Fortune 500 Contractor Provides Testimonial for Trucker®

IAS produces access ladders for a wide variety of customers across the country. IAS products are safe, durable and convenient for applications ranging from contractor work safety to boat boarding at the lake. This versatility has earned raves from safety minded contractors and mobility challenged individuals alike.

Here are two examples of testimonials for work safety and optimal accessibility.

Fortune 500 Trucker Ladder Testimonial

The Trucker Series Trailer AccessTrucker® ladders are designed for simple and safe access to any truck trailer.  This safety manager at a Fortune 500 construction contractor and long time IAS customer has great things to say about Trucker® trailer access ladders.

I have utilized your products on jobs I have worked on for the past 4 years, once we started using your Trucker and Drop Deck ladders we realized the great benefits and quality the IAS products provided.  Since using your products our yard bosses and operators have asked for them by name.

Any time I show up on a new job, your ladders are one of my first purchases.  Our truck loading and unloading procedures now call for your ladders specifically, they are in such high demand they have to be assigned to crews and locked in the storage box at the end of each shift.  I couldn’t ask for a better product as far as safety, quality and ease of use.  

Thanks for a great product,

Patrick from Georgia 

Very Impressed Tooner Ladder Customer

Tooner Pontoon Boat LaddersThe Tooner I Ladder is designed for safe and convenient access to pontoon boats.  This customer was especially grateful for the accessibility and safety of the stairway ladder design with a rope available to assist with ascending up and out of the water.

I hope that you had a wonderful and safe holiday weekend. Just so you know, we are very impressed with the ladder and it’s quality. I had a skydiving accident 5 years ago, and injured my spinal cord. I have limited mobility, and this ladder now allows me to go into the water and enjoy the lake with everyone else. Seems like a small thing, but it’s HUGE to me.
 
Again, Thank you
 
Craig from Florida

Attenuator Trucks for Highway Work Zone Safety

Attenuator trucks are highway safety vehicles equipped with an impact attenuating crash cushion for the purpose of reducing the risks resulting from crashes in construction work zones.  These specialized vehicles are often required for government highway contracts to improve safety and reduce work zone fatalities.

The truck mounted attenuator, or TMA, is a crash cushion that is specifically designed to attach to a vehicle such as a snow plow, road construction vehicle or maintenance truck, in order to absorb kinetic energy if struck by a motorist.  Not only do attenuator trucks save lives by absorbing the impact of a crash, they also reduce debris hazards after impact to improve traffic flow and reduce the risk to passing motorists.

Attenuator Truck with MPS-30 TMA

TMAs are tested by the federal highway association for effectiveness and speed ratings.  When mounted to road construction vehicles, TMA attenuators are subject to weight requirements and must be positioned at adequate distance to ensure the safety of workers and equipment in the event of a crash.

Attenuator Truck Equipment and Options

There are various types of truck mounted attenuators including tiltable or foldable options and trailer mounted attenuators.  Tiltable options such as Trinity Industries’ MPS-350 are designed so that the attenuator will pivot up or down to engage or disengage the attenuating crash cushion.  Foldable options such as the Safe Stop 180 will fold in half so that the attenuator is stacked on itself when disengaged.  Trailer mounted varieties do not pivot or tilt and are always engaged when attached to a truck.

Road construction attenuator trucks typically have a bed for transporting equipment and an arrowboard or message board to instruct drivers of traffic conditions.   Many other equipment options may be necessitated by the environment and conditions including strobe lighting for driver awareness, work lights for night visibility, and equipment racks.

Review a summary of attenuator truck options and equipment.

Comparing Flatbed Access Platforms for Fall Protection

Safety & Numbers blog sponsor Innovative Access Solutions, LLC produces portable flatbed truck access platforms for fall protection safety. The IAS platform is a new and innovative approach compared to other available flatbed fall protection options. With this in mind we are happy to help promote and review the advantages of a lightweight, portable platform as compared to bulky traditional wheeled systems.
Flatbed Access Platform Mounted to Truck Trailer

Advantages of a Portable Flatbed Access Platform

As mentioned above, the IAS flatbed access platform is an innovative approach to fall protection for loading/unloading, tarping, and maneuvering around flatbed trailers. The platform is composed of lightweight aluminum and equipped with CNC billet mounting hooks, making it ideal for fall protection at offsite locations, on stationary trailers, and where space is limited or time is of the essence.  The IAS flatbed access platform is ANSI rated to 3 man / 3,000 lbs making it versatile and durable.  IAS platforms also provide a safety rail that is easily removable for convenient stow away and mobility.  The IAS flatbed access platform is standard at lengths of 4′ and 8′ and can be customized to meet specialized requirements.

