International Fall Protection Symposium
Come
join us for the 2010 International Fall Protection Symposium (IFPS), hosted
by the International Society for Fall Protection (ISFP) in partnership with
the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE). The symposium will be held
on June 16 - 17, 2010, in Baltimore, Maryland, in conjunction with the ASSE’s
Safety 2010 Professional Development Conference & Exposition.
(see step 9 on the Safety 2010 registration form to select your
ISFP rate.)
IFPS 2010 provides an international, multi-disciplinary platform for safety practitioners, regulators and scholars to connect and exchange information about the new and emerging fall protection issues. This highly informative symposium will highlight studies intended to propel global fall protection efforts and reduce preventable fall accidents.
This year, the event is organized around the theme of Progress through Collaboration and will focus on fall accidents as a subject of global concern. Expert presentations and panel discussions cover a wide range of fall protection topics including engineered system design, models for fall arrest testing and industrial rope access techniques, to name a few.
Who Should Attend
This symposium is designed for anyone concerned with the effectiveness of fall protection programs, including managers, safety and insurance administrators, legal staff, engineers, labor representatives, trainers, standards-setting personnel, and academics.
Highlights
- Two focused tracks on topical fall protection issues
- Presentation of the Andrew Sulowski Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Field of Fall Protection
- Wrap-Up Panel Discussion with eminent safety experts
- Numerous networking opportunities with industry peers
Schedule
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
- 12:00pm-1:00pm - Opening Luncheon
- 1:00pm-2:00pm - Keynote Address
- 2:00pm-5:00pm - Technical Program
Thursday, June 17, 2010
- 7:30am-8:00am - Breakfast Briefing
- 8:00am-12:00pm - Technical Program
- 12:00pm-1:00pm - Panel Discussion
Education Sessions
Horizontal Lifelines: Component Testing and User Instructions
Although prominent in fall protection, horizontal lifelines are complicated to design and install. The purpose of this presentation is to provide attendees with greater awareness of the complexities of these systems, guidance on current regulations and standards that govern their use and how they may be implemented to enhance safety.
Speaker(s):
Thomas Kramer and Rupert Noton, LJB Inc., USA
Fall Protection for the Emerging Wind Energy Industry
This presentation will focus on the specific fall hazards associated with the construction and operation of modern wind turbines. Attendees will learn the application of current best practices and equipment for fall protection in the wind energy industry using recent statistical data and case studies.
Speaker(s):
Joseph Feldstein, WindSAFE, USA
Gravity Damages People: Is the Solution a Technical or Social Process?
The burden of personal damage arising from incidents involving gravity is well documented. The question which must therefore be addressed is – why does personal damage involving gravity continue reasonably unabated?
Speaker(s):
Roger Kahler, The InterSafe Group Pty. Ltd., Australia
Temporary Anchorages: Does the End User Understand Them?
More and more temporary anchorage products come to market every year for a variety of applications. While these are helpful, the users must know and understand their limitations. This session offers some practical advice on how to ensure these products are used safely.
Speaker(s):
Bruce Simms & John Whitty, ITAC Fall Protection Services, USA
Adjusting Fall Arrest Clearance for Actual Worker Weight, Free Fall and PEA Force
Fall Protection manufacturers and engineers publish clearance charts based on testing/analysis using specific masses, free falls and fall protection equipment. The speaker will present equations and methods for determining clearance to match the actual use of a fall arrest system.
Speaker(s):
Greg Small, P. Eng., M.Eng., High Engineering Corp, USA
Risk Matrix - Fall Protection
The assessment of risk in managing fall protection programs constitutes basic, and typical, tool applied by all levels of management, supervision and general safety personnel in all industries. The paper discusses several different risk matrices as applied to the same hazard of falling, depending on the level of management and related various objectives of an enterprise.
Speaker(s):
Andrew Sulowski, M.S.c., P.Eng., Sulowski Fall Protection, Canada
Dynamic Biomechanical Tests and Videos as a Basis for Training and Monitoring in Fall Protection
In 2009 Suva (Swiss National Accident Insurance Fund) performed dynamic experiments of common working at height situations with instrumented crash-test manikins. The presentation and demonstration will show some video-examples and diagrams of physical impacts to the human body when being arrested by a fall protection system in a non-upright position.
Speaker(s):
Bernhard von Mühlenen, Suva, Switzerland
A Comprehensive Study on the Use and Performance of Y-Lanyards
Second only to full body harnesses in terms of use, y-lanyards have become the preferred choice for personal fall arrest systems that utilize a lanyard. It is the purpose of this study to examine the proliferation of y-lanyard use in the workplace and its technical and practical implications.
