Rigid Lifelines • 610-286-7200 • http://www.rigidlifelines.com
Reprinted from Grain Journal September/October 2013 Issue
“Everything begins and ends with an anchor,” said John Kemp, sales manager for Rigid Lifelines® of Morgantown, PA, a manufacturer of personal fall arrest systems. “Out of the entire fall protection system, the most difficult thing to design and install is the anchor.
“Every situation is unique and that’s why we manufacture a large variety of fall protection systems to meet the needs of our customers. All systems are in accordance with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Fall Protection Code. We can adapt to virtually any application environment in any industrial sector, including the grain business and we have systems for railcars, hoppers, tankers, flatbeds, ladders, and almost any type of roof or grain silo,” said Kemp, who has 19 years of experience in the fall protection business.
“Though I’m not a doctor, I’m in the business of saving lives,” said Kemp. “In my travels around the country, I see the safety problems that exist and the hazards they pose for workers.”
Early History
Rigid Lifelines (800-869-2080/www.rigidlifelines) was born in 1996, when the engineering department of parent company Spanco, Inc. began extensive testing of a new, rigid-track fall arrest system of its own design. After thorough trials, the first system was sold to a major big-box toy retailer for racking applications.
Sales grew quickly for Spanco and innovative product designs and installations increased, until 2008 when the entire line of fall protection equipment was branded as Rigid Lifelines.
Rigid provides a variety of engineered track systems, rooftop systems and guardrails, full body harnesses, self-retracting lanyards, accessories, and training for any situation where a worker is exposed to the minimum height of four feet required for fall protection. Kemp encourages potential customers to fill out the Elevated Worksite Analysis worksheet found in the online catalog to get a better feel for their needs.
The company has a big footprint in the world of industrial safety. Rigid Lifelines has taken height safety to a new level, literally. Their team designed both vertical and horizontal fall protection systems for One World Trade Center in New York City, NY. Those systems are comprised of vertical and horizontal sections of track, totaling 1,975 feet of coverage.
Rigid Lifelines caters exclusively to fall protection and fall arrest customers. The company’s 95,000-square-foot headquarters is located on the edge of Pennsylvania’s Amish country in Morgantown, PA, and there is a second manufacturing facility in Las Vegas, NV.
Fall Protection Systems
Kemp said, “We provide 100% fall protection from the ground up, as do our competitors. But, we incorporate track for overhead systems, whereas others normally utilize wire cable in their design. Workers are tempted to disconnect from systems that do not provide seamless vertical and horizontal mobility to complete their job tasks. A horizontal track system that employs a self-retracting lanyard as its vertical lifeline helps reduce the need or desire to disconnect.”
According to Kemp, with many cable systems, there is a certain amount of dynamic sag and bounce that system designers normally do not take into consideration. In a fall event, there may be a second force on the worker’s harness and body when he or she bounces. Kemp says that track systems, do not allow for bounce or sag. c
Marketing Manager Mike Evanko said, “Since 1996, first as Spanco and now as Rigid Lifelines, we have been designing and building some of the most innovative and highest-performing fall arrest and fall restraint systems available anywhere. Supervisors tell us that worker compliance is higher because our work-at-height systems are simpler to use and allow more freedom of movement. Safety officers watch our fall protection videos and immediately recognize the risk reduction provided by our systems.”
According to Evanko, the company is well-funded, research-driven, and owned by a family of entrepreneurs who aim to be best-in-class in fall protection equipment. They have invested in precise manufacturing and quality assurance systems, professional and certified engineers, a full-time R&D staff, and continuous worker training.
To date, there are over 2,000 Rigid Lifelines installations, and Evanko claims there has not been a single reported system failure, and all systems meet or exceed current OSHA requirements and ANSI Z359 Fall Protection Code.
Hot Products for the Grain Industry
The Griffin™ portable fall protection system has been popular in the grain handling business and provides flexibility and ease of use.
According to Kemp, two workers can assemble the structure completely in less than a day without any welding and conform it to their situation whether it be rail, hopper, or truck access. It can be moved with a pickup truck or other small towing device.
Rigid Lifelines also offers a wide range of permanent systems for railcar, hopper, and flatbed access, some of which only require a foundation every 100 feet.
Confined Space Rescue Devices
Though Rigid Lifelines sells more engineered track systems to the grain industry, Kemp claims, “Confined spaces may be the trickiest, most specialized form of fall protection to design and install, because confined spaces are so unique and pose a variety of one-of-a-kind hazards for the people working in them. Often, there is no suitable place to put an anchor.”
He says that there are three essential fall protection elements for safety in a confined space, especially like a grain elevator where a worker can be engulfed in grain.
• First: a lifeline that will allow the worker to do the entire job without having to unattach.
• Second: an additional bidirectional recovery winching device that protects from engulfment and can be operated mechanically by a second worker in the event of a fall, even if the first worker is unconscious.
• Third: a trained and secured attendant worker who can operate the bidirectional winch.
Kemp said that in silos, a better option is an enclosed horizontal rigid track fall protection system, which Rigid Lifelines designs and manufactures. He said that track systems perform better in cold-weather climates and dirty applications than traditional I-beam systems that utilize an exposed rolling trolley that moves on the beam’s exposed lower flange. In cold climates, those systems are rendered useless due to snow and ice accumulation on the exposed lower flange. The trolley cannot move well through severe ice and snow.
He added that even in warm weather climates or indoor applications, I-beam system performance is poor due to a buildup of dirt, dust, and animal droppings. Grain applications can be especially problematic due to deposits from flocks of birds building nests on the beam flange.
Kemp said, “The old fashioned I-beam systems required more energy to start and stop the heavy trolley, making movement cumbersome for the worker. The I-Beam is heavier than enclosed track and demands more support trusses and support steel. This added support increases the weight of the overall system, creating a necessity for larger and more expensive foundations. These systems use unnecessary steel that doesn’t add strength to the system, just weight and cost.”
He added that I-beam trolleys are bolted together, and as a result, can be assembled improperly, too loosely, or with the fasteners not torqued properly. This can translate into a catastrophic failure of the trolley during a fall event.
Enclosed track systems have the trolley fully enclosed and trapped inside the track profile. This means the potential for a catastrophic failure due to loose trolley parts or improper trolley assembly is eliminated completely. Also, the enclosed track design is made of high strength, lightweight steel, resulting in lower hanger load and less stress on support structures and foundations – ultimately leading to lower overall construction expense.
