Roco is excited to be conducting several Rescue & Fall Protection Workshops at the 44th Annual Safety Conference next month in Bismarck, ND. This will kick off our working relationship with the ND Safety Council to provide safe, effective confined space rescue training for their membership. 

What's more, the North Dakota Safety Council (NDSC) is currently constructing a new safety campus in Bismarck that will house a 5,000 square foot hands-on training lab. Roco, as a training partner, will provide high-level technical rescue courses at this new facility on a year-round basis.

For the conference on February 20-23, we will be conducting a number of hands-on rescue workshops and presentations to be presented by Roco Lead Instructors Dennis O’Connell, Pat Furr, Brad Warr, Eddie Chapa and Josh Hill. Sessions include:

• Intro to Competent Person Requirements for Fall Protection
  2/20 9am-6pm (classroom w/demo)
• Confined Space Entrant, Attendant, and Supervisor Requirements
  2/20 9am-6pm (classroom w/demos) 
• Tripod Operations
  2/21 11am-5pm (hands-on training) 
• So You’ve Fallen, Now What?
  2/22 10am-11:30am (classroom)
• Dial 911 for Confined Space Rescue
  2/22 1:30pm-2:30pm (classroom w/demos)
• Confined Space and Rope Rescue...
  2/22 1:30pm-5pm (hands-on training) 
• Trench Collapse Rescue Considerations
  2/22 2:45pm-3:45pm (classroom) 
• Fallen/Suspended Worker Rescue
  2/23 8am-11:15am (classroom w/demos) 
• We look forward to meeting you at Roco booths (#202 & #203) or in these training sessions. For more info, click to NDSC’s 44^th Annual Safety & Health Conference. Don't forget to register online at www.ndsc.org for these training sessions.

KEY LARGO, Fla. - Three workers in the Florida Keys died Monday morning (Jan 16) after they were overcome by fumes, authorities said. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue officials said they responded to reports of three people down. The victims were working at a road project.

A representative said a worker went inside a drainage manhole to see why the newly-paved Long Key Road was settling at that location. She said the worker got trapped inside the manhole and three other workers, a volunteer firefighter with Key Largo Volunteer Fire Department and two Monroe County Sheriff's Office deputies tried to help get him out.

The two workers who collapsed and the firefighter, who also collapsed after going underground, were pulled from the hole, authorities said. The two workers were pronounced dead at the scene. It took authorities several hours to recover the body of the third worker. The firefighter and deputies were taken to Mariners Hospital in Tavernier.

The firefighter, identified by relatives as Leonardo Moreno, was then airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center, where he is listed in critical condition.

"A firefighter had an air pack on," Monroe County Sheriff Ramsey said. "He found the hole too small, so he elected to take his air pack off and go inside the hole to attempt the rescue."

The deputies are being treated for non-life-threatening ailments. A fourth worker for the contractor was treated at the scene.

Cause of deaths will be determined by the Monroe County medical examiner.

A woman who lives near the manhole told Local 10 News that the area has smelled of rotten eggs for the past couple of months.

The contracted workers were in a 15-foot hole and it's believed that a build-up of hydrogen sulfide and methane is to blame for the deaths.

"There's no sign of any pre-venting going in, and obviously going into a contained environment where there is gases can be deadly, as we unfortunately found out today," Ramsey said.

Records show that the contractor was fined for an incident at a manhole in Collier County in 2002. In that case, OSHA said workers were exposed to hazardous conditions.

UPDATE: We are glad to report that the firefighter involved in this incident has been taken off the ventilator and is breathing on his own with no neurological deficits shown so far. This information is according to the latest update on his gofundme page https://www.gofundme.com/leomoreno

SOURCES: WPLG Local10.com and Firefighter Nation.

 

Twenty-three workers were killed and 12 others injured in trench collapses in 2016 – an alarming increase from the previous year. "There is no excuse,” said Dr. David Michaels, OSHA assistant secretary.

"These fatalities are completely preventable by complying with OSHA standards that every construction contractor should know."

Among the victims was a 33-year-old employee, crushed to death this summer as he dug a 12-foot trench for a plumbing company out of Ohio. An OSHA investigation found that they failed to protect its workers from the dangers of trench collapses. The company was issued two willful and two serious violations, with proposed penalties of $274,359.

OSHA's trenching standards require protective systems on trenches deeper than 5 feet, with soil and other materials kept at least two feet from the edge of trench.

OSHA has a national emphasis program on trenching and excavations with the goal of increasing hazard awareness and employer compliance with safety standards. For more information, read the news release.
Source: OSHA QuickTakes December 1, 2016, Volume 15, Issue 26

Comments from Dennis O'Connell, Roco Director of Training & Chief Instructor

In the above OSHA Newsletter, they highlight this growing problem. Besides the loss of human life, the “SERIOUS” and “WILLFUL” violations paragraph should get you asking, “Are we doing what we should be for trenching in our facility?” 

