IN THE FIELD By Kris McLean
Benefits of Elevated Lifelines High Plains Steel Services introduces custom system for enhanced ironworker safety
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few months ago, here at High Plains Steel Services out of Windsor, Colorado, we finished testing our new Elevated Lifeline System that was designed and manufactured in-house. While Elevated Lifelines are not yet specified in contract documents, OSHA rules, contractor rules, and the company’s emphasis on safety, made the use of an Elevated Lifeline necessary. Some of the benefits of using any Elevated Lifeline are reducing total fall distances, providing easier rescue for workers, and lessening force experienced by workers during an arresting event. It’s also useful in non-emergency situations, including providing access to more of the steel structure and allowing workers to increase their efficiency by moving quickly on steel structures while remaining safe. Kris McLean is the President of High Plains Steel Services
While similar Elevated Lifelines are available on the market, we decided to custom make our own for numerous reasons. One being that as a steel erector and fabricator, we were able to fabricate the elevated lifeline posts for a fraction of the cost as well as design them into the fabrication of the steel. Countless hours were invested into designing and perfecting the Elevated Lifeline. Our team and Operations Managers for both our Fabrication and Erection Divisions worked with our structural engineer and safety consultant to develop an economical, light-weight system that is flexible enough to work on all structural projects while remaining light and easy to build. High Plains has always had an emphasis on safety first, and the new Elevated Lifeline makes us more confident in our safety performance. Lives are at stake, and there is no room for compromise when it comes to quality.
18 | THE STEEL ERECTORS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA
Benefits of Elevated Lifelines are reducing total fall distances, providing easier rescue for workers, lessening force on workers in a fall, and for use in non-emergencies.
Custom design for ease of use Elevated Lifelines on the market are universally adaptable to attach to any beam, which means they have adjustable anchoring devices that significantly add to their weight. This also means they can be placed anywhere, leaving more room for error, and giving iron workers the freedom to stray from the safety plan. During preconstruction, our Operations Manager, along with Trivent Safety Consulting, provided a life safety plan to our project managers and detailers so holes can be added during the fabrication process for the bolted connection of the Elevated Lifeline posts. Our fabrication team pre-drilled holes in the beams to attach the lifeline and specially fabricated it to bolt to our beams in the field, which is one of the key features