[TowerTalk] Tower Incidents

[Robert Morris]

On Jun 21, 2016, at 12:06 AM, Wilson wrote:

I asked the other day, during the fall related messages, if anyone had, or knew of anyone who had, been saved by a fall protection system.
----------
My last employer gave a  tower climbing school and issued the latest full body harness gear.

Included were the two (one will always be attached to the tower) lanyards, plus spares.

These clipped to the D ring, in back, between the shoulder blades.

They were constructed to provide a "soft" fall. If they were "pulled" with more than a 100 pounds they unraveled at a moderate speed.

Old, fat guys (guess) moved a little faster, but still a soft stop.

On the last day, we got to "test" the lanyards.

The hard part is telling your little brain, O, yea, just step off the tower.

With the old linesmen belt, if you fall three or four feet, your back is broken or the belt has jammed your diaphragm, so you can't breathe.

The D ring in back, is the way a mother dog or cat carries her babies. Nape of the neck.

Hanging from the lanyard, you can just reach out and grab the tower, or you will live long enough get help.

I forget the brand, I'm sure there is more than one and things may have changed in eight years.

They said to replace the full harness every five years, either to sell a lot of gear or the stuff has a shelf life.