Portable fall protection

Uh-oh,we got a renegade here, time to let him go and put refusal to load a safe, legal load and truck abandonment on his record.

 

Where did that come from? Yeah, I'm going to "abandon" my own (paid for) truck and trailer over an unsafe condition ... you have a very vivid imagination. Refusal to tarp over a safety concern is not a refusal to load or in any way imaginable an abandonment.

Someone taking action and being responsible for their own protection is a renegade? Yeah, probably true since the majority do what they are told even when they know it is unsafe or illegal.

 

I’ve heard people in offices talk that way,
That’s why I do my own thing.

 

We were taught 30 minutes in the oilfield, before you either needed rescue, or needed one of those harnesses with the stirrups so you could stand up in the harness.

 

My policy.

 

I don' t have tarps on the truck, have not tarped in years, and I pull a flatbed. Shipper should tarp.

 

Force multiplication. Even with a correct setup, minimal free-fall distance and a shock absorbing lanyard you could experience a force of about 1,800 lbs on your body.

Before you suit up, be aware that there needs to be a rescue plan because after about 15 minutes of hanging in a harness you have a major risk of blood clots forming. Though I have never fallen, I have hung in a harness for 1 minute as part of training. It sucked and that was with no fall-related trauma either. I couldn't imagine hanging there for 15 minutes after being walloped with 1,800 lbs.

FYI the anchor points must be engineered and capable of withstanding a load of 5,000 lbs.

You definitely want to have a decent harness that fits properly. If you aren't wearing it right and you fall, you can almost certainly say goodbye to "the boys"

Basically what I'm saying is don't #### around with janky homemade garbage. It ain't worth trusting your life to IMO.

 

A shipper can drape a load with an 8 ' tarp using a crane, or some have the apperatus you are talking about. A few have the crane under a pole barn. Hook the tarp and pull it over. A few places have 0 tolerance for going on the deck. They see you on the deck , and you are out.