The new OSHA statistics show in 2016, we have two people a month dying in trenches, which is double the amounts for 2014 & 2015. Why, is the soil getting more dangerous? I can only speak to what I have seen in trends in industry that may be contributing to this rise. In previous articles, I have discussed the subject of trench and trench rescue and some of the following concerns:

• We are relying heavily on subcontractors to do trench work in our facilities.

• Entry Supervisors are not properly trained as Trench Competent Persons and are assuming the contractor is taking all necessary precautions.

• Our Confined Space Entry Supervisors are signing off on trenches as Confined Spaces and not as trenches.

• Rescue - most locations have not trained or equipped their rescue team to handle a possible trench rescue situation even though trench work is a common daily occurrence in most refineries and large municipalities.

• Trench rescue entities are far and few between. Most municipalities are ill equipped to handle trench collapse rescue.

 

Give us a call for a private Roco Trench Rescue training course at your facility or at the Roco Training Center. Or, register for Roco's open enrollment Trench Rescue course online.

By Pat Furr, Safety Officer & VPP Coordinator for Roco Rescue, Inc.

As rescuers, we all have our favorite knots and our favorite ways of tying them. Depending on the application, there may be several knots to choose from that will perform slightly differently in terms of efficiency or knot strength. You can go online and order any number of books ranging from a couple of pages thick to 2’ thick with hundreds of knots in it. The trick is to decide what applications you will need to perform with your ropes and knots. If you don’t need to shorten a rope, then you don’t need to know how to tie a sheepshank. Or, if you use manufactured harnesses, then a tied Swiss Seat is not a needed skill in your inventory.

For the most part, we can break applications into 6 categories for rescue purposes: 

1) Knots that form a permanent loop in the end of a rope (Ex. Figure-8 on-a-bight)
2) Knots to tie around objects (Ex. Bowline)
3) Knots to join ropes together (Ex. Square Knot)
4) Knots tied in the middle of ropes (Ex. Butterfly)
5) Hitches binding and adjustable (Ex. Prusik Wrap or Clove)
6) Utility knots (Ex. Daisy Chain)

Whenever we tie a knot in a line we lose some of the efficiency in the rope or webbing we are using. Generally, the more acute the first bend in the knot, the more efficiency is lost.

Other factors such as angle deflection, direction of pull, and rope construction all have effects on a knot’s efficiency. Then, there’s the type of load the knot will see (two directions or three directions). The direction and critical angle applied forces may change the efficiency rating of a knot greatly. In rescue, we try to use knots with fairly small efficiency losses, generally between 18-37%.

There are some other considerations beyond knot strength when choosing which knot to use for any particular application.

Ease of Tying

In addition to knot efficiency (strength), we also must think about many other things such as ease of tying especially in those hard to access places where you wish you had more Gumby genes. Where and under what circumstances will you need to be tying the knot? Will it need to be tied one-handed? Is speed a consideration? Take a calf roper, for example, he needs a knot he can tie quickly and securely. Would you be able to tie a Prusik on line for self-rescue with one hand if the other is stuck in the device? What about an emergency situation where you might need to bail out a window while blinded by smoke?

Say you want to clip into a fixed rope but need to do it one-handed? The Clove Hitch will be much easier to tie into a carabiner one-handed than most loop knots. Not only that, if you need to adjust your position after clipping in, the Clove Hitch is easily adjusted one-handed.

Ease of Untying

Not only ease of tying, but ease of untying a knot should be thought through, especially with wet rope or heavy loads. Once the knot gets loaded – or if it sees a heavy or shock load – will you be able to get the knot untied? Will you need to use a tool like the marlin-spike to get your loaded knot untied? How often will you be tying and untying the knot? Will the knot be wet or dirty? (Example: a loaded Bowline is easy to untie, while the Figure-8 Bend is more difficult.)

Knot Security

Knot security must always be considered but this is especially true if the knot will be subjected to tension and slack repeatedly. Will the knot be able to untie itself if it is cycled between tension and slack? (i.e., Square Knot vs. Figure-8 Bend) We know that a Butterfly Knot performs much better than a Figure-8 on-a-Bight if the knot is to be pulled in more than two directions. But what about some of the lessons learned over time that we know will make a difference in which knot to select based on other considerations. How difficult is it to untie a Figure-8 on-a-Bight after it has been loaded wet vs. a Two Loop Figure-8?