Speaker(s):
Randall Wingfield, Gravitec Systems, Inc., USA
Delivering Workplace Safety at Height
Utilizing the global experience of the trade association he leads, the speaker will use case studies, photographic illustration, work guidelines and descriptions of techniques and procedures to afford delegates a greater understanding of this fast-growing means of safe working at height that delivers unparalleled fall protection.
Speaker(s):
Roderick Dymott, IRATA International, UK
Development of an Anthropomorphic Test Dummy for Fall-Arrest Testing Purposes
The presentation will report on UK research which is investigating whether a 50th percentile modified Hybrid III anthropomorphic test dummy, currently used in motor vehicle occupant restraint testing, can be used for fall-arrest testing purposes.
Speaker(s):
David Riches, Safety Squared, UK
Preventing a Catapulting Event in an Aerial Work Platform
Getting launched out of a boom lift can be catastrophic. Learn what regulations govern the use of a harness in a boom lift. How workers get catapulted out of the boom lift and how to prevent the catapulting event in the first place.
Speaker(s):
Jeffrey Stachowiak, Sunbelt Rentals/Scaffold Industry Association, USA
Methods for Work at Height and its Implications for Anchors
Current methods for work at height can be broadly grouped into two: rope access and fall arrest. Both methods operate under slightly yet significantly different "rules," equipment and requirements; but both have irrefutable unifying principles. Consideration is given to the requirements that each of these two methods make on anchors for work at height.
Speaker(s):
Hein Stapelberg, M-A-S-H, South Africa
Rope Access and its Place in the Harness-Based Working at Heights Industry
In this presentation, local compliance of rope access will be assessed against existing standards, legislation, OH&S, techniques, equipment and commercial interests. Timelines will illustrate the respective growth of rope access and speculate on the next five years in Australia, USA and other parts of the world.
Speaker(s):
Peter Ferguson, ARAA, David Bell and Loui McCurley, SPRAT
New Protection Against Falls from a Height for Scaffolding
A lot of falls happen during the erection or dismantling of frame scaffolding for building façades, especially when handling with the scaffold components on the top platform. This presentation will address the development of new PPE against falls from a height for use at scaffolds, taking in account the appropriate scaffold configurations.
Speaker(s):
Wolfgang Schäper, BG BAU, Germany
Featured Speakers
Karl-Heinz Noetel, Dipl.-Ing.
Director of the Technical Department of Berufsgenossenschaft der Bauwirtschaft (Bau-BG), an accident insurance and prevention institution in Germany, Mr. Noetel acts as coordinator for workplace health and safety issues in the construction sector. He is actively involved in several standardization and membership organizations, including the Fachausschuss Persönliche Schutzausrüstungen, the European Coordination of Notified Bodies for PPE, and DIN. He has written numerous articles in professional magazines and performed countless seminars and training courses.
Andrew Sulowski, M.S.c., P.Eng.
Instrumental in advancing height safety in both the U.S. and Canada, Mr. Sulowski holds four patents on fall protection equipment and has written two books and innumerable articles on fall protection, including co-authoring and editing Fundamentals of Fall Protection, published by the ISFP in 1991. He is a founding member of the ISFP and is actively involved in several other professional associations and organizations, including the Professional Engineers of Ontario, ASSE, Canadian Standards Association, and the International Organization for Standardization.
Randall Wingfield
ISFP’s current president, Mr. Wingfield, is extensively involved in the continuing development of national standards for fall protection equipment and training. Wingfield chairs the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Z359 Accredited Standards Committee and is an active member of the ASSE. He is also the president and owner of Gravitec Systems, Inc., a Washington-based fall protection and rescue company that specializes in engineering and training
Background
Every two years, the International Society for Fall Protection brings together safety professionals to disseminate information regarding advances in the field of fall protection and provide guidance for safe work at height.
As workplace incidence reports over the decades have demonstrated, falls from an elevation are a leading cause of occupational fatality and pose serious risks to the health and safety of workers worldwide.
For the most part, industrialized nations have independently established policies and guidelines to guard workers against the risks of falls. It is the aim of IFPS 2010 to improve the effectiveness of fall protection policies, programs and practices by promoting co-operation beyond national and regional levels.
About ISFP
Since its inception in 1988, the International Society for Fall Protection (ISFP), a 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit organization, has been dedicated to reducing fall-related injuries and fatalities by promoting research and facilitating communication among industry professionals. Its mission: to be the international voice and forum for fall protection information exchange. For more information about the ISFP, visit www.isfp.org.
Become a member of ISFP today at www.isfp.org and save up to $140 on registration! (see step 9 on the Safety 2010 registration form to select your ISFP rate.)