Fold-Away Anchor Track™ System Provides Fall Protection Under Overhead Cranes

In 2008, Rigid Lifelines® introduced the Fold-Away Anchor Track™ system. Engineering of this system started when end-users came to Rigid Lifelines® and expressed interest in a fall protection system that did not require permanent installation and had some mobility. Many end-users complained that a permanent structure would interfere with their work processes by being in the way of large overhead facility cranes. Traditional wire rope systems were also not an option due to low clearance and other design deficiencies like greater free-fall distance. Rigid Lifelines® management and engineers sat down and evaluated these end-user requests, and as a result, the Fold-Away Anchor Track™ system is now being offered to end-users, and success stories are already apparent.

In 2010, a process engineer and plant safety manager for a small powered transformer facility in the south identified a serious safety deficiency in their production process. Inside their facility, transformers are manufactured through a series of work stations. During the production process, large transformer shells measuring anywhere from 10-18 feet in height are transported via rail or crane to the individual stations. When the transformer shells reach the stations, workers need to climb on top of the shells to insert coils, gauges, and other components. The process of climbing on top of the shells is extremely dangerous due to the height of the transformers. The working height was also in violation of OSHA’s general industry regulation requiring fall protection for workers working at heights of four feet or more. After evaluating their need, the process engineer and safety manager contacted a local Rigid Lifelines® distributor. It was explained that the company needed a system that could provide low clearance fall protection to their workers while they climbed on top of the transformer shells, but that the system could not interfere with the overhead crane that was used to move the shells from station to station.

After listening to the situation and performing an onsite evaluation, the Rigid Lifelines® distributor recognized that the Rigid Lifelines® Fold-Away Anchor Track™ system was a perfect fit. The distributor collaborated with Rigid Lifelines® engineering to design a Fold-Away system that interfaced with the company’s current warehouse columns and conduit. The resulting system was comprised of two 40 foot spans of continuous dual steel enclosed Anchor Track™ that was underhung on steel jibs that measured 15 feet off of the warehouse columns when the system was fully extended. When folded in against the columns, the system protrudes only one foot off of the columns, providing room for the overhead crane to work as usual. The system can be manually moved and locked into place at varying degrees. Another great feature of the system is the dual Anchor Track™ that allows for two workers to walk on top of the transformers on opposite sides, passing each other without needing to disconnect from the Anchor Trolley™.

After a few months of use, the company’s safety manager was thrilled with the integration of the system. In fact, orders were placed for another similar system in another part of the plant.