GB2319286A

GB2319286A - Support post for safety line

Info

Publication number: GB2319286A
Application number: GB9720386A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Michael Jonathan Miller
Original assignee: RICHARD LEES STEEL DECKING Ltd
Current assignee: RICHARD LEES STEEL DECKING Ltd
Priority date: 1996-11-15
Filing date: 1997-09-25
Publication date: 1998-05-20
Anticipated expiration: 2017-09-25
Also published as: GB2319286B; GB9720386D0

Abstract

A support post 3 for providing a support for a safety line securely held under tension between two posts comprises a socket 6 arranged at its lower end for secure attachment to a support, and a line attachment means 7,8, to which the line is attached. The post 3 also comprises a gripping means which is a U - shaped loop 8 for manually or mechanically lifting the post into position. The socket 6 and the lower end of the body 5 comprise complementary attaching means such as aligned holes for the insertion of a bolt 12 to secure the body 5 to the socket 6. The socket 6 is secured e.g. by welding to a secure support, e.g. the steel framework of a building.

Description

A Method of Erection of a Safetv Line and a Support Post therefor The invention relates to a method of erection of a safety line and a support post therefor such as would be used during the construction of steel framed buildings to protect construction workers from falling off the building being constructed.

It will be appreciated that it is of considerable importance to take whatever steps are possible to reduce the extent of accidents during the construction of buildings. One method of reducing accidents is for construction workers to be attached to a secure support by means of a flexible line or rope so that if the worker does slip over and fall he will be prevented from falling to the ground and be restrained by the rope. In order to ensure that the worker still has an adequate freedom of movement whilst being connected to the support by the rope the support can itself be provided by a secure line along which the workers rope can slide. By this means the worker is able to walk along the whole length of the secure line as well as work within the freedom provided by the rope to which he is directly attached. By utilising such a system the effective working area of the worker is maximised and therefore the time between re-attachment of the safety line to alternative positions is also maximised. Such safety lines can be provided to surround the entire perimeter of a building under construction to provide a complete edge protection system to protect many workers at the same time working at different locations around the perimeter.

There are nevertheless two drawbacks with such existing systems and which are solved by the present invention. Firstly such edge protection systems are difficult to erect and considerably add to the construction time. It is clearly advantageous to speed up the time of erection of the safety systems so that there is no reluctance on the part of the users to use them from the point of view of convenience or difficulties in use. Secondly, such edge protection systems are designed to be attached to existing vertical supports or uprights which are usually the existing vertical members of a steel frame building.

There is therefore a problem when no such vertical supports are available such as occurs when working on the uppermost floor of a building. This occurs frequently with the existing "fast-tracking" construction techniques where the construction is started before the design of the building has been finalised.

These disadvantages and others are solved by the present invention.

According to the present invention there is provided a support post for providing a support for a safety line, said safety line being securely held between two posts under tension so as to provide a secure support along its length, said support post comprising a generally elongate body, a support attaching means arranged at its lower end for securely and permanently attaching the post to a secure support and a line attaching means to which the safety line may be attached.

Preferably the support post also comprises a gripping means for manually or mechanically lifting the post into position. The gripping means may suitably comprise a U-shaped loop provided on each side of the post. The U-shaped loop may be provided by a single length of rod which is bent in a U-shape the ends of each leg being secured to the body, such as by welding.

The post preferably comprises a square hollow tubular section although any suitable section could be chosen to provide the desired combination of mechanical handleability and strength.

The line attaching means are preferably comprised of a single U-shaped loop the ends of each leg of which are welded to the upper end of the body.

The support attaching means preferably comprises a separate socket which is comprised of a hollow section of the same shape as the lower end of the body being preferably a square section and also sufficiently larger in cross section to permit the lower end of the body to be inserted within it. The socket and the lower end of the body comprise complementary attaching means such as aligned holes for the insertion of a bolt there-through to secure the body to the socket. The socket is secured to the fixed support of the building by suitable means such as welding.

The post is removable from the socket, by releasing the bolt fixing, and is reusable in other sockets in other locations. The socket is preferably left welded to the frame of the building and is small enough to be covered over with the concrete aggregate which will form the floor or wall of the building.

According to the invention there is also provided a method of erecting a safety line for the edge protection of buildings, said method comprising the following steps: a. securing a first post, comprising attaching means for a safety line, in a fixed upright position, b. securing a similar second post in a fixed upright position, c. attaching a first end of the safety line to the attaching means of the first post and a second end of the safety line to the attaching means of the second post, d. tensioning the safety line by means of a suitable tensioning device to provide a sufficiently secure pre-tensioned safety line.

