STEEL ERECTION
STEEL ERECTION
Work Smarter With Steel Gear
Accessories and Add-Ons to Support Steel Erection Work
By Ed Padilla
For erecting steel buildings, bridges and other structures, especially while working at height, many original equipment manufacturers( OEMs) offer mobile elevating work platforms( MEWPs), including boom lifts, scissor lifts and telehandlers to support steel erection.
But did you know that equipment accessories and add-ons also bolster steel erection, helping to keep workers productive on the jobsite?
Here are the top suggestions for additional tools to optimize workat-height operations in this type of specialized work:
Solutions for Work Above or Outside the Platform
When the jobsite requires access to tight spaces at height, an extra step up can provide access to get the job done in a safe manner. A mid-rail deck is an additional platform that sits on the platform’ s mid-rail and allows an ironworker to gain 15 inches to 18 inches off the floor of a lift platform and thread a machine between joists.
When projects require a worker to exit the platform, bolt-on external fall arrest systems utilize a cable that allows
Accessories and add-ons increase steel erectors’ productivity when working at height.
A mid-rail deck gives ironworkers access to tight spaces at height.
an operator to leave the platform and move freely without detaching the safety harness, so they are constantly tethered to the platform. This is especially helpful for iron workers, who are often first on a jobsite and have few options to tie off.
Promoting Protection With Visibility
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration identifies the“ focus four” hazards as electrical hazards, fall hazards, struck-by hazards and caught-between hazards. Caught-in, or caught-between, injuries occur when an operator gets pinned between two or more objects.
Several factors must be in place to combat these hazards, including robust protection measures. Designed to lessen the risk of being caught between hazards on the job without losing visibility, enhanced protection sensors are available to help prevent an operator from being forced into the control panel.
30 l January-February 2025