This past weekend I watched America: The Story of Us on the History Channel. If you haven’t been watching this series, you should be.   Not only is it extremely well done, it also makes you proud to be American and of the risks our forefathers took to get us where we are today.

Um… fall protection? In one of the episodes from this weekend, entitled “Metropolis,” they covered the development of big cities such as New York and Chicago. Now, when you talk about New York you’ve got to talk about skyscrapers, which inevitably leads to construction.

Now, I know the guys that built skyscrapers back then took risks, but I never really thought about it in terms of personal safety and fall protection.

Hell, they called themselves roughnecks, so what does that tell you?

They had copious amounts of back and neck hair…. probably not.

These guys were tough as nails and built these skyscrapers, without fall protection…  without any protection really.

Walking across a one foot wide steel beam one hundred feet in the air is not my idea of a good time.

The final tally?  2 out of every 5 workers either died or were disabled. That’s 40% of the entire work force. Just shy of half! Yikes! Take a look at the guys you work with and imagine almost half of them dead or seriously injured. It’s pretty sobering isn’t it?

I guess the point is that sometimes fall protection can seem like a pain in the ass, but your odds of getting seriously injured on the job are nowhere near those levels. So, shut up, grab a steel beam anchor, and be thankful you’re not a roughneck!

One of the biggest mistake users of fall protection equipment can make is assuming. Don’t do it. You know what assuming does! It makes a complete fool out of you… and only you.

If you have questions, make sure you ask them! The variables in the world of construction and fall protection are… um… very vast. There are so many possible combinations of environments, workers, crap, etc, etc…

No matter how stupid you may think the question is… Try us out. It could save someone’s life!

Ask us any questions about fall protection you may have. Either leave a question in the comments section or give us a call @ 608-719-8395.

1. Fall Protection Inspection Rut
2. Washington and Safety
3. OSHA and the Duty to Have Fall Protection – Part 1

A couple of months ago, I had the pleasure to work with a fella by the name of Will. Will was looking for a harness with very specific components. I was able to find Will the harness he was looking for, and when he received it, he sent me a picture.

Now, that’s a happy customer! I guess the point I’m trying to make is that if you can’t find something on the website let us know. We may still be able to get it for you. In an effort to make our website easier to use we don’t put up everything that we can get. Heck, Miller has about 8 billion different harnesses. So, If you’ve got an idea about what you’re looking for, let us know.

1. Edge Series Harness Review
2. How To Put On A Safety Harness
3. Medal Winning Harnesses

After years of inspecting, fining, and re-fining, OSHA will officially call it quits at the end of April. Faced with the sad reality that a majority of companies fail to comply with basic fall protection policy, and an increase in the number of fall related deaths, OSHA is hanging up its boots.

This will come to a great relief to companies who’ve been fined in the last six months, because they will no longer have to pay the government or comply with OSHA mandates. Companies are now free to disregard fall protection on their job sites and clear their expense reports of safety equipment in general.

One unnamed source from within OSHA stated they’re, “frustrated as hell. Seriously, you try telling people over and over again to take care of themselves and their employees. What happens? Work related falls increase! If these people want to kill themselves… Let ‘em. We’re sick of being the construction world’s mommy.”

So, starting May 1st you can throw away your equipment, because all bets are off…

Obviously, this is an April Fool’s post… It sounds ridiculous. We can all agree on that right? So why do some companies operate as if this were true? Seems pretty ridiculous doesn’t it?

1. OSHA and the Duty to Have Fall Protection – Part 1
2. Preliminary OSHA Findings – 2009 Violations
3. You Shall Be Saved: Rescue Equipment

Hey everyone!  Happy Worship of Tools Day!   It’s on this day that we embrace our manliness and worship tools. Seriously, dating back to the wooden club, men have loved tools.

Unfortunately, most people don’t think of fall protection as tool.  But by changing the way you think about fall protection you may change your idea of safety equipment.

Fall protection is a tool. One of the definitions of a tool… “anything used as a means of accomplishing a task or purpose.”  The other definition is surprisingly dirty.

At its base, fall protection helps employees work in highly dangerous places to accomplish “tasks” (get crap done).  THe definition fits doesn’t it? I’d like to take it one step further…

Not only does fall protection help you get a job done, I say it can help you get your job done faster. How? When an employee is wearing fall protection, they don’t have to keep their mind focused on… “Don’t Die.” They can focus on the work that needs to be done.

