Tried The Harness Today

IHI

Bought a harness for the window job we had in apartments over looking the busy downton sidewalk district, could not use scissor lift due lower businesses awning sticking out to far for sliding platform to reach, but building had a nice 14" steel covered concrete ledge to stand on.

Went to menards and bought a Nailers brand harness $180, I tried fittin ginto it at home and it's junk LOL....it's all one piece you hve to contort into to. Luckily I had my brother in lw helping today and he's a heigth freak and loves getting in percarious situations and volunteered to do all the outside stuff...I did'nt argue a bit LOL!! strapped him all up and out he went. Was'nt as bad as I thought it'd be as far as getting in the way, but sure made me feel better knowing he's attached to the building should he slip-luckily nothing excited to write about, but asked if I could beat him like a pinata should he fall when I walk down and get a ladder for him.

Lanyard is a cheapie with a few sections wadded up and shrink wrapped in tight stiff plastic casing, so it may cushion somewhat, but how much?? either way I'll keep this as back up and possibly start searching for a more user friendly version with a bungee lanyard and easier to get into harness-this one was'nt too uncomfortable, just a PITA getting into/out of quickly.


Tried to talk him into doing a base jump once we were done, but he did'nt like that idea either....what a friggin sissy!!! He used to be a lead foreman for a large roofing company here and they all had to be trained for harnesses as per OSHA and was telling me he learned typically when people fall they go into shock and black out....I can totally relate, I ALWAYS wanted to sky dive and bungee jump, got my chance to bungee jump off a 140' basket from a crane and I remember leaning out and nothing until this HUGE tug on my ankles...too scred to scream and hollar...what a girl I was Still wanting to sky dive though, may try that this summer

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Teetorbilt

I'm always crossing over from other fields. Have you looked at marine bosun's chairs and harnesses? You get what you pay for and many of them are quite comfortable. In marine we always include a safety line which limits the distance that you can fall. Being older, I set my limit at about 3' even If I have to reset it a few times to get around.

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locofoco

Spent a lot of time in a Botswains chair as a young man. Make sure you keep the slack out of that safety line. It can be a real backbreaker. I know.

Bjd

I thinks its funny how people piss and moan about price and comfort levels of safety stuff, go with the cheap stuff and spend the rest of your life eating out of a straw. Or spend the hundreds or so and go home at nite and hug your kids.
I have to look at my help first, how could I place someone in something that I had second thoughts on? And god forbid something where to happen.

BJD

IHI

Was it cheap-yes. Would it serve it's purpose of preventing a person from hitting the ground when working above OSHA's mandated 6' rule-yes. Is it the worlds most comfortable unit-? I have'nt worn any other so I cant compare.

Do I feel bad for letting a guy wear a $180 unit compared to a $380? I could give a chit less, either unit will prevent the guy from hitting the ground, just cuz the cheaper unit chafs his nuts more than a high dollar unit, he/I'll deal with it and use baby powder that night

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jmic

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Joe

Craig

IHI.
Check out rock climbing harnesses. They're light, comfortable and very secure. I use mine whenever I'm working in an exposed area. With a good harness, a 10mm climbing rope, some web slings and carabiners you can secure yourself almost anywhere. Also, there are devices called Jumars (used for ascending a fixed rope) that will allow you to anchor yourself to a fixed line and move the anchor attachment to the rope as necessary.

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Craig

Teetorbilt

Good idea Craig. More outside the box thinking. I've seen these guys fall (on TV) farther than I would like to think about and get right back to business.

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Craig

Teetor
Any fall over 30 feet we call a screamer - for obvious reasons. Been there, done that a couple of times and I can still walk around. The trick is to pray fast that all your protection holds and not hit anything on the way down. You usually end up upside down, bouncing on the end of the rope like a yo-yo, but its good for your heart rate.

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Craig

IHI

Great idea, but ropes and knots have always hated me since boy scouts I'd tie off with that fancy rock climbing gear and be like a lead rock falling down when I'd mistakenly tie a slip know or something-just tieing my shoes/boots is an incredible feat i'm typically proud of and even those come undone LOL!! I've never had a need for this harness equpiment to date, always used my extension ladders/ladder jacks and planks for high up work with no problems or scissor lifts, but just the logistics of everything on this job required a little different approach and the harness standing on the ledge proved the best...wanted to look safe and professional since this downtown area is very busy with prominate business owners and customers alike..did'nt wanna have that 1 in a million chance of me or helper plumeting 2 stories onto the sidewalk....blood would be hard to clean off the brick paver sidewalks in the winter since the frozen water left behind would prove to be a health hazard for customers walking up and down the sidewalks after we're gone to the morgue/hospital

but, now I got this hard on thinking if I could learn and set up this rock climbing gear I could do away with all ladders/planks and side multi story building swinging around like tarzan!!! Schweeeet!! less time staging means more money in my pocket!!

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bob the builder

I only use rock climbing gear because of comfort but it isn't OSHA approved. I have a petzel grigri attached to harness and could repel off the roof or just hang in mid air. As far as thinking you can eliminate a plank it's not going to happen, unless you figure out a way to climb up a wall or have someone on the ground blaying you up. As far as knots all you need to learn is the prussek knot and your set. Poly rope wears somewhat quickly and is an expense.....

Bob