Compared to Traditional Flatbed Platform Systems

The majority of available flatbed access platform systems are wheeled or rolling platforms. These systems are ideal in certain applications. Truck fleets with high shipping volume, available space at their facility, and a sizable work force will appreciate the traditional wheeled flatbed access platform system. These systems typically provide space for a truck trailer to pull in between two parallel platforms which sandwich together on each side of the trailer deck. Traditional systems are generally expensive and less flexible.

Choosing the Best Fall Protection Option

When deciding on the best fall protection flatbed access platform for your company’s needs, we recommend considering available capital/workforce, the importance of mobility, and whether a bulky wheeled system will suit your needs.  The IAS flatbed access platform is mobile and portable, preventing the need to have a system consuming space at each site.  Being lightweight and modular, it is also easier to mount at any location and with fewer available workers. And the IAS flatbed access platform is ideal for specialized applications such as stationary flatbed trailers, contractor truck fleets, and industries including construction, mining and energy.

Choose the 4′ Work Platform with Safety Rail or 8′ Work Platform with Safety Rail

Whichever flatbed access platform you choose, always remember the importance of fall protection risk management even at limited heights. Investing in basic fall protection safety equipment such as a flatbed trailer work platform will ultimately save money and hardship in the long run when compared to workers comp claims, lost worker time, and indirect work injury costs.

National Work Zone Awareness Week 2014 Promotes Highway Construction Work Zone Safety

Today marks the beginning of National Work Zone Awareness Week 2014. In an effort to reduce accidents, injuries and deaths in highway construction work zones, the American Traffic Safety Services Association designates a week at the beginning of the construction season each year to promote safety initiatives. National Work Zone Awareness week was initiated in 1999 and has been effective at improving the safety of motorists and workers while reducing work zone crashes.  This year’s initiative kicks off today, April 7th, 2014, with events being hosted in Seattle, WA.

Work Zone Speeding: A Costly Mistake

This year’s theme focuses on the dangers and risks of speeding through highway construction work zones.  “In 2012, 609 workers and motorists were killed in highway work zones nationwide. Approximately 85 percent of those killed in work zones are drivers and their passengers.”  Surely speeding played a role in a significant percentage of these accidents.

Events and Information

The National Work Zone Awareness Week 2014 kickoff event will be held on April 8, 2014 at 10 AM in Seattle Washington.  The event is hosted on State Route 99 at the Alaska Way Viaduct Replacement Program project. For more information, visit the following websites.

We encourage you to drive safe in support of this worthy cause!

Fall Protection PPE Equipment

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) covers a wide range of industries and safety objectives, from law enforcement to sports, industrial settings, contractors and even casual retail environments.  The various functions of PPE are designed to protect hazards in support of work safety policies and controls.  These can range from bodily injury, exposure to environmental threats, breathing mechanisms, and much more.

With OSHA having a renewed focus on Fall Protection and having imposed new rules for Fall Protection PPE, businesses in a range of industries are investing heavily in fall protection equipment.  Consider the following review of Fall Protection PPE equipment and how it can help to reduce injuries at your workplace.

Personal Protective Equipment Options for Workplace Fall Protection Safety

Personal Protective Equipment is required by OSHA when positive fall protection such as guardrails, access platforms, gangways, catwalks, and stairways are unavailable.

When guardrails and other positive fall protection are not available to protect from falls, workers must use personal fall protection systems (such as harnesses, lanyards, lifelines). [29 CFR 1910.6729 CFR 1915.7129 CFR 1915.73, and 29 CFR 1915.77]

Harnesses & Lanyards

Harnesses and lanyards are considered personal protective equipment since each individual worker must be fitted with the equipment for fall protection safety, as opposed to an all encompassing solution.  A lanyard is the rope or other length of connection between a single point anchor source and a safety harness, worn by an employee.  Snap hooks, D-rings and caribiners are utilized to ensure a safe connection.  Anchors must be secured and can be affixed to a variety of stable structures.  The complete fall protection system must be able to adequately support the weight of the employee.  Fall protection PPE systems are typically categorized as a fall restraint system, which prevents falls similar to a car seat belt, and a fall arrest system, which catches a falling worker prior to contact with the ground or other solid structure.