Now this isn’t to say there isn’t a learning curve when you’re wearing a safety harness. There is. But there’s a learning curve the first time you use any tool. But like using most tools, when you learn how it operates, productivity increases.

So join me in putting fall protection in its proper place next to the hammer. It’s a tool, give it the respect you’d give any other tool in your arsenal.

It was on this day in history that Crack Jack inserted a prize into their box for the first time in 1913. It was probably a plastic bookmark that no one liked but oh, well. We’ll we’re going to try something similar this weekend.

Here’s the deal. If you spend $400 on Miller Fall Protection products. We’ll send you a $50 harness for free. Yep for free.

Eat that CrackerJacks!

1. Fall Out Shelter Newsletter

A couple weeks ago I shared with you a story about outfitting the hosts of Mythbusters with fall protection equipment. Did you know that we’ve worked with big and small companies across the country? And yes, even in Canada.

We’ve had the pleasure to do business with General Mills, Sara Lee Foods, and Morton Salt. This could be because I love food. Who knows? Heck, we’ve even worked with Shell Oil and Conoco Phillips. I wouldn’t eat their product though.

Sure, we may be tooting our own horn a little bit.   Yet, I’m not sharing this with you to tell you how great we are. I’m more proud of the small guys we’ve helped stay safe. Whether they’re window cleaners down the street or the local roofing company.

Everyday we strive to provide the customer service of a local hardware store. No matter whether you’re a fortune 500 company or a struggling entrepreneur, we’ve got you covered. Give us a call, we know what we’re talking about.

We’ve added some new products to our online store in the past weeks and I thought you should know about them. Therefore, I will introduce them to you.

We recently added a full selection of Miller DuraHoist products. This equipment primarily consists of confined space gear, but it’s got a few treats in there as well.

You’ll find our confined space section filled up with complete systems and individual pieces for your needs. The primary portion of the DuraHoist system includes a davit arm mast along with every type of base plate and mount you can think of. For example… portable bases, barrel mount sleeves, floor and wall mount sleeves, and even flush mount floor sleeves.

Another interesting component that is now available is the Fall Arrest Anchor Post, which can provide fall protection for 3 workers. In addition to the main post we’ve added extension posts, and all the bases you can think of.

So, if you work in confined space, this is the time for you. Let us know if you have any question on any of these great products, and we will be happy to help you get the equipment you need for your next job. Give us a call (608) 719-8395

This post is more of a public service announcement for those of you who aren’t involved in all of the great things we’ve got going on at Fall Protection Pros.com. Did you know we have a Newsletter?

Well we do. It’s called the Fall Out Shelter. If you haven’t subscribed to this fun publication yet, what in the heck are you waiting for? Seriously. Wandering what’s inside? Fine, I’ll tell you.

Every month we include 2-3 fall protection tips, introduce new products, keep you updated on OSHA changes, and an exclusive promotion available only to subscribers… And it’s Free!

Besides, it only comes once a month so you don’t need to worry about it flooding your e-mail inbox. No one likes that.

Seriously, subscribe to a newsletter, you’ll actually read. You won’t be disappointed. You can SUBSCRIBE HERE.

1. Cracker Jack Fall Protection

Just a week ago, we worked with celebrities. Seriously, this isn’t a joke, like when I said I met Wayne Newton at a Kinkos… (I still think it was him) Nope. This is the real deal. This is one myth that isn’t bustable.

Well, in case the title of this post didn’t give it away, we worked with the fine folks at Mythbusters. Yep, Fall Protection Pros.com has provided fall protection equipment for the two hosts to be used on an upcoming episode on Duct Tape.

In case you aren’t aware… Mythbusters is a reality television show that airs on the Discovery Channel. The point of the show? To prove or disprove the huge wealth of urban legends and myths floating through the ether of this country. The hosts, Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage, will be wearing equipment from Fall Protection Pros.com

The million dollar question… What gear did they use?

Well, they specifically requested the DBI-SALA Delta II Construction Harness. They also ended up using 2 single leg stretch lanyards w/ a rebar hook from Guardian.

So, the episode is supposed to air in the summer. Keep an eye out for it. If you’d like more information on this equipment please contact us.