Two of the three union ironworkers who died on the job last year had used fall protection equipment that failed because it was not applied correctly, said Eric Dean, general president of the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Ironworkers.
“To get across a beam, you use a beamer that allows horizontal egress back and forth, left and right,” Dean told attendees at the 2023 North American Ironworkers/IMPACT conference held Feb. 12-15 in New Orleans. “To go up and down columns, they have vertical fall retractable lifelines. What we're seeing is: a lot of our companies are providing vertical fall arrest equipment, but they're tying off and using it horizontally. When you're out 20 feet extended, you're not going to limit your fall.”