The support post may be secured by firstly securing a socket for the post to a fixed structure by means of welding and then locating and securing the post in the socket by suitable means such as a bolt fixing.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the appended drawings of a edge protection system in which: fig. 1 is a perspective view from above of a steel framed building under construction showing the edge protection system in use on the upper most floor thereof, fig. 2 is a front view of a support post of the invention, fig. 3 is a side view of the support post of fig. 2, fig 4 is a cross section through X-X in fig. 2, fig. 5 is a side view of a safety line in the installed position, and fig. 6 is a front post of a support post according to a further embodiment.

Referring now to fig. 1 which shows the top most floor 2 of a steel framed building 1 during construction. There are no convenient existing vertical uprights to which a safety line may be attached. A portable support post 3 for providing a support for a safety line 4 is securely located at a convenient location on the existing structure 1. The safety line is 4 securely held between two posts under tension so as to provide a secure support along its length.

Referring to figures 2 to 4, the support post 3 comprising a generally elongate body 5, a support attaching means 6 arranged at its lower end for securely attaching the post to a secure support on the existing structure 1, and a line attaching means 7 to which the safety line 4 may be attached.

The support post 3 also comprises additional line attaching means 8 with a Ushaped loop located half way up the body 5 which may also act as gripping means 8 for manually or mechanically lifting the post into position. There are two gripping means 8 provided one on each side of the section, and one of which has its loop extending towards one side of the post and the other gripping means 8 has its loop extending towards the opposite side. The post can thus be used to attach two safety lines one on each side to form a continuous safety line and by using further posts the safety line can be extended around the entire perimeter of the building or area for which the edge protection is required. Both the line attaching means 7, 8 comprise a U-shaped loop provided on the top of the post and on each side of the post. The Ushaped loop is provided by a single length of rod which is bent in a U-shape, the ends of each leg 9 being secured to the body by welding. The line attaching means 8 located at the mid point of the post 3 comprises two U-shaped loops, the legs 9 of which are fixedly secured to opposite sides of the post by welding.

The post 3 comprises a square hollow tubular section although any suitable section could be chosen to provide the desired combination of mechanical handleability and strength. The support attaching means 6 comprises a separate socket 10 which is comprised of a square hollow section of the same shape as the lower end of the body and also sufficiently larger in cross section to permit the lower end of the body to be inserted within it. In this specific embodiment the post is made from 50 mm square hollow section and the socket is made from 60 mm square hollow section. The socket 10 and the lower end of the body 5 comprise complementary attaching means in the form of aligned holes 11 for the insertion of a bolt 12 there-through to secure the body 5 to the socket 10. The socket 10 is secured to the fixed support of the building 1 by welding.

However it will be appreciated that any suitable attaching means could be used to secure the body 5 in the socket 10 and also to secure the socket 10 to the structure 1.

Referring to figure 5, it can be seen that the safety line 4 is connected to the line attaching means 7, 8 of the post 3, and the line tensioned by a tensioning means 13 in a known manner to provide a secure supporting line for an individual safety line 14 attached to the worker 15.

After use the post 3 is removable from the socket 10, by releasing the bolt fixing 12, and is reusable in other sockets 10 in other locations. The socket 10 is left welded to the existing structure 1 and is small enough to be covered over with the concrete aggregate which will form the floor or wall of the building.

Thus the socket is sacrificial and becomes permanently embedded in the concrete, or other material forming the structure of the building, however this has been found to cost very little due to the present invention and to be more than made up for in the increase in the speed of erection and disassembly of the safety fence. Another major benefit of the invention is that because the safety line may be left in situ whilst the concreting process is carried out the workers applying the concrete have the benefit of the safety line. When the concrete is set a small hole may be made in the concrete to gain access to the bolt 12 in the socket to release the post and the remaining hole can then be easily filled in to cover the socket.

Although the embodiment in fogs. 2 to 5 is shown as a single bolt passing through the socket and the post from one side to the other, a further preferred embodiment would be for a bolt or bolts to be threaded into the side wall of the post so that only a small hole is required to be made in the concrete to provide access to the bolt, as shown in fog. 6. In the previous embodiment the hole would have to be at least as wide as the length of the bolt which is greater than the width of the socket, whereas in this embodiment a hole sufficiently large to provide access to the bolt to turn it just a sufficient number of turns to release the post would be all that is required and this would therefore make the post removal and the subsequent reparation of the concrete even quicker.

