Loose fitting harness

[Squizzy]

Got an e-mail yesterday about an accident reguarding a loose fitting harness and I can only post the wording as the pictures will be removed if they are posted here but you will get the drift by reading it.

What happened,
An employee was wearing his safety harness too loose. At the time of the fall it took some time to rescue him from the fallen position. Due to the fact that the harness was not tight fitted to his body he was hanging in his leg supports which was squeezing his scrotum resulting in his testicles being pushed out. It took a 4 hour surgery to close the wound. Less visible on photos are 2 (on both sides) of scrotum horizontal lacerations from the straps. Unkown at this time wheather the damage is irreversable. You can imagine the pain he was going through while he was hanging in his too loose fitting harness.


It goes on about lessons learnt etc but if anyone wants the full e-mail PM me and I will forward it on but be warned you will cringe.

[Bull Dog]

Were was his help! Why would he hang that long. These harnesses even if tight can cause big problems if the lineman hangs even for a short period. Death can and will result if the harness cuts off cirulation to legs. There are systems to self lower but I don't know one company that uses it. Most have two people on a truck so the other guy lets him down. Again I ask were was his helper. The self lowering device should be manditory on all trucks.

[old lineman]

Were was his help! Why would he hang that long. These harnesses even if tight can cause big problems if the lineman hangs even for a short period. Death can and will result if the harness cuts off cirulation to legs. There are systems to self lower but I don't know one company that uses it. Most have two people on a truck so the other guy lets him down. Again I ask were was his helper. The self lowering device should be manditory on all trucks.

You call it 'self lowering' I call it 'self rescue'. I think we are talking about the same thing.
These systems are for use if no fall has taken place and the unit is disabled. The person stranded aloft attaches the life line to a secure component then attaches the descent device to his full body harness in the front and climbs out of the bucket and controls his descent.
There is no way to 'self rescue' once you have fallen into the harness. You are attached by the dorsal dee and you can't reach it. What would you do if you could?
There is, however, a system that can be attached to any harness that once deployed the victim can position it so that he can place one foot into it and straighten his leg.
This lifts the victim up so that the weight is transferred to the leg and off of the straps which can in extreme cases cause suspension trauma which can be fatal in as little as 10 minutes.
Whether a fallen victim with his nuts crushed could manage this is open for debate.
Even properly tightened harnesses can cause great dicomfort especially if the has been a shock load event.
The Old Lineman

[Squizzy]

It has been posted here
http://www.lineman.co.nz/forum/viewtopic.php?t=303

[cololinehand]

I can't stand to have my harness loose. It binds up on me and gets hung up on things in the bucket. I forwarded the link to my safety guy do he can spread the word.

C

[CPOPE]

Scary very scary. Still the full harness correctly worn is much safer than the body belt I started out with.


Recommendations

Safety harnesses save many lives and injuries. However, continual vigilance is needed to train and supervise workers to ensure harnesses are used safely. All phases of fall protection need to be examined for each particular application. Workers and emergency response personnel must be trained to recognize the risks of suspension trauma.

Before the potential fall:

• Workers should be use caution to work alone in a harness.
• Rope/cable tenders must make certain the harness user is conscious at all times.
• Time in suspension should be limited to under five minutes. Longer suspensions must have foothold straps or means for putting weight on the legs.
• Harnesses should be selected for specific applications and must consider: compliance (convenience), potential arrest injury, and suspension trauma.
• Tie-off lanyards should be anchored as high and tight as work permits.

After a fall:

• Workers should be trained to try to move their legs in the harness and try to push against any footholds.
• Workers hanging in a harness should be trained to try to get their legs as high as possible and their heads as close to horizontal as possible (this is nearly impossible with many commercial harnesses in use today).
• It the worker is suspended upright, emergency measures must be taken to remove the worker from suspension or move the fallen worker into a horizontal posture, or at least to a sitting position.

For harness rescues:

• The victim should not be suspended in a vertical (upright) posture with the legs dangling straight. Victims should be kept as nearly horizontal as possible, or at least in a sitting position.
• Rescuers should be trained that victims who are suspended vertically before rescue are in a potentially fatal situation.
• Rescuers must be aware that post-rescue death may occur if victims are moved to a horizontal position too rapidly.

Recommendations on harnesses:

• It may be advantageous in some circumstances to locate the lanyard or tie-off attachment of the harness as near to the body's center of gravity as possible to reduce the whiplash and other trauma when a fall is arrested. This also facilitates moving legs upward and head downward while suspended.
• Front (stomach or chest) rather than rear (back) harness lanyard attachment points will aid uninjured workers in self-rescue. This is crucial if workers are not closely supervised.
• Any time a worker must spend time hanging in a harness, a harness with a seat rather than straps alone should be used to help position the upper legs horizontally.
• A gradual arrest device should be employed to lessen deceleration injuries.

