Canadian Occupational Safety

Another type of device includes a rescue ladder. It is designed for the self- or assisted-rescue of fallen work- ers at signifi cant heights, and may be more suited to the wind generation industry. Yet another new device attaches to the person's har- ness and allows him to perform controlled descent from a suspended position. "This allows people to work independently and still be rescued from height should they fall or should they experience some sort of diffi culty that prevents them from working. For example, a worker hurts an arm or leg while suspended and needs to get down. Or, a worker suffers a heart attack, is still aware and needs to lower himself to the ground," says John Fuke, technical services manager at Mis- sissauga, Ont.-based 3M/Capital Safety. According to CSA Z259.2.3, there are six basic designs of self-rescue devices that have been deemed acceptable for the workplace (see sidebar). The standard does not stipulate employers should buy devices approved by the CSA. However, some pro- vincial regulations do stipulate the devices must be approved by the CSA or another accredited testing organization. Greg Small, vice-chairperson, CSA fall protection committee and chief engineer at Calgary-based High Engineering, says there is a lot of variation in the performance of self-rescue devices. One main differentiator is whether the device is manual or automatic. "Some of them will automatically lower you to the ground. Some are very manual; in other words, if the operator makes a mistake, they're going to fall. With the ones that are completely automatic, you hook yourself up and step out into space and let the machine take you to the ground level," he says. "The problem with those comes if your landing area is not safe. For instance, if a worker on a bridge has an incident, he falls off and he's hanging over traffi c, we don't want something that automatically lowers him into moving traffi c." However, he adds, where there is a safe landing area, the completely automatic devices are a good solution. With manual devices, Small says, the worker has to pull on a lever or operate something to lower herself. Manual devices are divided into two categories: those that have automatic lock-off features and those that do not. The best ones, Small adds, are the ones that have the automatic lock-off features because if the person lets go, the device will stop his descent. Alternatively, if the worker panics and starts clenching or pulling the handle down, it will also halt the descent. "There have been incidents where somebody starts to lower themselves and then they get going too fast. And if you get going too fast, your automatic reaction might not be to ease off on the lever. You might just pull even harder, thinking of it as a braking device: you squeeze the brakes on your bicycle. So (this auto- mated stop) is to try and prevent the panic situation where you're operating it in the wrong way," he says. Ease of use and ease of rigging are other consid- erations. Some devices come pre-rigged in the bag. With others, the user has to insert the rope in a very special way for it to operate properly. "In a rescue situation, it's not a good idea to have equipment that users require a lot of skill to oper- ate safely and properly," Small says. "You want to have everything pre-rigged. You want to have it as simple as possible and you want the device to look after as many as possible of the mistakes that a user could make." At Regina-based SaskPower, about 500 power linemen, journeymen, apprentices and district operators are trained and equipped to use self-rescue devices, says Shaun Snell, PLT (power line technician) training specialist. Because power line technicians use aerial devices (bucket trucks), they must by law have a way to extricate themselves if something goes wrong; if the power to the aerial boom is lost, for example. SaskPower workers are currently using two types of devices for rescue from a bucket. The most common one is auto-locking, which comes pre-assembled in the bag and cannot be taken apart. There are four holes in the main body and the rope is woven through the holes. To use it, the operator connects the carabineer attached to the rope to an anchor point on the bucket and connects himself to the bottom carabi- neer on the device. The operator squeezes the handle to descend. The harder the handle is squeezed, the faster the descent will be. When the handle is released, the descent will stop. "There's no mistaking how to use it. The operator won't have any problem as long as he has it pointed the right way and the rope's anchored to the bucket. Then he's hooked into the bottom eye on this thing, and down he goes. You can't take it apart and weave it incorrectly," Snell says. The other device in play at SaskPower is taken apart to be used. It consists of an internal shaft with fl ight- ing on it, like an auger-type fl ighting, and an outer cover. The operator opens the outer cover, wraps the rope around the fl ighting and then replaces the cover. Workers need to be properly trained on how to use a self-rescue device, so they are prepared for the worst. At SaskPower, the power line technician level 1 course starts with the "knowledge" section of training, which deals with bucket trucks, including emergency procedures and self-rescue. In the class- room, apprentices examine actual harnesses and self-rescue devices and they're instructed on how to use the descent devices. After new operators have completed 16 hours of operating an aerial lift, they go through a practical skills check, which requires them to lower them- selves on the device. "At least once a year all personnel have to prac- tise this. We have quarterly safety meetings in the line trade and (the skill tests) are usually done and documented at one of these meetings," Snell says. Companies should have a competent person check descent devices according to the manufac- turer's requirements, Fuke says. "Different manufacturers stipulate different periods of time. Some of the devices have to be re- certifi ed on an annual or