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I just responded to Mark Fair's post about making mistakes. This week in Cincinnati we were reminded that this business can exact a terrible price for mistakes. Christopher House was a 31 yr old sign maintenance employee of Quality Sign in Northern Ky. While working in a sign cabinet 75' in the air, he apparently rolled out of the cabinet and fell 75'. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital. I don't know any details, I don't know if he had his harness on or if he was hooked in. I do know it is common practice to wear the 5 point harness and never take the lanyard off of the convenience loop and attach it to the structure. If you hook in it's pretty hard to fall more than 10-12 feet before the lanyard catches you, and leaves you hanging. Right now that sounds like a hulluva deal. Mr. House left behind a wife and 2 children. My prayers are with them now, and I pray that anyone working high, works smart and safe!
-------------------- Bill Dirkes Cornhole Art LLC Bellevue, Ky. Goodnight Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are. Posts: 591 | From: Bellevue,Ky. US | Registered: Aug 1999
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Bill, so sorry to hear about this tragedy,....Maybe we can make something good come from this & start a thread about lifeline and safety harness usage.Seems there are alot of folks I've met in this trade who don't use these,and or considers them a hinderance in their daily duties.I had a buddy who fell 4 stories into a 55 gal drum butt first.He lived but he will spend the rest of his time in a wheel chair.Sad part about it was that he had a full body harness on but didn't have it clipped into a lifeline or solid structural support.Seems in his words he felt the harness hindered him from doing his job in a timely manner & he wore it just to keep his job.It was reguired gear when working on location for the outdoor firm at the time.In his own words had he spent 5 minutes securing a lifeline(rope secured to a structural support) & clipped into it he would be healthy today maybe a few minor scars from the 10 or 12 ft fall but nowhere near the physical impairment he suffers from today.The rule I was taught is that when you are about to work in a position that there is nothing that you can clip directly into with your harness lanyard secure a lifeline either above yourposition if possible and or below to minimize any fall space in case of mishap.It increases the fall factor only the extra length of the lifeline & lanyard if secured below your working position, so the old excuse of working on top of a structure with no where to clip in doesn't pertain.
Another good piece of safety equipment is a shepards hook. this is a piece of structural aluminum conduit formed into the shape of a hook about 15 or 16 feet long with a hook formed on one end & insulated with rubber to prevent electrical shock in case of contact with electrical hookups.Along it's length are loops welded into place for clipping your safety lanyard.They are great for those tricky low to the ground structures that often as not kinda shakey & built on smaller poles.
One of the most common practices I've heard here is the ideal of renting a lift for use on high installs or painting walls etc..This is probably the place most need a safety harness more than ever,...yet few ever wear them.
Finally,...if you are not sure about safety procedures in any job with risk of fall find someone who is,....it is definately not the place to learn on the job,experience is the rudest teacher it gives the test before the lesson. Thus the reason for my tag line,...
-------------------- fly low...timi/NC is, Tim Barrow Barrow Art Signs Winston-Salem,NC
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Safety! Good re-thread topic and good lesson learned from those who think any install is an easy task. I always thought that signmakers were speacialized people but now see where a contractors license should become part of their curriculum. I can see it now, roofing contractors as well and concrete and mortor specialists with signage as a side line!
-------------------- HotLines Joey Madden - pinstriping since 1952 'Perfection, its what I look for and what I live for'
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Bob, that's exactly what I said when my boss told me! timi in 21 yrs I've gone from rope slings on the swing stage,no back rails, 2 hand lines ya held onto when you felt the need to the full body harness,steel stirrups, 2 back rails, and wire rope grabs on the shock absorber lanyard. and it is uncomfortable, it does slow ya down, but you'll be back at work tomorrow! I've fallen twice, both times due to structural failure, both times before safety gear was prevalent, both times less than 20 feet, went home for the day after each incident. sore as hell and a real bad case of the nerves. I believe the sign industry has a couple of exemptions on OSHA standards. first is the frequent climber exemption. In all other industries any fixed vertical ladder must have a rest platform at every 50'. Not required for the sign biz; most billboards are 25-85'up. Go 55 ft straight up a ladder, I know I'm ready for a breather! second is the minimum height reqirement for fall protection; all other trades it is 4' sign biz it's 6' use a short lanyard or don't bother cuz you're gonna break somethin at six ft. Be careful If you don't know how to rig for safety, ask someone.
-------------------- Bill Dirkes Cornhole Art LLC Bellevue, Ky. Goodnight Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are. Posts: 591 | From: Bellevue,Ky. US | Registered: Aug 1999
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My prayers go out to the family. That is truely a tragic story.
6 years ago I was making $10 an hour screenprinting signs for the former owner of what is now my business. I was barely eeking out a humble living. A competitor needed a days labor for $20/hr. I went to help pounce a second story parapet wall & stud mount some dimensional letters while standing on a sloped corrugated tin roof. The owners son was content to trust his sneaker traction, but I spent about half an hour and said forget it.
Don't anyone let hunger for a job or the paycheck distort your judgement.
I used to climb 200 ft fir trees in Oregon to collect seed cones for the forest service's reforestation project. Full safety gear, training & techniques. I don't fear heights, still no reason to tempt fate.