Fall Restraint Systems

The advantage of fall restraint systems is the prevention of the need to absorb the shock and otherwise prevent further injury in the event of a fall.  Further, in cases where the environment requires rescue efforts in the case of a fall, a fall arrest system is preferred.  Generally speaking, fall arrest systems are more safe and less expensive, while more limiting and often less efficient in a workplace.

Fall Arrest Systems

Fall arrest systems often require shock absorbing lanyards and must be carefully considered to avoid further injuring the employee when a fall occurs.  These systems are often used in work environments such as roofing, construction, and shipyards.  In these work environments, a fall is more permissible compared to a mining operation or manufacturing plant with heavy machinery.

Horizontal and Vertical Lifelines

Lifelines are a broad range of fall protection equipment that can be applied for horizontal applications such as roofs or ship decks, as well as vertical applications such as enclosed spaces or ladder systems.  As opposed to a single point anchor, lifelines provide more freedom of movement as they are typically connected to a cable, pipe, or other continuous structure.  Horizontal systems can be designed to provide ultimate movement flexibility via pass through systems, overhead connections, and other similarly unobtrusive mechanisms.  Vertical lifelines can be track based or climb assist systems on ladders at heights, or pulley operated systems for confined spaces and similar applications.  In each case, lifelines generally differ from harness and lanyard systems in so much that they are less mobile and more of a direct method for cases where fall protection risk is consistent and eminent.

The Trucker™ Series of Ladders Rated as ANSI Type IAA

The Trucker™ Series of ladders was recently tested and passed ANSI Type IAA Special Duty performance requirements.  ANSI (American National Standards Institute) standard A14.7-2007 applies to portable metal ladders and provides duty ratings from 200 to 375 pound capacity.  Type IAA is the maximum 375 lb. duty rating, described as an Extra Heavy Duty Industrial Ladder.

The Trucker™ Series of ladders are safety engineered to reduce fall injuries and improve efficiency when accessing truck trailer decks.  The Trucker ladders provide dimpled Wide Grip Strut® plank steps, feature handrails that extend above the deck to provide 3 points of contact, and are engineered with a diagonal stairway design for ease of access.  The ladders meet and exceed the general requirements provided by OSHA for ladder safety:

When there is a break in elevation of 19 inches(48 cm) or more and no ramp, runway, embankment or personnel hoist is available, employers must provide a stairway or ladder at all worker points of access.
Source: Stairways & Ladders: A Guide to OSHA Rules

 

ANSI

ANSI A14.7-2007 Testing Procedures

The Trucker™ ladders underwent tests far exceeding the duty rating, passing test loads in excess of 1200 lbs. to meet the requirements of the 375 pound special duty rating.  Tests included In-Use Inclined Load Test, Step / Rung Bending Strength Tests, Side-to-Side-Rail Shear Strength Tests, Rung Torque Tests, and Handrail Tests.  With a durable design including CNC billet mounting hooks and extruded aluminum frame, The Trucker Series of Ladders offer the durability to provide mobile safety for truck fleets, stationary trailers, or individual truck drivers when accessing the trailer deck.

 

The Trucker Series of Ladders

The Trucker™ Series of Ladders

The Trucker™ ladders are designed to mount to a variety of flatbed trailers including drop deck, roll tarp, curtain side, and more.  The Trucker Series of ladders feature plank steps and a pivoting bottom step, and fold up compactly for storage and mobility.  Additional ANSI rated Trucker ladders include a shorter two step ladder and longer four step ladder, originally designed for crane trucks.  Mounting options include the standard CNC mounting hooks, for mounting throughout the stake rack, or steel brackets for more permanent ladder placement.

The Safety & Numbers blog is pleased to highlight The Trucker™ Series of ladders as a valuable equipment investment for businesses to improve work safety.  Trucker ladders provide features designed for the mobile truck driver or service fleet.  In addition to the compact design, lockable storage racks and accompanying flatbed work platforms can provide safety on and off the work site.