JUNE/JULY 2013 | £5.25 - Wind Energy Network

COMPANY ARTICLECOMPANY ARTICLEHeight safetyequipmentspecific to the windenergy industryCapital Safety is a global leaderin fall protection. The companyinnovates and manufactures fit-forpurposeproducts, designed to bringevery worker at height home safely.The company has over 60 years’experience in the industry and is theonly company that focuses solely onfall protection as its expertise.People’s lives are at risk every day if theydon’t have the right fall protection equipmentand training. There were 35 workers’ deathsresulting from falls from height (2008/9),accounting for 50% of all fatalities in theworkplace, and 3,800 major workplaceinjuries in the UK alone costing the economy£60m each year. The company’s aim isto eradicate these deaths and injuries bysingularly specialising in fall protection.Industry experience andfeedbackCapital Safety engineers and manufacturesfall protection equipment including,harnesses, anchors and lanyards. Inaddition to building the right equipment, thecompany uses its industry experience andfeedback from thousands of clients in thefield to provide on-going advice and supportthrough onsite visits, demo vans, dedicatedtraining centres and repair centres.They first entered the market in 1949 withthe launch of the world’s first ever SRL,the SALA-BLOCK. Nearly 50 years later,after a number successful mergers andacquisitions, Capital Safety Group wasformed in 1998 hosting the flagship brandsDBI-SALA® and Protecta®. The group hasnow established itself as the global leader infall protection.Global leaderBy aiming to focus on and understandthe particular requirements of companiesoperating across the world in differentsectors, and responding with equipmentthat is specifically designed to meet thevaried and demanding conditions thatworkers at height encounter, they havegrown an extensive patented productrange.Capital Safety now has 1200 employeesacross the globe with presence on 5continents; Europe, Asia, North andSouth America. Each country has itsown experts in sales, technical, customerservice and marketing. There is also ateam of 10 who dedicate their time toresearch and development and whohave led the innovation of over 500individual patents.Wind energy industryThe wind energy industry is an area ofexpertise for the group. It is a diversifiedenvironment that is constantly changingas work progresses and technologyevolves, and the industry itself is alwaysinnovating with new procedures andmaterials that present challengesand demand new solutions from fallprotection.On top of a wind turbine is no placeto second-guess your fall protectionequipment. When you are hundreds offeet in the air with nothing between youand the ground, you need to know thatyou are safe and secure being lookedafter so you can get on with the job inhand. Combining innovation and years ofexperience in the wind sector they havethe highest number of engineers, largestpatent portfolio, with 180 patentedproducts, and the greatest number ofindustry firsts within the sector.Capital Safety has specific and tailoredanchors, harnesses and lanyards forwind turbine construction, wind turbinemaintenance and wind turbine rescues/evaluation.ConstructionIn wind turbine construction the companyunderstands the need for a temporaryanchor which can easily be removed andattached during the construction process.The ideal combination would be a TieoffAdaptor and a good body harnesswith various access points so a workercan manoeuvre themselves with multipleanchorage points, such as ExoFit WindEnergy Harness, specifically tailored withwind energy workers in mind. A fixed lengthlanyard such as Force2 100% Tie-offLanyard - designed to protect againstabrasion whilst climbing and descending - isused to link the user’s body harness to theanchorage.MaintenanceWind turbine maintenance requires slightlydifferent equipment to construction. Theanchor needs to be permanent, for examplea Lad-Saf Ladder Safety System andthe lanyard will require a lot more mobilityfor motion, the Ultra-Lok Self retractingLifeline being ideal for this. Again, aspecialised harness tailored to the windenergy workers which can be worn forconsecutive hours with comfort, for exampleExoFit Wind Energy Harness, is required.RescueWhile working at heights sometimesconventional rescue methods can behard to use and so self-rescue, personalevacuation and casualty evacuationequipment is necessary. Speed is essentialin all evacuations or rescues. The companybelieves that all rescue equipment should bequick and easy to use with any non-installedor temporary equipment being light weightand user-friendly. Rollgliss R500 Rescue& Escape Device can be used for one or2 people with the Cable Choker used as atemporary anchor.Fall protectionBrad Gates, President EMEA, Capital Safetystates, “In the wind energy industry, lackof proper fall protection can have lifechanging consequences. Capital Safety isdedicated ensuring that the demands ofthe wind energy industry places are methead on with safety leading the way.”“Fall protection is very important to us, wetake our special responsibility to workersat height very seriously. In effect they puttheir lives in our hands every day and it isour mission to bring those workers homesafely every time, everywhere, withoutexception. Through innovative productsand training we hope to make sure everyworker feels safe and comfortable in theirdaily lives and in what they are doing.”Capital Safetywww.capitalsafety.usClick to view more info70 www.windenergynetwork.co.ukwww.windenergynetwork.co.uk 71