CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NOVEMBER 2016

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PROFILE
inertia weights; possible replacing of the
main spring; replacing all circlips and
springs; possible replacing of the cable or
the hook; and possibly replacing the hook. At
some point the block could be in such a bad
state that it is more cost-effective to replace
it completely than trying to service it.
MS What are the potential turnaround
times for these services?
(JdT): Servicing turnaround times differ on
what needs to be done on the block. For
example, if it’s a minor service where there
is nothing wrong with the functionalities and
the block works and retracts perfectly, to
service it could take up to an hour. If there
is a need to take it apart and replace the
springs, torque and tighten it, close it back
up, retag and relabel it, the process can take
between an hour and an hour-and-a-half.
When there is a need to replace the cable
and the major components, the process can
take two to three hours.
MS: What are the working lengths of
your HARU range of fall arrest blocks?
JdT: The blocks go up to 30m. We have
2,5 m, 3,5 m, 6 m, 10 m, 15 m, 20 m, 25 m and
30 m blocks. The size of the block required
depends on application. The working envi-
ronment or scenario determines what level
of block one needs.
MS: What sort of applications are these
suited for?
JdT: The retractable lifeline is mostly suited
for applications where there is a lot of up and
down movement with an overhead anchor
point where the pendulum swing will not be
more than 30º.
MS: Just how big is the demand locally
for fall arrest blocks?
(JdT): It’s difficult to say how big the local
market is. However, the South African fall
arrest market is still growing and legislation
is not enforced on all levels. Most end users
just want to comply by wearing a harness
and using a shock absorbing lanyard as a
fall arrest system. Most employers are not
actually looking at a user-friendly system
that is work specific. But, we see a move
towards fall arrest blocks. Our enquiries
have gone from probably 20 blocks per year,
to selling 600 blocks last year in one go to
a single client. There was also an enquiry
recently from one of the power stations for
1 000 blocks. It is a more cost-effective solu-
tion than some of the work at height solu-
tions available. With certification, we are
closing that remaining loop. It is definitely a
market that will keep increasing as the end
user gets educated and get to know what
works better.
MS: How are you educating the market?
JdT: The Institute for Work at Height’s
guidelines launched last month will create
better awareness for the entire safe work-
ing at height sector and hopefully more
end users will go for user-friendly systems
and not just complying with the law. In the
next five years there is a possibility that the
guidelines will be legislated as a Work at
Height regulation.
MS: What are the main advantages of
fall arrest blocks compared with other
solutions?
JdT: The fall arrest block is the only fall arrest
device that is completely hands-free. The us-
ers don’t have to open or close, or manually
move the device up and down. This makes it
the most user-friendly fall arrest device. b