Follow this link for complete report.OHS
Will Your Safety Harness Kill You?
Workers and emergency response personnel must be trained to
recognize the risks of suspension trauma.
http://www.cdc.gov/elcosh/docs/d0500...68/d000568.pdf


Follow this link for manufactures instructions on harness use inspection and care
htthttp://www.millerfallprotection.c...ection.pdfp://

I find this way too graphic and beleive a deceleration device was not utilized.
http://www.lineman.co.nz/images/Loos...%20harness.pdf

[mainline]

Putting the dee ring in a position near the center of gravity is a bad idea. You might as well wear a body belt. If you put the attachment point near the center of gravity (the waist) you would be folded in half if you ever actually had to rely upon the harness. Hanging in such a position can cause incapacitation as little as 45 seconds. If you used a 6' lanyard the effect would be multiplied possibly resulting in serious back injury. The whole idea of the harness is to mitigate effects of the drop. It is not intended to allow you to hang there for hours. Yet again we should have a second qualified man in the area to assist in rescue if it should become necessary.

[Stinger]

Back in 2000 I was working out of an older HI-RANGER ( 70'). It the old horse shoe shaped bucket. I was clipping in the last phase when the bucket stabilizer malfunctioned, the bucket went and free wheeled to a 180 and ended dumping me out. I took the full brunt of the fall in my harness which I always wear fairly snug. I somehow turned in the fall and the lanyard slammed my chest brealing two ribs. However everything worked right, My groundman lowered my to the ground safely. I'll tell you, the impact from the harness on my body was felt for a couple of days, bottom line, worn right they work, but your'e going to feel it. The body can't stand a free fall and a sudden jerk. That was back in my non-union days when we had told the GF the stablizer needed some attention because it felt like it was not doing the job of keeping the bucket level. we were told use the bucket or go home because they were not going to address the problem or switch out buckets since we only had 2-3 days left on the job. A new 115KV line. If it were a union company I could have refused to work in the bucket and would have had all the backing in the world. What a difference a union makes.

[returntotheeve]

Back in 2000 I was working out of an older HI-RANGER ( 70'). It the old horse shoe shaped bucket. I was clipping in the last phase when the bucket stabilizer malfunctioned, the bucket went and free wheeled to a 180 and ended dumping me out. I took the full brunt of the fall in my harness which I always wear fairly snug. I somehow turned in the fall and the lanyard slammed my chest brealing two ribs. However everything worked right, My groundman lowered my to the ground safely. I'll tell you, the impact from the harness on my body was felt for a couple of days, bottom line, worn right they work, but your'e going to feel it. The body can't stand a free fall and a sudden jerk. That was back in my non-union days when we had told the GF the stablizer needed some attention because it felt like it was not doing the job of keeping the bucket level. we were told use the bucket or go home because they were not going to address the problem or switch out buckets since we only had 2-3 days left on the job. A new 115KV line. If it were a union company I could have refused to work in the bucket and would have had all the backing in the world. What a difference a union makes.

OH NO! You started a world of shit with that last part... I think we do ourselves a disservice if we are out of shape/weak/ overweight. How many guys can get themselves back into the bucket if you come out of it? Can everyone do pull-ups? Where are you physically? I've cut out and was able to catch myself on the communications even though I shouldn't have been holding it, I hung there and got reclumbed. Granted taking a hit like a free fall for six feet and the jarring you'll take aren't something to take lightly. I'll have to reassess my boxerbriefs and my harness.

[old lineman]

Back in 2000 I was working out of an older HI-RANGER ( 70'). It the old horse shoe shaped bucket. I was clipping in the last phase when the bucket stabilizer malfunctioned, the bucket went and free wheeled to a 180 and ended dumping me out. I took the full brunt of the fall in my harness which I always wear fairly snug. I somehow turned in the fall and the lanyard slammed my chest brealing two ribs. However everything worked right, My groundman lowered my to the ground safely. I'll tell you, the impact from the harness on my body was felt for a couple of days, bottom line, worn right they work, but your'e going to feel it. The body can't stand a free fall and a sudden jerk. That was back in my non-union days when we had told the GF the stablizer needed some attention because it felt like it was not doing the job of keeping the bucket level. we were told use the bucket or go home because they were not going to address the problem or switch out buckets since we only had 2-3 days left on the job. A new 115KV line. If it were a union company I could have refused to work in the bucket and would have had all the backing in the world. What a difference a union makes.

I'm not trying to throw anything in your face but here in Ontario, Canada we have a regulation that anyone and everyone can refuse to do what they deem to be unsafe work.
It doesn't matter one bit whether your union or not.
In my mind that's the way it should be. Is a union worker more valuable to his family than a non-union worker?
I think not!
Although all the hard core union workers will try to make out that they are.
Everyone has the right to protect themselves regardless what side of the tracks your from.
It's a humanitarian thing.
The Old Lineman