improving the quality of life
Last month, a high school classmate of mine, and his co-worker, were involved in a fatally tragic, yet totally preventable, accident in a grain elevator—among other hazards, a confined space. I’ve spent my whole life working and doing my part to make sure that family, friends and coworkers are educated about the hazards involved with […]
As you may have heard, 3M has issued a stop use and recall of its DBI-SALA® Twin-Leg Nano-Lok™ edge and the Twin-Leg Nano-Lok™ Wrap Back Self-Retracting Lifelines—likely the most significant recall in the history of fall protection in terms of units, cost to the manufacturer and users’ business disruption. As part of a personal fall […]
As many in the fall protection industry expected, OSHA has published a letter of interpretation (LOI) in response to a question about testing anchorages for rope descent systems (RDS). You can read it for yourself here, but when you do, I caution you to be attentive to the details. You’re probably familiar with those optical […]
LJB project manager Tracey Riepenhoff, P.E., C.S.P., PMP, has led and performed hundreds of fall hazard risk assessments and abatement design projects for LJB clients. It’s meaningful work that Tracey never takes lightly—knowing that her expertise may be the difference between someone safely working at heights and someone suffering a catastrophic fall. But, for Tracey, […]
One of LJB’s secrets to longevity is our ability to evolve. As we stride into 2019, our 53rd year, our evolution continues. In 2018, we opened new offices and expanded existing ones, we celebrated collective and individual accomplishments, we networked and educated at events around the globe, and we had some fun. Most of all, […]
To conclude this blog series, we want to provide a specific recommendation for how to not only comply with OSHA’s regulations, but also increase safety and manage risk for your organization. Simply put: You cannot comply with one line of the OSHA regulation and think your systems are safe. Consider this: When you prepare to […]
As explained in the previous blog posts in this series, the evaluation of rope descent anchorages can be incredibly complex—and potentially very damaging. However, that doesn’t change the fact that OSHA still requires building owners to provide the assurance that their anchorages are fit for use. When deciding how to move forward, it is critical […]
As mentioned in the previous blog post in this series, load testing without analysis is not a reliable way to determine anchorage strength. To avoid damage and unnecessary expense, anchorage strength should be predicted using analytical methods. When workmanship cannot be verified visually, such as with adhesive anchors, then nondestructive testing may be appropriate. But relying […]
Because of the new OSHA regulation language on rope descent anchorages, which we covered in our last blog post, many facility owners are heavily investing in designing, installing, inspecting and testing anchorages. Too often, though, the resources spent do nothing more than provide a false sense of security—or worse, cause more harm than good. It is […]
What we should learn from the SRL recalls
The recent recalls of self-retracting lifelines (SRLs) by 3M and Honeywell have prompted some clients to ask, “Is the personal protective equipment industry struggling with quality issues?” While the back-to-back recalls are certainly disturbing, there is more to the story than a few PPE flaws. And, there is a lot more that you can do […]