Work at height requirements and regulations
You work at height and you still have some doubts in how to use of fall protection equipments? You need advice regarding P.P.E. and permanent fall protection solutions according to your needs and requirements?
DELTA PLUS SYSTEMS gives you the appropriate support to ensure maximum safety at height for you and your team.
Choosing the proper fall protection solution requires expertise and also to consider many factors and concepts. Let’s follow the guide!
New European P.P.E. Regulation 2016/45
To ensure workers a protection even more effective, the Directive 89/686 has been replaced by the European P.P.E. Regulation 2016/425. In force since the 21st April, it has been giving more guarantees to users by giving more responsibility to manufacturers, distributors, importers, notified bodies and authorities.
To know more about the Regulation 2016/425, please have a look on the file below from our group DELTA PLUS. Do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
ESSENTIAL CONCEPTS
What is fall factor?
The fall factor represents the proportional degree of severity of a fall. Its value lies between 0 and 2 and can be calculated by dividing the fall height by the rope/lanyard lenght. Above a fall factor of 0.3, there is a danger.
To limit fall factor, two solutions:
- Raising the anchor point position
- Increasing the braking distance to reduce the force of the fall impact.
Factor 0: limited free fall
The anchor point is above the user’s head and the lanyard is tightened.
Factor 1 : Free fall up to one time lanyard/rope system lenght
The anchor point is at the same level than the user’s chest, i.e. at the sternal attachment point.
Factor 2 : Free fall up to two times lanyard/rope system lenght
The anchor point is at the same level than the user’s feet, i.e. between the sternal attachment point and the ground.
What is fall clearance?
Fall clearance is the distance between the anchor point and the ground. Two different notions of fall clearance must be distinguished: the Fall Clearance Available (F.C.A.) and the Minimum Required Clearance (M.R.C.).
The F.C.A.: represents the distance between the structure on which the user works and the nearest obstacle (ground, wall,…).
The M.R.C.: represents the minimum required distance, so that the user falls without any risk of collision with the nearest obstacle. It is calculated as follows:
- CALCULATION FORMULA:
Lanyard lenght
+ extension of the energy absorber
+ user’s size
+ minimum safety distance (1m)
What is swinging effect?
The swinging effect or pendulum effect represents the risk of swing like a pendulum if a fall occur, and in the case that the P.P.E. worn, is not directly anchored overhead. During the swing and the fall you may strike the structure you are working on or another nearby obstacle (wall, ground,…).
To limit the swinging effect, you need to keep an angle of less than 30° between the P.P.E. and the anchor point.
Glossary of safety
- EXTREMITY ANCHOR:
Element which connects the extremity of a flexible anchor line or rigid anchor line onto the structure
- INTERFACES:
Parts of an anchor system or anchor device. Here the post is considered as an element of the anchor system
- FIXING ELEMENT:
Element or Elements used to connect/fix the anchor device to the structure and which is removable from the structure
- STRUCTURAL ANCHORS:
Element or Elements which are designed for use in conjunction with a personal fall protection system and to be permanently incorporated into a structure
Anodising or lacquering, what are the differences?
Both processes are used and appreciated for the aesthetic improvement of ferrous and non-ferrous materials.
- Lacquering & powder coating
Why lacquering or powder coating?
Unlike what we might think, it is totally possible to combine aesthetics and safety for your buildings, by making sure that fall protection systems blend in perfectly with the structure.
This is where lacquering and powder coating come in.
These will enable to transform our metal fall protection solutions into systems that will blend in perfectly with your architecture while remaining invisible.
The benefits of lacquering:
Lacquering allows us to apply a colouring to metal parts, whether they are basic, complex or fragile. This process can be applied to all parts and supports.
Benefits of powder coating:
LPowder coating provides a hard surface and a long-lasting colour thanks to its high resistance to impact and corrosion. This process uses a liquid paint and is therefore more economical and ecological than traditional lacquering, which uses a powder paint without drying.
The powder coating process significantly increases the durability of aluminium products while giving them an attractive appearance.
The powder coating process (heated in an oven) allows the combination of various colours with new textures (metallic, matt, satin, scratched, hammered, shiny, or wood-tone decorations, etc.).
- Anodising
Why anodising?
Our aluminium products are sometimes installed in very aggressive environments and need to be treated to ensure their resistance and longevity.
Anodising is a perfect combination of protection and aesthetics.
It improves the robustness of the product, while preserving its metallic aspect without altering the product and adapting to the aesthetic constraints of certain structures or buildings.
On the other hand, lacquering is not recommended for profiles on which parts would slip (this is the case for example of our ALTIRAIL, ALTIRAIL LR, COMBIRAIL and VERTIRAIL lifelines).
What is anodising?
Anodising is dedicated to aluminium profiles.
By creating an artificial layer of ultra-resistant aluminium oxide within the metal, anodising not only improves the aesthetics of the product (anodising can be colourless or coloured) but above all provides optimum protection against erosion and attack of atmospheric pollutants.
Generally speaking, the more protection a product requires, the thicker the anodising layer will be. The anodising process will therefore depend on the environment in which the aluminium will be exposed.
The benefits of anodising :
Metallic appearance preserved without denaturing the product, improved robustness and adaptability to the aesthetic constraints of certain environments.
Anodising combines protection and aesthetics of aluminium profiles.
Which process should I choose for colouring my aluminium product?
-
Inside: the product will generally be subjected to a chemical colouring, reserved for indoor exposure because it is not UV resistant.
-
Outside: the product will be subjected to electrolytic colouring (which consists of depositing metallic particles in the pores)
As safety at height expert, DELTA PLUS SYSTEMS supports you all along the safety process. Thanks to our expertise and engineering solutions, you will be able to offer optimum safety to your teams and to fit the current legal requirements.
