Rigging Newbie

[ruinexplorer]

While I can't find the exact information about keeping it hanging (other than my OSHA 10-hour training materials), here are some guidelines for keeping and maintaining your gear. OSHA and Miller

I'll look and see if I have my pdf for fall protection and send it your way.

EDIT: Here's another good document from the International Safety Equipment Association

 

[What Rigger?]

I really don't have a thing to add to this post, which is kind of a rarity for those here who know me . I would like to take a moment and say to everyone on this thread how stoked I am on the wealth of good information presented here.

But I will get a bit redundant: if you're an employee, then your employer provides the harness. And if you can score a Ropeworks harness, by all means do so.

Rope Access Services, Training and Equipment | Ropeworks

 

[Riggermortis]

I would like to take a moment and say to everyone on this thread how stoked I am on the wealth of good information presented here.

But I will get a bit redundant: if you're an employee, then your employer provides the harness. And if you can score a Ropeworks harness, by all means do so.

Rope Access Services, Training and Equipment | Ropeworks

I know right? It's like I asked for a couple bucks and got a freakin pot of gold instead! haha, thank you again to all who have contributed to this thread, I'm checkin out all your guys' suggestions and sites and it's really been a huge help. I really like this community here, so thanks to the owners/mods who run this as well.

Thanks for your input as well WhatRigger?, our company has some..eh..."financial" issues among other things right now, so at this point in time, asking them for a quality harness is not worth the hassle, even though it's probably their responsibility as a rigging company, I just decided to save time and frustration and just get my own. Like I mentioned above we have some "stock" harnesses we use in the warehouse, but it's about that time that they get replaced, and they provide a lovely "sandpaper-like" level of comfort The Petzl's/Yates/SALA and Ropeworks hug your body like a sweet woman's embrace, but I don't do rope access and all the bells and whistles they offer would do me no good currently. The Protecta I got was a great choice IMO...had comfort pads where I wanted them, good price, and solid, and fit well too. But if my company gets to a point where they can provide a quality harness, I'll definitely push for one of those and just keep this one as a spare. By the way, what type of rigging do you do WhatRigger?

Thanks Ruin for those links, discovered a lot of things I didn't know about Fall Arrest/Harnesses. Definitely helpful! I'll keep my harness hanging at home, but in transport or on the site, I don't have much of a place to hang it when it's not being used, which is why I was just curious if any part of the harness would be compromised if it was stored in a bag then..that's how our lead riggers store theirs anyways, but I'll do some more research on that myself too.

Really glad I found this forum and such great folks!

 

[mstaylor]

I cannot say enough good things about Mountain Productions' Annual Hoist School, in Wilkes-Barre, PA. I took the class a few years ago and learned a TON. The class is split into two main segments - a rigging portion and a chain hoist repair portion. The rigging portion was traditionally taught by Sapsis, but I know Eric Rouse from PSU taught it for at least one year in the recent past. The rigging portion is spread over 1.5 days and has a ton of information mostly dealing with the mathematics and forces behind rigging, as opposed to "here's how to properly orient a shackle" - although they cover that as well. It's a very challenging course, but there's plenty of time spent asking questions and applying knowledge to real-world rigging scenarios, and the best part is that you can get up and walk through Mountain's shop and put the stuff you've just learned into practical use. The chain hoist portion is also 1.5 days and has a rep from CM who teaches you how to maintain and repair CM chain hoists, and at the conclusion of the course, you take a written test and if you pass, you become a CM-Certified Chain Hoist Repair Technician (great resume credit, plus very useful). You also spend about half a day in seminars with Tomcat, Motion Labs, Rose Brand, Mountain themselves (they'll take you all around their facility and show you how they operate - they do some pretty incredible stuff down there), and I'm sure a few others I'm forgetting. The best part is that the fee includes EVERYTHING - hotel, transportation to and from the warehouse each day, food, plus evening activities. You also walk away literally weighed down with swag, in the form of a GIANT duffel that can't even zip closed because it's too stuffed with t-shirts and brochures and hats and bags and the like. The current early price is $850, which is a steal for all that you'll get out of it. I'd highly recommend it. Feel free to ask me any questions if you'd like to know more.

I would like to second Rochem's support of the Mountain School. I went several years ago and it was fun and very informative. I have sent others behind me.
As far as harnesses, I supply them if the employee desire but most uy their own. That way they know how it has been stored and used.

