The International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) have announced that the long-anticipated ‘Dropped Objects Standard’ has been approved. ANSI/ISEA 121-2018, American National Standard for Dropped Object Prevention Solutions establishes minimum design, performance, and labelling requirements for product solutions that prevent falling objects and guidelines for testing that equipment.
“This is big because it establishes tethering systems and containers as the best practice when it comes to falling object safety,” said Nate Bohmbach, product director at Ergodyne and the chairman of the ISEA committee that developed this standard.
“To date, many have been content with PPE such as hard hats or administrative controls such as barricade tape, but those do not prevent items from falling, nor do they eliminate potential injury. Tethering systems prevent the items from falling altogether.”
Pryme Australia managing director Terry Houlihan says: “Safe Work Australia report that in 2016, 17 workers died due to being hit by falling objects, which amounted to 9% of all worker fatalities.”
Until now, there has been no guidance for workers on what constitutes a proper tethering system. Without a standard, there is nothing to differentiate duct tape and string from a properly rated tool lanyard and attachment point.
“Ergodyne have led the way in developing this standard and as a result, we can now provide Australian companies with workers at heights innovative solutions that meet the standard and which will directly result in fewer workplace fatalities, lost time injuries and medical treatment cases,” says Houlihan.
Newly Released Dropped Object Products
Tool Tethering Kits
Having the right products to tether your tools to prevent it from dropping at heights is vital for everyone’s safety. However, tethering can be very confusing and time-consuming. With this in mind, Ergodyne developed ready-to-go tool tethering kits that make tethering super easy and fast. Choose from 6 different ready-to-go kits that allow you to tether the most common tools on the job site. We’ve got a convenient Tool Selector Application on our Pryme website where you can simply pick a tool you would like to tether. We’ll show you which kit would fit best with your tool and how to tether it. Check out our website to give it a try.
Mobile and Tablet Trap Water Resistant
The Squids Water Resistant Mobile and Tablet Trap makes it easy to carry and save to use your mobile and tablet on the job site when working at heights. The Pouch makes sure you can easily connect it with a lanyard to your body or alternative anchor point. The pouches are made of a clear touchscreen material that provides protection while still allowing touchscreen use and access to both the front and rear cameras of smartphones. The heavy-duty, easy-to-use zipper closure system safely secures the device inside the mobile phone holder.
Contact us for more information about Objects at Heights and how we can assist you with a complete solution to improve the safety of your workforce and around the job sites.