“The concept of LOTO is a great one and it works. As rescuers, we have to take the common industrial application and expand it to ensure that the rescue scene is safe and that we are controlling hazards at the point of contact with the victim or in a space where something has gone very...
Pat Furr reviews the importance of following OSHA safety standards for fall protection, and the steps an employer can take to ensure a safe work environment by providing high quality training. In the recent article by Mark Stromme, published in ISHN and on this blog, he addresses several myths regarding compliance with OSHA Fall Protection...
As an employer with permit-required confined spaces, you’ll need to determine if your rescue team or selected rescue service can truly “walk-the-walk” when it comes to confined space rescue. OSHA’s Permit Required Confined Space Standard (1910.146) is “performance-based” – meaning it’s all about capabilities when the stakes are high.Conducting a performance evaluation of your rescue...
Falls are the leading cause of worker fatalities. According to OSHA, each year more than 100 workers die and thousands are injured as a result of falls at construction sites. The fall protection standard, at 29 CFR 1926 Subpart M, details training and equipment requirements that employers must use to protect workers from falls. This...
Petzl has published a statement addressing special use of the Petzl Shunt as a back-up device for industrial rope access. For any users of the Petzl Shunt as a self-belay device such as tower rescuers, the same information applies. For Roco Tower Work and Rescue students who were taught the use of the Shunt as...
Roco Director of Training/Chief Instructor, Dennis O’Connell reviews the importance of following OSHA safety standards for confined space entry, no matter how many times workers have entered the space. The take away? With confined spaces…It’s NEVER old hat! The importance of preplanning confined space entries and identifying “potential hazards “should be old hat by now....
According to statistics recently reported by OSHA, the number of workplace inspections conducted by federal OSHA in Fiscal Year 2011 fell to a total of 40,215, down 778 from 2010. The agency attributes this slight decline in the number of inspections to the fact that many inspections, particularly those focused on health hazards and record...
The United States Fire Administration (USFA) recently announced there were 81 on-duty firefighter fatalities in the United States as a result of incidents that occurred in 2011. This represents an almost seven percent decrease from the 87 fatalities reported for 2010. The 81 fatalities occurred in 33 states, one U.S. territory, and one overseas U.S.military...
It is becoming more and more difficult to find a hilltop or a ridge in America that does not have some type of telecom tower placed on it. Likewise, there are many other types of towers popping up across the countryside and in our urban and suburban areas. Everything from wind turbine towers to high...
This is how Petzl began, in my father’s 75 square meter workshop. My family – my father, mother, brother, wife, and I – designed the first tools for verticality and the first underground lamps, which lead, in 1972, to the Petzl headlamp.
