Bumper Cranes: Sto-Away

Confined Space/OSHA

Confined Space and Power Hoisting? Power Hoisting for Confined Space???? Can it be done? Should it be done? Is it being done? If so, How is it being done? Can it be done? Have you ever tried to raise a 250# man 50 ft vertically in 5 minuets or less using any of the current man lifts? Its tuff even for a man in his mid twenties, that’s 1 foot per 6 sec for 5 minutes – I have tried and know I can’t do it. Should it be done? What about lifting with excessive force possibly causing crippling injuries?OSHA clearly addresses that and states No boom crane, Overhead Crane, Backhoe or Fork lift can be used to lift personnel for confined space because these lifting devices can and will lift with active force and can causing injuries. Why can’t I use a Simple Boat Hand winch? Well because it too can lift with accessive force. Man lift winches have been designed to limit the force through mechanical means. One means is the use of a slip clutch or special gear reduction. Is it being done? Yes and for many years, The window washing industry, Ship building yards and in the mining industry have been power-hoisting personnel. There is no way that a person could be raised from a 1000-ft shaft using a hand-operated hoist. How is it done? We contacted J.Nigel Ellis,Ph.D., P.E., CSP, CPE Founder of RTC Corp and a co-author of Federal Standard 1910.146 (Confined Space), and asked what were the standards? What were the hazards of power hoisting and his thoughts on addressing these hazards.
First: we develop our *Load Limiter© which pins to the end of the bumpers Davit arm and senses the weight on the lifting cable and can shut off the hoist’s lifting signal at 350 lbs. of payload^. Second:* We also have a special hoist drum, a B.L.G.L.© that is capable of meeting the 3200 lb. minimum anchoring point that IS required for a Man rating.
Third: We have a “back –up” manual winch system that is also required should the power hoist become unresponsive. We have this Back –up system mounted back away from the edge of the manhole in order to reduce the risk of the rescuer falling in to the manhole. Forth: The Sto-Away® also has built-in fall protection that will catch him/her in 2 feet or less should the entrant slip & fall while he/she has decided to climb out of the man hole and finds a broken or missing step.
	Fifth: A \“keyed authorized – two handed\” over ride switch should the hoist be needed to raise two people at once. Sixth: A custom steering wheel Lock- Out and Tag - Out system so that the entrant can lock out the truck when the Sto-Away® is being used as a man lift.
Is Sto Away’s® Bumper crane OSHA certified? OSHA certifies NOTHING. They are a regulatory branch of the federal government. OSHA sets the minimum standards that must be meant for occupational health and safety in work places within the United States. OSHA can and will fine a company and may shut down the company if they do not meet these standards. Since OSHA doesn’t certify equipment; NO One can say that they are OSHA certified. What they can say is that their equipment and /or procedures is OSHA compliant, and state what regulation standards they meet. OSHA clearly states that NO CRANE can be used to lift personnel, it doesn’t matter if it is powered or a manual hand crank, Period. Cranes have no safe guards for protecting the worker from being pulled apart. Without a load limiting system on the hoist you can’t use it. It only makes sense; a crane is designed to lift to its maximum capacity and nothing less. How does the Sto-Away® address this OSHA standard? There are manual hand powered retrieval systems in use today that use a slip clutch or special gear reductions and or both to control the maximum lifting force that is placed on the worker. This is how these manufactures comply with the OSHA standards. The current Tripod systems are a good example of this. Sto-Away’s® Confined space package complies with the OSHA standards by developing a special load cell system that pins to the Sto-Away’s davit* arm’s tip and can measure the amount of lifting force the hoist is exerting at the hook. Thus achieving the same end results as a slip clutch or special gear reductions of the tripods. At 350 lbs. or less the load cell shuts down the upward movement of the hoist thus protecting the worker. The best way to protect yourself and your employees is with knowledge. I strongly recommend that you visit OSHA.org and your own state’s OSHA site for more information. Learn – evaluate – then invest. * A Davit arm system is an alternative to a Tripod for manhole entry.