Excerpt from the OH&S Canada magazine
A window washer cleaning a Toronto building was saved by his fall arrest system after an equipment malfunction caused him to drop almost 20 storeys.
At approximately 2:45 pm on April 2, 2010, an employee of Premium Window Cleaning Ltd. was on the roof of a 33-storey building, preparing to use a bosun’s chair to descend the side of the building, says Bruce Skeaff, a spokesperson for Ontario’s Ministry of Labour (MOL). At that point, the seat connected to a suspended line somehow unhooked from the rope and fell.
“The worker was left hanging from the ledge and lost grip with his hands and went into a freefall to the 15th floor,” Skeaff reports. “That’s when the fall arrest system kicked in and the rope-grab locked,” he says. The worker received treatment in a local hospital for rope burns to his hands.
Premium Window Cleaning was issued a stop-work order for not having in place a written emergency rescue procedure related to the fall arrest system, says Skeaff.
While the worker escaped serious harm, falls from elevations represent a significant hazard. Information from the MOL website notes that falls are the cause of a quarter of all work-related fatalities in the province.
Devices such as bosun’s chairs should not be mistaken for fall protection, cautions Andrew Sulowski, president of Sulowski Fall Protection, a Toronto-based consulting firm. “[These] are called work-positioning systems,” Sulowski says, explaining that while they enable window washers to do their job, they do not provide adequate protection from potentially fatal falls.
“The law requires that in addition to the work-positioning system, the window washer is equipped with a fall arrest system, which, in this simple case, will consist of another rope attached to the roof [at] a different anchor point,” he says. “That rope will usually have the fall arrester, and between the fall arrester and the harness there will be a lanyard, which is either energy-absorbing or not.”
Although Sulowski recommends that qualified inspectors regularly monitor the equipment being used in fall protection, he adds that a worker should also conduct a before-use inspection on his fall arrest system.
Stakeholders must be aware of the dangers associated with being suspended from a harness for too long. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in the United States cautions that orthostatic intolerance, or suspension trauma, may be experienced by those using fall arrest systems.
Orthostatic intolerance is caused by blood pooling in the veins when an individual is in a sedentary position. It can result in symptoms such as light-headedness, palpitations, fatigue, nausea, headache and fainting.
If prompt rescue is not possible, OSHA notes workers wearing fall arrest gear should be trained to pump their legs to activate muscles, and use of footholds can alleviate pressure.
My opinion,
This report shows the need for Fall Protection training in the workplace. There has to be training for all employees including the expert training for harnesses and lanyards as well as the appropriate use of lifelines both horizontal and vertical.
The only real danger to the employee was the burns from the ropes. The worker can also improve his/her chance for survival by attaching stirrups to the harness assembly. This will allow the worker to add precious minutes to the rescue by taking the stress off the legs, which could have choked off the blood supply if the harness is worn too high.
Ackland-Grainger is a great supplier of health and safety equipment. They have a huge catalog that can be picked up almost any time. Please ensure your company has a copy for their review.
Remember – In Ontario, “ALL Accidents are Preventable”
‘Work’ and ‘Play’ safe.
Daniel L. Beal
CHSEP – Foundation Level
VP & Senior Trainer
HRSGroup Inc.
Nicely done!
I wanted to thank you for all the great information you are providing.
I will return.
Good for you.
Awesome!
I wanted this all along.
One of your best!
Reading posts like this make surfing such a pleasure!
Great article!
Well done!
Great article!
More of the same, please.
World class!
Excellent!
Many thanks!
I wanted to thank you for all the great information you are providing.
I cannot wait to read more.
Many thanks!
You are the best!
You have the gift!
I believe you!
You are very good!
Yes, you are great!
More of the same, please.
You are the best!
In my opinion, it is the best site for health and safety.
You have a gift!
I wanted to thank you for all the great information you are providing.
I wonder what comes next?
Thank you for sharing!
I wanted to thank you for all the great information you are providing.
Thank you so much for all of this!
This has my full attention!
Good for you!
World class!
I really needed to read this!
You certainly know what you are doing.
I wanted to thank you for all the great information you are providing.
Many thanks!
You are world class!
Many thanks!
This is one of your best!
Thank you for another informative blog.
You have an amazing gift!
You are truly amazing!
I wanted to thank you for all the great information you are providing.
This is an excellent compilation of facts!
Excellent!
You are one of the best!
This is amazing!
You can still write great articles!
I wanted to thank you for all the great information.
Your post has moved the debate forward. Thanks for sharing!
I wanted to thank you for all the great information you are providing.
I like your writing very much!
Thanks for the share!
Good articles!
Thank you for the sharing!
Good for you!
Thanks for the share!
Thank you for the share!
Thank you for the share!
Thank you for the share!
Hello Web Admin, I noticed that your On-Page SEO is is missing a few factors.
You have a gift!
Many thanks!
Thanks for taking your time to write this.
There is definitely a great deal to learn about this subject.
World class!
Great article!
More of the same!
I wanted to thank you for all the great information you are providing!
This is one of your best!
I wanted to thank you for all the great information you are providing!
I love it!
You are the best!
I wanted this all along!
Well done!
Awesome material!
Many thanks!
Yes, you have a point!
Please keep me posted!
I will follow you!
I wish to see more!
Good article!
I will return soon!
Good article!
Many thanks!
I wanted to thank you for all the great information you are providing!
Very well done!
I really needed this!
Excellent!
I found something fantastic!
I will follow you!
I cannot wait to read more!
You keep me happy!
So many fine stories!
I love this site!
I wanted this all along!
Good article!
Good article!
I can’t wait to read more!
So far so good!
Keep up the good work!
I wanted this all along!
I wanted to thank you for all the great information you are providing!
You are the best!
This is really good!
Many thanks!
More of the same!
World class!
I will follow you!
I love this site!
You are the best!
I cannot wait to read more!
I really love this site!
I will follow you!
I love this site!
You are the best!
More of the same!
Please keep me posted!
So far so good!
More of the same!
You are the best!
More of the same!
I really needed this!
I will follow you!
I wanted to thank you for all the great information you are providing!
Good luck!
Please keep me posted!
You are the best!
I wanted to thank you all the great information you are providing!
We came across a cool web site.