multi-year basis." At SaskPower, Snell says, the device is inspected pre-use to make sure it is not damaged. Equipment is also inspected and documented annually by the utility's occupational safety committee or safety co- ordinators, while its power plants bring in outside companies to do the inspections. Following the fi re in Kingston, the Ontario Minis- try of Labour laid 22 charges against the construction company and developer of the site. One charge cited their "failure to ensure an adequate means of egress (exit plan) was provided from a work area to permit the evacuation of workers during an emergency." While he was still recovering in hospital and on painkillers, crane operator Adam Jastrzeb- ski, who had worked on construction cranes for 46 years, said he was not going to risk a similar emergency. "I was shaking and frozen on one side, it was a crazy situation," he told the Kingston Whig-Standard newspaper. "I'm retired from that." Linda Johnson is a freelance writer based in Toronto. She can be reached at lindajohnson@sympatico.ca. devices, says Shaun Snell, PLT (power line technician) training specialist. Because power line technicians use aerial devices (bucket trucks), they must by law have a way to extricate themselves if something goes wrong; if the power to the aerial boom is lost, SaskPower workers are currently using two types of devices for rescue from a bucket. The most common one is auto-locking, which comes pre-assembled in the bag and cannot be taken apart. There are four holes in the main body and the rope is woven To use it, the operator connects the carabineer attached to the rope to an anchor point on the bucket and connects himself to the bottom carabi- neer on the device. The operator squeezes the handle to descend. The harder the handle is squeezed, the faster the descent will be. When the handle is "There's no mistaking how to use it. The operator won't have any problem as long as he has it pointed the right way and the rope's anchored to the bucket. Then he's hooked into the bottom eye on this thing, and down he goes. You can't take it apart and weave The other device in play at SaskPower is taken apart to be used. It consists of an internal shaft with fl ight- ing on it, like an auger-type fl ighting, and an outer cover. The operator opens the outer cover, wraps the rope around the fl ighting and then replaces the cover. Workers need to be properly trained on how to use a self-rescue device, so they are prepared for the worst. At SaskPower, the power line technician level 1 course starts with the "knowledge" section of training, which deals with bucket trucks, including emergency procedures and self-rescue. In the class- room, apprentices examine actual harnesses and self-rescue devices and they're instructed on how to After new operators have completed 16 hours of operating an aerial lift, they go through a practical skills check, which requires them to lower them- "At least once a year all personnel have to prac- tise this. We have quarterly safety meetings in the line trade and (the skill tests) are usually done and documented at one of these meetings," Snell says. Companies should have a competent person check descent devices according to the manufac- "Different manufacturers stipulate different periods of time. Some of the devices have to be re- certifi ed on an annual or multi-year basis." At SaskPower, Snell says, the device is inspected pre-use to make sure it is not damaged. Equipment is also inspected and documented annually by the utility's occupational safety committee or safety co- ordinators, while its power plants bring in outside Following the fi re in Kingston, the Ontario Minis- try of Labour laid 22 charges against the construction company and developer of the site. One charge cited their "failure to ensure an adequate means of egress (exit plan) was provided from a work area to permit the evacuation of workers during an emergency." While he was still recovering in hospital and on painkillers, crane operator Adam Jastrzeb- ski, who had worked on construction cranes for 46 years, said he was not going to risk a "I was shaking and frozen on one side, it was a Kingston Whig-Standard Linda Johnson is a freelance writer based in Toronto. She can be reached at lindajohnson@sympatico.ca. June/July 2016 21 What's your type? There are 6 types of acceptable self-rescue devices as per the CSA Z259.2.3 standard Source: CSA Z259.2.3 Descent Devices TYPE 1 descending devices have an integrated descent line and are intended for multiple evacuations to a safe lower place when users do not need to control their descent speed. The descent speed is automatically controlled. TYPE 2 descending devices have an integrated descent line and are manually controlled. They are generally more suitable for single person evacuations to a safe lower place when users may need to control their descent speed and may need to stop somewhere on the descent line. TYPES 3 AND 4 descending devices are not required to have an integrated descent line. The descent line can be fi tted to the descending device on site. These types of descending devices are equipped with a manually operated descent control device that, when it is let go, will automatically lock to the descent line and stop the descent (hands- free locking element). In addition, Type 3 descending devices will "fail to the locked position" and the descent will stop if the descent control device is moved beyond its descent control parameters, such as in a panic situation when the user squeezes the descent control device too far (panic locking element). TYPES 5 AND 6 descending devices do not have a hands-free automatic locking element or a panic locking element. These descending devices rely on the user to stop the descent manually and to lock off manually, too, typically by wrapping the descent line around the descending device to create enough friction to stop movement. These types are also not required to have an integrated descent line: The descent line can be fi tted to the descending device on site.

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