The method of erecting a safety line for the edge protection of buildings is quick and simple and results in the minimum amount of inconvenience and disruption to the continuing tasks required for the construction of the building.

The worker first secures the socket to a surface of the structure 1 by suitable means such as welding. Welding is preferred for this operation because it is quicker than bolt fixing means because it is not necessary to drill specific holes in the structure 1. It therefore gives the worker the flexibility to locate the post 3 in the most convenient place.

A first support post 3, comprising attaching means 7, 8 for a safety line 4, is then located in the socket 10 and secured thereto by a bolt fixing means. A second socket 10 is then secured in the desired location by welding and a second post 3 located therein and bolted. Clearly the worker could weld the sockets 10 in position first and then secure the posts 3 in the sockets 10.

A first end of the safety line 4 is then attached to the attaching means 7, 8 of the first post 3 and a second end of the safety line 4 attached to the attaching means 7, 8 of the second post 3. The safety line 4 is then tensioned by means of a suitable tensioning device 13 to provide a sufficiently secure pre-tensioned safety line 4.

The method of fitting the posts and attaching the line thereto to form the complete edge protection system is quick and easy to do and may be carried out by a single worker from a safe position without any undue stretching or physical exertion which may itself increase the risk of accidents. The method also only requires a modest amount of equipment, namely a small welding unit such as a 150 AMP welder.

It will be appreciated that the support post and method of the invention and the edge protection system provided thereby could be used in many circumstances other than the top floor of a steel framed building, for instance it would be just as useful in any circumstance where there was a gap in the perimeter barriers of any building, for example, lift shafts, stairwells, atriums and any temporary structures within the construction process.

It would also avoid the need for hand rails in some circumstances, particularly temporary structures.

Claims

1. A support post for providing a support for a safety line, said safety line being securely held between two posts under tension so as to provide a secure support along its length for a worker attached thereto by a sliding line, said support post comprising a generally elongate body and a line attaching means to which the safety line may be attached, characterised in that the support post also comprises a support attaching means arranged at its lower end for securely and permanently reattaching the post to a secure support.

2. A support post according to claim 1, characterised in that the support post comprises a gripping means for manually or mechanically lifting the post into position.

3. A support post according to claim 1, characterised in that the line attaching means comprises a first U-shaped loop provided on one side of the post.

4. A support post according to claim 3, characterised in that the line attaching means comprises a second U-shaped loop provided on the opposite side of the post to the first U-shaped loop.

5. A support post according to claim 3, characterised in that the U-shaped loop is provided by a single length of rod which is bent in a U-shape the ends of each leg being secured to the body, such as by welding.

6. A support post according to claim 1, characterised in that the post preferably comprises a square hollow tubular section.

7. A support post according to claim 1, characterised in that the gripping means comprises a first U-shaped loop provided on one side of the post.

8. A support post according to claim 1, characterised in that the support attaching means comprises a separate socket which is comprised of a hollow section of the same shape as the lower end of the body and also sufficiently larger in cross section to permit the lower end of the body to be inserted within it.

9. A support post according to claim 8, characterised in that the socket and the lower end of the body comprise complementary securing means, such as aligned holes for the insertion of a bolt to secure the body to the socket.

10. A support post according to claim 8, characterised in that the socket is secured to the fixed support of the building by suitable means such as welding.

11. A support post according to claim 8, characterised in that the post is removable from the socket, and is reusable in other sockets in other locations.

12. A support post according to claim 8, characterised in that the socket is left permanently secured to the frame of the building and is small enough to be covered over with concrete aggregate which will form the floor or wall of the building.

13. A method of erecting a safety line for the edge protection of buildings, said method comprising the following steps: a. securing a first post, comprising attaching means for a safety line, in a fixed upright position, b. securing a similar second post in a fixed upright position, c. attaching a first end of the safety line to the attaching means of the first post and a second end of the safety line to the attaching means of the second post, d. tensioning the safety line by means of a suitable tensioning device to provide a sufficiently secure pre-tensioned safety line.

14. A method according to claim 13, characterised in that the support post is secured by firstly securing a socket for the post to a fixed structure by means of welding and then locating and securing the post in the socket by suitable means such as a bolt fixing.