 

[Riggermortis]

Hey I actually had another quick question for you guys. I'm seeing a lot of these "Y"-lanyards with a double pelican hook connected to one lanyard, and when I purchased my harness, the guy said that mostly riggers that have to climb truss and the like would use those. They are also touted as a "100% tie-off". I may be completely wrong, but I thought that the shock-absorbing lanyard was only used in the event of a fall, not as a "positioning" lanyard? I know the lanyard is supposed to deploy at a certain exerted force, but can a constant tension be put on the lanyard for positioning? Or what exactly did he mean by that? By "tension" I mean leaning back against the lanyard or being suspended for a short time, etc.

 

[cmckeeman]

i use this for saftey, and this to position. and you are right the only time i want any tension on my shock absorber is if it has caught me from a fall, and what he meant by 100% tie off is that you can always have one leg connected so if you do fall there should never be a time when you wouldn't be caught, even when you have to go around an obstacle that your hooks can't slide over. does that answer your question or are you still confused?

 

[mstaylor]

When you climb truss one hooks the retractable device beside the ladder, the other to the horizontal cable. They are also useful when walking steel with horizontal lifelines. As you go from one cable to another you are always attached.

 

[Riggermortis]

Thanks to you both, you did clarify that for me! I understood the 100% tie-off concept, that makes complete sense, but I don't do enough of that to use that Y-lanyard, yet at least. But I was searching around and saw a picture (I believe on the Miller Safety site) where the worker appeared to be leaning against the Y-lanyard for work positioning on some sort of vertical steel grid, so I thought that was odd and got confused for a minute. My harness doesn't have the waist D-rings anyways though, only the dorsal ring.

 

[gafftaper]

I really don't have a thing to add to this post, which is kind of a rarity for those here who know me . I would like to take a moment and say to everyone on this thread how stoked I am on the wealth of good information presented here.

. It's the first Rigging thread in CB history that What Rigger? doesn't have anything to add and is quite possibly happy about.

You been drinking big guy?

 

[cmckeeman]

from my understanding you shouldn't use a lanyard on a retractable since they aren't designed for shock loads,

so i contacted yates about harness storage and they said that having the harness carefully folded is fine, but hanging it is just as good of an option.

also i would recommend getting a Y lanyard anyways since it will keep doors open for you with rigging that might be shut by not having proper gear for most jobs, whatever you can do with a single leg lanyard you can do with a twin but not the other way around.

 

[ruinexplorer]

A shock-absorbing lanyard is not to be combined with a Self Retracting Lifeline (SRL). This would create an unsafe system in the case of a fall. However, you can purchase a D-ring extender, which is essentially a short (non-shock absorbing) lanyard with a webbing loop on one side (to attach to the harness D-ring) and a solid D-ring on the other to attach to the life safety mechanism. Personally, I don't like to use them, but I know several people who do.

A positioning lanyard will not have any shock absorbing capability, like this one. Note, this is for fall prevention, not fall arrest. You could sustain serious injury if involved in a fall with this product alone. When in the area where a fall could occur, you must be connected to an approved fall arrest system which will include either a SRL or shock absorbing lanyard connected to an appropriate anchor point.

 

[mstaylor]

Sorry for erroneous information, I wasn't thinking about combing devices. I don't climb trusses much any more. I do still walk steel and know have horizontal lifelines to use.

 

[ruinexplorer]

Not a problem. There are plenty of times where I haven't had enough coffee before I post and require others to help translate (or correct) my information.

I have to admit, I really dig the Y-lanyards for the horizontal lifelines. Then again, I dig having horizontal lifelines in so many venues these days. I wasn't the first to volunteer to walk steel back in the day (not afraid of heights, just very respectful of them).

 

[What Rigger?]

. It's the first Rigging thread in CB history that What Rigger? doesn't have anything to add and is quite possibly happy about.

You been drinking big guy?

Yes. Duh. Day off. (NEVER prior to work.)


Also: there's been very little lack of smarts in this thread. All I can add is: Y Lanyards are NOT a positioning device.

And even that is echoing something already said.


Now, where are my ice cubes?

 

[cmckeeman]

So i was having a discussion yesterday that reminded me of this thread. the discussion was about fall arrest on truss towers. we had SRL's at the top that we clipped into, one of the oterh riggers on site said that for towers we need to use both an SRL and our shock absorbing lanyards. has anyone else heard of anything like this?

 

[DuckJordan]

Are you always clipped into the srl when climbing?

 

[cmckeeman]

yahh he was saying that you should be clipped in 100% to the SRL and then clip your lanyards to the truss as you go up for a separate 100% tie off

 

[DuckJordan]

Wouldn't hurt but its overly redundant.

 

[cmckeeman]

thats what i thought, and now that i'm looking into it most of the srl's i'm seeing say they have a max stopping distance of 42'' which is less than 6' so if your anchors are right the lanyards might not even take an impact.