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4 Best Practice examples of fall protection in industry

Industrial operations require real fall protection, because the illusion of safety can have fatal outcomes not only for employees, but also for the company itself. Industrial operations require real fall protection, because the illusion of safety can have fatal outcomes not only for employees, but also for the company itself. The following 4 Best Practice examples for fall protection in industry indicate the safety-relevant challenges faced by successful industrial operations in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, and how these challenges are overcome. 

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Specialist series: Fall protection in industry

01

Illusion of safety in industrial operations - How real fall protection is created

The illusion of safety is dangerous because workers and colleagues on the job depend on the existing safety concept. The illusion of safety in industrial operations conceals the danger from a fall from height which has disastrous consequences. In order to avoid this, companies require an authoritative and reliable safety concept. Read on and find out how to convert the illusion of safety into real fall protection in industrial operations.

02

Legal foundations, liability, and standards for fall protection in industry

For industrial operations, there is no way round fall protection systems, because a good safety concept is mandatory today. he responsibility for fall protection basically lies with the operators of a company, building or plant. In industrial companies, this responsible person is the managing director and a safety specialist appointed by him. More details on the legal basis can be found in the following article.

03

3 highly effective special solutions for fall protection in industry

The market for fall protection systems is large, and the number of standard solutions is growing. In spite of this, companies in very different industries continue to need special solutions tailored to their individual requirements. Having provided special solutions for many years, we know that there is an answer for every challenge.

04

Why fall protection is always cheaper than a fall

An appropriate and effective fall protection system creates costs. However, these pay in the long term! As Karl R. left his office on that Thursday evening and made his way to the hospital, he felt ten years older. Around midday, while the first workers were slowly heading off for lunch, a scream suddenly penetrated the production hall, followed by a loud crash and the ear-splitting screech of the rear production machine. The workers there stopped what they were doing, and for a few seconds everyone seemed to be holding their breath.

05

Fall protection in industry: Scope, costs, and professional tips

Fall protection is more than just a few clamps, bolts, cables, and harnesses. It requires a holistic safety concept. The return on prevention is demonstrably positive, because fall protection is always cheaper than a fall. In this post, we have combined together for you what an appropriate and effective fall protection system includes, and the costs involved, plus professional tips. 

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4 Best Practice examples of fall protection in industry

Industrial operations require real fall protection, because the illusion of safety can have fatal outcomes not only for employees, but also for the company itself. Industrial operations require real fall protection, because the illusion of safety can have fatal outcomes not only for employees, but also for the company itself. The following 4 Best Practice examples for fall protection in industry indicate the safety-relevant challenges faced by successful industrial operations in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, and how these challenges are overcome. 

07

Fall protection in industry - all information at a glance

Industrial operations need a holistic safety concept. In our general overview, you will now read what fall protection is, why it has to be professionally implemented in industrial operations, and what costs, legal principles, and process steps are involved.

Professional fall protection is always based on a holistic safety concept which is practical, reliable, and flexible.

Manuel Silbermayr

Industrial operations require real fall protection, because the illusion of safety can have fatal outcomes not only for employees, but also for the company itself. The examples of use for safety systems go from working on cranes, large-scale machinery, robots, to fire engines and much more. On the one hand, because of laws and legal standards, companies are obliged to ensure that employees are appropriately protected, and on the one hand investigations into the Return on Prevention indicate that industrial safety is always more cost-efficient than an accident, possibly caused by a fall having fatal consequences.  The following 4 Best Practice examples for fall protection in industry indicate the safety-relevant challenges faced by successful industrial operations in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, and how these challenges are overcome.  

 

Best Practice #1: Fall protection for Liebherr 

Liebherr is a traditional family-led group consisting of ten companies in the areas of handling equipment, rotating tower cranes, mobile and crawler cranes, mining, aerospace, traffic engineering, and other fields of activity. The fundamental values of the Austrian affiliate founded in 1960 include appreciation of its own employees who work loyally and faithfully year in, year out for the Liebherr family. In the Liebherr Nenzing works in Vorarlberg, the industrial operation required a reliable and professional fall protection system, because the safety of the workforce had to be ensured at all times during the assembly of the LR 1250 crawler crane.  

 

Challenges 

During construction, assembly, and servicing tasks, the crane’s boom arm is lowered, and so it is only 2 to 3 metres above the ground. Because of the reduced height, a safety system with cable deflection is not possible, yet a fall must be avoided. The large gap between the rails represented a further challenge.  

 

Solution 

The solution for Liebherr consisted of an individually developed TAURUS rail system made from aluminium, with two additional rails to left and right of the walkway. In this way the fall height is reduced significantly, while the users are additionally secured using double HSG fall arrest devices and INNO|String 01 Basic. While building the crane boom, they are able to work quickly and safely, without having to detach or reattach themselves. 