[ November 04, 2001: Message edited by: Doug Allan ]
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Can we explore this subject further? Can we see some photos? I'd like to know what folks are using these days? Timi B, can you get further into that hook you described? I've never seen or heard of one. Do you guys use mountain climbing gear? What kind of harness? Years back when I used safety gear it was a belt. Please update me.
-------------------- The SignShop Mendocino, California
Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity. — Charles Mingus Posts: 6718 | From: Mendocino, CA. USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Rick, the hook I described is part of a scalffold system manufactured by Pocatello Aluminum Works. They manufacture the paper hanging stages for billboard posters. I couldn't find a link for them but I'm pretty sure they are still in Pocatello Idaho. It is simply put a hook about 16" at the opening with rubber insulation on the hook end. The hook is made from 1.25"od heavy duty aluminum tubing with a wall at least .2" or more thick bent out of one 16' piece. The clips are welded about every 30" along it's length out of 1/4" rod. The hook only weighs about 15 lbs. and is designed to hook over the top of billboards for fall prevention while working on a stage.
As for the harnesses that Bill mentioned I could only find links to sales sites, but here goes,...
Once again if ya don't know how to use these tools find someone who does,...Experience is the rudest teacher it gives the test before the lesson & in this case the test may mean the ground flying up & hitting you in the butt!
[ November 04, 2001: Message edited by: timi NC ]
-------------------- fly low...timi/NC is, Tim Barrow Barrow Art Signs Winston-Salem,NC Posts: 2224 | From: Winston-Salem,NC,USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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I have an opdate on this accident. I do not know Chris House, but I discovered today that a friend that I see infrequently is his sister-in-law. I spoke to her today. Without talking to anyone famaliar with the equipment, here is what I know. Chris was harnessed in a work bucket on the end of a ladder crane. I've seen Quality Signs trucks on the highway and I'm gonna guess it was a Skyhook. The crane operator was having difficulty with the controls and couldn't get the crane to function. Chris got out of the basket to come down the ladder to help the crane operator. I don't know if Chris had unhooked from the crane head or not. There was a mechanical failure (I don't know) but the boom fell and chris came down tangled in the ladder. There was an EMT nearby and he was on the scene within 2 minutes but could do nothing for Chris.
We are not reqired to have fall protection engaged when climbing a ladder.
OSHA was on the scene within the hour. Chris was apparently in compliance; but the pricipals at Quality Sign may have some problems. I hope their maintenance/service records are thorough and squeaky clean; and this was an unfortunate accident.
timi, that's about the best description of a shepherds hook I've ever scene. as for the harness, check your mail,Rick; I get about 5 cataloges a month from safety suppliers. Didn't ask for em, they just show up. Miller makes the harnesses we use at Norton Outdoor. I'm gonna scan a couple pics and post em in a few minutes Here is a catalogue pic of the miller harness and a pic shot down from the work platform on an Elliot crane, about 85' up OK, so this last pic is upside down O well
[ November 04, 2001: Message edited by: Bill Dirkes ]
-------------------- Bill Dirkes Cornhole Art LLC Bellevue, Ky. Goodnight Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are. Posts: 591 | From: Bellevue,Ky. US | Registered: Aug 1999
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We letter a lot of walls and such and use ariel bucket lifts whenever possible. They are easy to use and so convenient.
The last job we did at Wilson Stadium, we used a 110' lift. The top of the scoreboard is approximately 85' off grade with an additional drop of 20' for a walkway. Lots of stuff to fall on, too.
We both wear five point harnesses. They cost about $120 or so apiece. Seems like a small price to pay for safety.
Sure, wearing a harness sucks. It does slow you down a little bit. However, the inconvience of the hinderence of the harness could in no way compare to the inconvenience of spending the rest of my life in a wheelchair or, worse yet, dying.
Anyone who would ignore person safety for the sake of the job is, in my less than humble opinion, a fool at best.
My heart goes out to the family of Chris House. I am not even going to think of how he got entangled in a 75' boom ladder. It is just too awful to comprehend.
Have a great one.
-------------------- Bruce Bowers
DrCAS Custom Lettering and Design Saint Cloud, Minnesota
"Things work out best for the people who make the best of the way things work out." - Art Linkletter
Posts: 6451 | From: Saint Cloud, Minnesota | Registered: Jun 1999
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I fell off a ladder 15ft to the ground 2 yrs ago nasty day raining windy cold I was standing on top ofa 10ft ladder leaning out to far the wind came with a gust and down I went !!!
ending up with CRUSHED heel 4 days in the hospital 6 months in bed no work If I would have taken 5 more minutes and tied the ladder off to the pole I might have been able to break my fall and only ending up with some bruses
SO TO ALL YOU OUT THERE WORKING IN THE AIR TAKE THE TIME TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE SAFE!!
OUR DEEPEST SYMPATHY TO CHRIS'S FAMILY WE ADD WHAT HAPPEN TO ME JUST AS A REMINDER TO BE SAFE AND WE UNDER STAND THE THIS WAS NOT CHRIS'S FALT.
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