CREJ - Property Management Quarterly - April 2016
Bob Johnson is a heating, ventilating and air-conditioning professional who loves his job. He’s been in the business for 35 years and, at this point, - he’s an old pro. On one Tuesday morning in September, Bob was right where you were most likely to find him – on the job site. But this Tuesday morning was different. Bob was working on a particularly tricky job on the side of a large HVAC unit that needed to be finished yesterday in order to meet his deadline. Maybe it was because of the sense of urgency, but a gust of wind that he would have been prepared for any other day caught him completely off guard. Before he knew it, Bob had fallen over the side of his work area and was staring down the barrel of a 40-foot drop. If the fictional Bob Johnson hadn’t been using a horizontal lifeline, his story would have ended in a very different way. Luckily, he was and because of it he had a fun (albeit scary) story to tell. This is one of the many examples of the important role that suspended access systems used for façade access play in the lives of people all over the world on a daily basis. By making sure you understand more about the types of suspended-access systems that are available, what each is designed to do and the responsibilities of those who use them, you can help make sure that you’re creating the safest possible working environment for your employees at all times. RDS, SS and HLLs Though rope descent systems, suspended scaffolding systems and horizontal lifelines are all based on the same underlying principal, they are different in execution and each serves its own unique purpose. A rope descent system often is used for cleaning windows with the aid of a chair, for example. This would help a situation where one person needs to reach a difficult-to-access area safely while performing an important job at the same time. A suspended scaffold is designed to hold multiple people. These usually are used for window washing, exterior caulking, painting projects and window replacement projects. Suspended scaffolds typically are found in places like high-rises and skyscrapers for this reason – they make it easier (and safer) for multiple people to accomplish a job that would take too long for one person to do. Fall protection systems like horizontal lifelines, on the other hand, are not designed for suspension at all. Instead, their goal is to protect someone in case they should fall off the side of a building or off of any other work area. If someone is working on a large HVAC with a drop of 4 feet or more, for example, using a rope decent system wouldn’t make any sense – it would make his job more difficult to accomplish. A horizontal lifeline, though, lets him get in and get out as safely and as efficiently as possible. The Importance of Certification Many people understand that rope access inspections and certifications are important, but aren’t necessarily sure why. If you know beyond the shadow of a doubt that something works the way it’s supposed to, why bother with certification? The answer is quite simple. Certification of this type adds liability protection to the building owner in the event that something goes wrong. When a professional engineer enters a workspace and certifies suspended access and fall protection equipment, he is protecting that property owner in case something should unexpectedly fail. Certification isn’t just about making sure fall protection equipment is functioning – remember that accidents still can happen in the safest of environments. It’s for situations where if something goes wrong, you have the most actionable information possible to figure out why. OSHA and Visual Inspections Based on the described use situations for suspended access systems and other types of fall protection equipment, it’s easy to see why Occupational Safety and Health Administration takes annual visual inspections seriously. In accordance with OSHA requirements and industry standards IWCA I.14.1-2001, ASME A120.1-2014 and ANSI Z359, visual inspections must be conducted annually in order to remain compliant. These inspections often include things like checking for corrosion and loose bolts, along with nondestructive inspections like liquid penetrant testing, ultrasonic testing and others. Additional testing needs to be done every five or 10 years, depending on the type of suspended access system and its age and condition. This may seem strict, but remember that it’s done with the most important goal of all in mind: to provide the safest possible equipment for the end user 100 percent of the time. If you’re talking about an older building with original equipment, the requirements in this regard change slightly. In many of these situations, certain repairs or modifications may be needed or additional anchorage may need to be installed, in order to stay up-to-date and compliant. Engineering firms specializing in façade access equipment can be a benefit in this regard, as their engineers, technicians and inspectors can give you a complete guide to where you stand and what needs to be done in order to satisfy OSHA and all other industry standards.