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0md1_M85Qo 

 

Benefits 

  • The TAURUS system, developed in aluminium, can also be adapted to cranes of an earlier generation, as well as to new and existing machines 

 

  • Thanks to the extremely long slider, downward-folding openings in the maintenance walkway can be negotiated jerk-free and safely 

 

  • The String 1 Basic PPE and double HSG fall arrest device adjust themselves automatically to the movements and size of the user 

 

  • The locking function of the HSG is always under tension, and grips the user immediately and reliably in the event of a fall 

 

  • Changes of direction within the safety system are possible at any time without readjustment 

 

Best Practice #2: Fall protection system for Fill 

The Fill Gesellschaft m.b.H. family company in Gurten, Austria, which makes machinery and plant, is amongst worldwide industry leaders, and is proud of its many awards, such as the Austrian bronze state prize for family and working life 2018 and ineo - exemplary companies for training 2019-2022. Because the industrial operation provides maximum industrial safety for its roughly 900 employees, Fill sought a reliable safety solution for the servicing of its robots. 

 

Challenges 

For maintenance and service tasks on Fill’s gantry robots, the fall space is very small, and therefore only a very small cable deflection is permitted. The fall protection system could not be attached to the ceiling, because many structures were already present. The particular requirements therefore meant that an individually tailored special solution had to be developed and manufactured for the operation.  

 

Solutions 

In order to raise the height of the entire safety system and to increase the fall space, the company had its own steel structure built, and the 8mm cable system was attached directly to this, using End-10. The higher the anchor point, the shorter the cable length and therefore the fall. The fall protection system is now located roughly at the chest height of the users, who are secured by the HSG fall arrest device.  

 

Benefits 

  • Low cable deflection thanks to direct attachment to the steel structure (at chest height) 

 

  • Significantly reduced risk of falling, because of the low height and the steel structure 

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Best Practice #3: Fall protection system for Rosenbauer 

Now in its sixth generation, for more than 150 years internationally active Rosenbauer International AG has served fire brigades all over the world. The industrial group develops and manufactures vehicles, extinguishing technology, equipment, systems for preventative fire protection, and digital solutions for fire brigades. So that the employees in final assembly enjoy all-round protection in the workplace, the company needed a suitable fall protection system for working positions at height at their Leonding production site.   

 

Challenges 

The fall protection system at Rosenbauer is required for tasks at height, such as the final installation of spare tyres, final inspections, or quality control before delivery. The challenge was that the site’s wall elements were not load-bearing because of their lightweight construction, and therefore a structural engineer was consulted when planning the fall protection system. 

 

Solution 

Because of the requirements profile for the safety system, and in consultation with the metalwork constructors, the structural engineer was able to develop a suitable steel support for the end points, using tensioned spring supports where the major force arises. It was possible to attach the AIO standard system to these supports. The system uses overhead attachment and, if required, has a very long span. The users move flexibly over the vehicle roofs in the assembly hall, thanks to the slider (GLEIT-11). This travels to and fro, and the users are attached using the HSG fall arrest device. Maintenance, inspection, and servicing tasks, as well as minor installation tasks, can be undertaken while secured by the system. No additional scaffolding is necessary, even for rectification tasks, so they can be performed quickly and with little difficulty. 

 

Benefits 

  • The fall protection system is now used without exception because of its user-friendliness 

 

  • The users benefit from great freedom of movement because the lanyards are positioned at the fall arrest eye of the anti-fall PPE 

 

  • The full cable length can be used because the end lock and intermediate brackets are attached to the concrete or steel support 

 

Best Practice #4: Fall protection system for IMAK 

Since 1997, IMAK Anlagenbau GmbH has specialised in activities such as machine engineering and installation, relocation of equipment, steelwork, servicing of paper machinery, bearing maintenance, etc. Performance and quality are just as much a priority here as maximum customer satisfaction. For regular maintenance and inspection tasks on a floating crane, the company required safe all-round access right to the tip of the crane, in order to prevent the user from falling into the water or onto the deck of the boat.  

 

Challenges 

Because the ladder at the side of the floating crane is folded up in regular sections, the safety system is repeatedly interrupted, and the fall protection system can be positioned only in subsections. In addition, the construction has no attachment points, and they cannot be mounted directly on the ladder because of its flexible folding function. An appropriate fall protection system has to ensure that secured access to the boom arm can be provided regardless of its inclination. 

 

Solution 

Because the boom of the floating crane is generally inclined horizontally at the bottom, and then increasingly steeply further upwards, a special rail system with a TAURUS Allround slider was installed. Thanks to the integrated centrifugal brakes, the cable feed is blocked in the event of a fall, and so the fall height is very small. The floating crane can therefore be accessed safely and flexibly at any inclination, whether horizontal, sloping, or vertical.  

 

Benefits 

  • While working on the floating crane, the users are optimally secured in every section, regardless of the boom’s inclination 

 

  • The Allround slider protects not only vertically and horizontally, but also at intermediate angles  

 

  • Thanks to the slender structure of the rails and the positioning next to the walkway, it was possible to find a solution for the cramped situation 

 

  • The special sliding block connection does not constrain/impair the expansion of aluminium and steel bases, which can take place without restriction 

 

Summary: The right fall protection system for every requirement 

Every company has its own requirements for industrial safety. For this, professional fall protection is always based on a holistic safety concept which is practical, reliable, and flexible.  

Would you like to find out more about sustainable safety concepts in industrial operations? Then download our manual about fall protection in industry now, free of charge. 

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