The goal of our Engineering Department is to understand our clients' priorities and meet or exceed them with the most cost-effective solutions possible.
We design systems to meet five primary design criteria:
- The forces experienced by a falling worker must be kept below legal limits.
- Every mechanical component of the fall arresting system must stay within its strength limitations.
- Anchors must be capable of transferring the loads generated by a fall to the ground without deflecting excessively or failing.
- The falling worker must stop within available clearances.
- Each system must have at least one feasible rescue option.
Good systems also allow workers to perform their tasks with as much mobility as possible.
Fall Hazard Surveys
We often begin an engineering project by surveying fall hazards identified by the client. Gravitec's comprehensive hazard surveys rank fall hazards on a risk rating index and include full-color images and detailed descriptions of each hazard. Our surveys also provide innovative solutions, chosen at the client's discretion, to abate those hazards.
We can also provide turnkey solutions where we identify fall hazards, design an engineered solution or select an off-the-shelf system and install and certify that system. For clients who want to take on some of the work themselves, Gravitec's engineers and consultants can provide any combination of services for a cost-effective solution.
Depending on the needs of our clients, we have built:
- Horizontal Lifeline Systems
- Rigid Rail Systems
- Certified Anchors
- Portal Systems
- Davit Systems
- Roof Anchors
- Ladder Safety Systems
- Customized Fall Protection Systems of All Kinds
In addition to designing new systems, some of our clients ask our Engineering Department to evaluate existing anchors or fall protection systems to make sure that they will perform adequately in the event of a fall. For more about testing services offered by Gravitec, click here.
Cost-Effective Solutions
Because Gravitec is also a fall protection training company, our Engineering Department takes a unique approach to eliminating fall hazards by applying the fall protection hierarchy, a fundamental fall protection training concept, to the engineering projects we take on.
We begin every project by thinking about how we can "engineer out" the fall hazard and remove the risk associated with the task. Next we look at using traditional fall protection methods like guardrails and handrails. Only after evaluating those options do we begin to apply standard engineering principles to design fall restraint systems or fall arrest systems. By working through this fall protection hierarchy, we can provide our clients with the best possible solution at a cost-effective price.
Our Engineering Department has developed proprietary software to evaluate options and find cost-effective alternatives. Our software considers site conditions, local prices and our clients' special requirements. When we design a solution, we usually generate two or three primary options for our clients to choose from.
Because we are distributors for all major manufacturers of off-the-shelf fall protection equipment worldwide, we can usually pass on significant cost savings to our clients for the equipment they purchase.
Fall Protection Standards Development
Our engineering team participates in national and international standards groups, so not only do our designs meet current standards, we can help our clients look to the future as well.