- EHS and safety professionals
- Training directors and safety trainers
- Facility and operations managers
- Contractors responsible for protecting employees who work at height
- Organizations evaluating lifeline systems for elevated work areas
Need Help With Lifeline Systems?
- Contact Mazzella’s Fall Protection Division for help evaluating fall hazards and identifying engineered lifeline systems for your training facility, job site, or elevated work application.
Transcript
Training Tower Fall Protection Needs
They erected a training tower so that their apprenticeship students would be able to learn their rigging and learn their trade at heights, just like they would in the field. However, that brand-new training tower that they erected and built had no lifeline systems.
Dale Glavin and Brad Tisdale reached out and said, “Hey, we’ve got a tower that doesn’t have lifelines on it.” I said, “We actually can incorporate that. We have a division led by Kevin Muldoon that includes permanent lifeline systems, temporary lifeline systems, and they’re all engineered.”
Hands-On Training and Fall Prevention
Our goal is to replicate some of the job experiences and safety issues that our students are going to come in contact with out in the field when they go work for a contractor.
So, fall protection is one of the safety issues that we have to drive home with our new apprentices. They will encounter this the first day that they come onto the job site.
That being said, we looked for some of the industry-leading components and systems that are available to protect our members as they work at these elevated platforms.
So, we built a simulated pipe rack with a catwalk and ladder system and talked to the salesman, to Wayne at Mazzella.
They came in and gave us a proposal to put in the track system that we are currently using.
It will provide our students with 100% tie-off, with the freedom of walking and working hands-free while being 100% secure on that system.
We felt that here at the training center, we need to have that leading technology in this building.
We need to lead our contractors and other end users to come into this building and see this system.
Evaluating the Installation Process
Through our investigation and working with Mazzella, with working with Wayne, we found a great communication network and conduit.
Wayne was easy to work with, was always there to answer our questions, and was always there to lend support.
It was a pleasure dealing with the Mazzella team. I mean, we communicated through phone, through email. They came to the site, we showed them what we were dealing with, and we talked about our concerns.
They brought in industry experts and figured out a solution. They put it all together at a good price, and it was installed, ready to go, turnkey. You can’t ask for anything more.
I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Mazzella for any task, you know, industrial, commercial, any of those areas.
I’m honest, I’m confident that they would come up with a solution that’s viable to protect the workers, not only our workers, but anybody’s workers, because fall protection is a big deal.
FREE Downloads!
- Hierarchy of Fall Protection [Infographic]
- Top 10 Safety Tips for Working at Height [Infographic]
- Job Safety Analysis & Working at Height Risk Assessment [Bundle]
- Fall Safety 101 Infographic [Poster]
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Learn More! Articles & Videos
- Why Should You Prioritize Fall Protection for Your Workers?
- How to Inspect a Fall Protection Harness
- Top 10 Fall Protection Safety Tips for Working at Height
- Suspension Trauma in Fall Protection: What Safety Managers Must Know
- What is a Lifeline Fall Protection System? Different Types & OSHA Standards
- Rooftop Lifeline Fall Protection Systems for Workers at Height
Contact Mazzella
- Schedule Remote or In-Person Training
- Contact Mazzella’s Fall Protection Division
In this video
- 0:06 Training Tower Fall Protection Needs
- 0:43 Hands-On Training and Fall Prevention
- 2:06 Evaluating the Installation Process
Disclaimer:
Any advice, graphics, images, and/or information contained herein are presented for general educational and information purposes and to increase overall safety awareness. It is not intended to be legal, medical, or other expert advice or services, and should not be used in place of consultation with appropriate industry professionals. The information herein should not be considered exhaustive and the user should seek the advice of appropriate professionals.