Death Valley, California
Gravitec's classroom features state-of-the-art audio and visual equipment and a lighted display of the best fall protection equipment on the market. Most courses include a combination of classroom sessions and hands-on fieldwork.
Tower Climber
The Gravitec Training Institute is North America's largest hands-on training facility devoted to fall protection. A portion of Gravitec's Tower Climber & Rescue course is held in the GTI where students must select and use proper fall protection equipment.
Course Description
This course uses a combination of classroom and hands-on fieldwork to train workers to use a planned approach to rescuing workers at height. The course begins with basic fall protection principles and the five fall protection methods. Then the course focuses on the most common protection methods on towers and fall arrest systems. Lanyard varieties, self-retracting lifelines, vertical lifelines, rope grabs, ladder safety devices, horizontal lifelines, work positioning systems, and simple pulley systems and components are discussed in this course. The function and use of each piece is discussed in the classroom and followed by hands-on activities. During the challenge portion of the course, participants must demonstrate good judgment in selection and usage of the proper fall protection piece for the job. The rescue portion of this course demonstrates simple rescue techniques that co-workers can use to rescue one another. The focus of these techniques is simplicity and safety. These techniques can be taught in a few hours with a high level of retention and without introducing traditional and complex high-angle rescue skills. By selecting the right piece of equipment, many skills sets can be eliminated. Written and practical tests are administered to ensure that the principles presented in the course are understood. Documentation is available to satisfy your company’s due diligence and regulatory requirements.
This course meets the Criteria for Accepted Practices in Safety, Health, and Environmental Training, the highest industry standards for training, published by the American Society of Safety Engineers ANSI/ASSE A490.1-2001.
Gravitec can supply all necessary fall protection equipment for this course.
No cell phones, pagers, personal digital assistants or similar devices will be permitted during training.
Course Duration
5 Days (40 Hours)Class Size
Minimum 8, Maximum 10 (1 Instructor); Minimum 14, Maximum 18 (2 Instructors)Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this course, participants will be capable of using a planned approach to tower climbing and rescues using state-of-the-art techniques and equipment. They will be fluent in the vast majority of commercially-available fall protection equipment and capable of identifying fall hazards and selecting, creating, and implementing safe and appropriate rescue techniques for workers at height. Participants will also be capable of implementing all components of three standard tower rescue plans, including protecting rescuers and methods for anchoring, packaging, and lowering. They will understand and be capable of using group problem-solving and leadership techniques to plan and implement rescues. Depending on where the course is taught, participants will be capable of creating and implementing rescue techniques that are best suited for that particular site.
Participants will have advanced knowledge of the following:
- Fall Protection Theory and Fall Arrest Theory
- Conventional Fall Protection
- Pre-Climb Checklists
- Standards and Regulations Affecting the Industry
- Recognizing and Identifying Fall Hazards
- Commercially-Available Fall Arrest Systems
- Body Support: Selection and Application
- Connecting Means: New Standards and Designs
- Anchorage Points
- Vertical Lifelines
- Horizontal Lifelines
- Assisted Pulley Rescue (Less than 100 feet)
- Assisted Mechanical Rescue (Up to 600 feet)
- Descent Control
