Ray, looking at my tower climbing class reference materials I also can find no reference that to be OSHA approved, equipment *must* be ANSI, all I see is "suggested." But the tensile strength and full-body harness requirements are in OSHA. William, harnesses with both front and rear D-rings are available.
Dan Fink Buckville Energy IREC Certified Instructor™ for: ~ PV Installation Professional ~ Small Wind Installer NABCEP / IREC / ISPQ Accredited Continuing Education Providers™ 970.672.4342 On Sat, Jan 17, 2015 at 12:00 PM, Ray Walters <r...@solarray.com> wrote: > I prefer climbing gear as its much lighter weight and doesn't drag you > around. I actually think in some cases that traditional fall protection > gear can be more of a tripping hazard than the safety it provides. > However, I was previously under the impression that if OSHA (or in the > islands: HIOSH) came around, we had to ditch the climbing gear and get into > the 3 times as heavy regular harnesses. > I just looked at the OSHA website though, and it doesn't seem to specify > certification, just that the equipment meet the fall criteria as Dan > mentioned. > https://www.osha.gov/Region7/fallprotection/fall_protection_info.html > This doesn't mention test procedures or certification of equipment. > Here's more from the actual OSHA 1926 book: > > *1926.502(e)(3)* > > Connectors shall be drop forged, pressed or formed steel, or made of > equivalent materials. > > *1926.502(e)(4)* > > Connectors shall have a corrosion-resistant finish, and all surfaces and > edges shall be smooth to prevent damage to interfacing parts of this system. > > *1926.502(e)(5)* > > Connecting assemblies shall have a minimum tensile strength of 5,000 > pounds (22.2 kN) > > *1926.502(e)(6)* > > Dee-rings and snaphooks shall be proof-tested to a minimum tensile load of > 3,600 pounds (16 kN) without cracking, breaking, or taking permanent > deformation. > > "Equivalent materials" ? Seems that an aluminum caribiner that meets > the other criteria would be equivalent. > > Here, Petzl also makes a full line of worker safety equipment: > http://www.petzl.com/en/Professional/Verticality?l=US#.VLqw4nuLXfc > > This is really interesting, and I would like to have a more definitive > answer from OSHA. It would be great if we could use lighter weight > climbing gear; just compare a caribiner to the heavy steel monsters you get > at Grainger's. As long as it is strong enough: > Lighter weight = less fatigue= safer, IMHO. > As with so many discussions on this list, it will ultimately depend on > your local authorities. > > R.Ray Walters > CTO, Solarray, Inc > Nabcep Certified PV Installer, > Licensed Master Electrician > Solar Design Engineer303 505-8760 > > On 1/16/2015 11:20 PM, Benn Kilburn wrote: > > James, > This looks like a pretty nice lanyard w/ shock-absorber, rope-grab and rope. > > What type/style harness did he bring along? > > Re: OSHA approved...great question. Prior to looking into it further I'd > suspect it falls in a "grey area". > > Benn Kilburn > SkyFire Energy Inc. 780-906-7807 > > On Jan 16, 2015, at 9:29 AM, James Rudolph <jamesrudolp...@gmail.com> > <jamesrudolp...@gmail.com> wrote: > > Aloha my Wrench Brothers! > We have a recent defector from a very large National Solar company here that > brought in this great Fall gear (see attachment). To be honest it blew my > mind how simple and light it was....Is anybody else using this rock climbing > equipment as fall protection gear? Is this approved by OSHA. > > You would figure if humans just free climbed El Capitain with gear like this > it would do just fine keeping me safe and compliant at 6 feet and above. > > The rope grab is made by KONG. > > > Mahalo in advance! > > James Rudolph > Haleakala Solar > > <20150114_074111.jpeg> > _______________________________________________ > List sponsored by Redwood Alliance > > List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org > > Change listserver email address & > settings:http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > List-Archive: > http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html > > List rules & etiquette:www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm > > Check out or update participant bios:www.members.re-wrenches.org > > _______________________________________________ > List sponsored by Redwood Alliance > > List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org > > Change listserver email address & > settings:http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > List-Archive: > http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html > > List rules & etiquette:www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm > > Check out or update participant bios:www.members.re-wrenches.org > > > > _______________________________________________ > List sponsored by Redwood Alliance > > List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org > > Change listserver email address & settings: > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > List-Archive: > http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html > > List rules & etiquette: > www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm > > Check out or update participant bios: > www.members.re-wrenches.org > > >
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