Risk Takers Heed Warning When It Comes To Employee Safety

United States of America -- Free-Press-Release.com-- Feb 4, 2010 -- Risk taking is familiar business to Renegade/Kibbi, LLC. Excluded from an RV show in 1997
for not being a member of the presenting organization, Kibbi set up shop in the parking lot.
Dubbing themselves “Renegades”, the moniker sticks more than a decade later. Renegade Custom Coaches now carry everything from people to race cars. Their vehicles can be as basic as a traditional RV, or as extravagant as a luxury coach & trailer with an observation deck.

But taking risks with employee safety, that’s another story. During assembly and routine maintenance, workers climb to the top of the coaches to be sure that they are properly sealed, as well as to inspect vents and satellite dishes for damage. The average height of the vehicles is 13 feet. Although there had never been an accident or a fall from the top of the vehicles, a visit from the company’s insurance agent put a spotlight the danger those workers were in.

“We had a new insurance agent come in to inspect our facility, and when she saw people on top of the trailers without any fall protection, she was quick to point out the risk we were taking,” said Scott Smith, Safety Coordinator at Renegade. “We’re always trying to keep our people safe, and that really brought to our attention that we needed to do more.”

As Safety Coordinator, Smith immediately began researching fall arrest systems. He examined wire rope systems, but was concerned about what would happen over the longer spans they hoped to cover in certain areas of the facility

“It seemed to all of us that the rigid system was the way to go,” said Smith. “We’ve got one area to cover that is 78 feet long. My fear with the sag and stretch of the wire is that the guy would hit the floor before the system caught him."

Renegade purchased a total of seven Tether Track fall arrest anchor systems by Gorbel. Five of the systems are single person monorail systems, and two are two-person dual track monorails with lengths of 53 and 78 feet. The dual track systems were installed in work bays that either required two people to complete a task, or where a truck and trailer can be worked on simultaneously. The track allows for the people on top of the vehicles to pass each other without disconnecting their lanyard from the rail.

Since installation, all workers are now required to be tied onto the Tether Track systems whenever working at any height beyond 4 feet, in keeping with OSHA standards.

“Workers seem happy,” said Smith. “I’ve tested it myself. It’s easy to move around, and it’s very easy to get used to.”

With their employees now protected from fall-related injuries, Renegade Custom Coaches is
back to taking risks it is more accustomed to.

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Since 1977, Gorbel has been dedicated to providing high-quality overhead material handling solutions backed by a commitment to on-time delivery, a focus on customer service, and the industry's best warranty.


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