Tying a fixed line for a rappel? There are several choices to tie a fixed line instead of clipping it to an anchor strap. The Bowline, Clove Hitch, Figure-8 Follow-Through will all work, but if the line goes in and out of tension, how secure is the Clove Hitch compared to the Bowline or Figure-8? If security isn’t a concern, it will be easier to untie the Clove Hitch after it has been loaded followed by the Bowline, with the Figure-8 probably being the most difficult to untie, especially if the rope is wet.

Tying an anchor around a very large object? You will use up a lot more rope and time tying a Clove Hitch vs. a Figure-8 Follow-Through or a Bowline.

How will a knot handle a sustained load or shock load?

If you anticipate a heavy load on a Prusik Knot, consider making it a triple wrap instead of double. This will give you more friction, and it will definitely make it easier to untie later on. A little trick I use to loosen a loaded Prusik is to “push the bar.” By that, I mean to push the section of the knot that runs parallel to the rope that it is tied around away from the main line, which will loosen the knot.

The Water Knot is great for tying webbing together to form a runner or sling. But if it is really loaded, it can be a bear to untie. Try this, turn the knot so it is oriented vertically along its axis and place it between the palms of your hands. Rub your palms together squeezing on the knot and really be aggressive. After a few seconds, see if you are able to work a little looseness into the knot to start untying it. Same thing with a Figure-8 on-a-Bight, grasp the knot with both hands beside each other with half of the knot in each hand. Then, bend the knot back and forth as if you were activating a chem-light. Do this several times and see if you are able to milk a little slack into one side of the knot to start working it loose. Try to push slack into the knot instead of pulling the knot apart. Attack different parts of the knot until you see some movement.

Fighting untying knots?

If you are fighting untying knots on a regular basis, it may be time to add a marlin spike to your kit. A marlin spike is a tapered tool that finishes with a blunt or flat tip. They have been around since ancient times and may be useful to get that first bit of looseness into the tight knot. The warning here is to never place the knot in a position that the spike could slip and puncture your leg or arm, always push the spike away from your body.

If you know you’re going to really load up your knot and especially if the rope is wet, consider clipping a carabiner into the bends of your knot between the lays. This works really well for the Figure-8 on-a-bight or follow-through. Once you are done with that knot, remove the carabiner – this may provide enough slack to work the knot out.

We generally advocate stuffing rope into a bag and working out of the bag, but sometimes we “coil” the rope to go from point A to point B. How often has this led to a bird’s nest of rope? To help prevent a coiled rope from tangling, hold the coil up in one arm and let it hang free. Uncoil the rope with the other hand not allowing the lines to cross. By holding the coil up, gravity will show you which sections are crossing. You will then be able to keep the line straighter than if you dropped the entire coil to the ground and just started pulling rope.

So, you can see there is a lot to think about and consider when choosing what knot you should use and why. As we said earlier, there are hundreds of knots to choose from and many of them do the same jobs. And many are called different names in different books. The key is to identify the category, the application and the circumstances where the knot will be used. Then consider the above and you should be able to identify the proper knot for the job at hand.

Visit our All About Knots page for videos on knot tying and much more!

Many rescue scenes (and teams) are plagued by confusion because of too much communication. And, if you have three people assigned to do a task, each one will have his or her own idea of how it should be done, where the system should be anchored, etc. Many times the discussion that follows eats up valuable time and slows the team’s ability to get rescuers into a location and get hands on the patient.

This drill is designed to instill confidence among team members, to ensure that rescuers understand their responsibilities at the scene and to help rescuers understand that there are different ways to accomplish the same goals safely. It also helps in getting rescuers to look at the entire scene and understand where their assignment fits in the big picture. It encourages team members to anticipate and solve their own problems.

1) Assign a safety officer/drill manager.

2) Locate a simple vertical simulated space to enter or a balcony or roof edge. The goal is to lower the rescuer into an area.

3) Safety officer/drill manager describes the event to the team and assigns task(s) to each team member.

4) Instructs the team that they are not allowed to speak unless a dangerous condition is observed.

5) Instructs team members to gather the equipment necessary to accomplish their job or task. (Remember No Talking!)

6) Once team members have the needed equipment, move them to location and let them start rigging to get rescuer into the space or over the edge.

7) Once rescuer is lowered into area, leave systems rigged and debrief entire team on the rigging, the order that it was done and what could be done differently.

The difficulty of this drill can be increased by doing an entire simulated rescue or adding SCBA/SAR to the station requirements. You will find that a lot of unnecessary chatter that occurs at rescues will be reduced. It will allow you to see who truly understands “where and how” each component of a rescue system fits in the overall operation. It also encourages rescuers to look at the big picture and anticipate what, where and when they will need to have their assignments completed without waiting for direct supervision.

 

Next in this series: Quick Drill #14 - Knots Challenge (Advanced)