TRAM Fall Prevention System now Available in North America

With the TRAM retrofit program, AmQuip is initially targeting its largest telescopic boom cranes, where workers need access to the top of the crane to assemble attachments.

“We have identified 20 of our largest all-terrains as a priority for TRAM,” said Jeff Hammons, AmQuip vice president for risk management. “We take safety seriously and most of our business is with customers who are equally safety-sensitive. Neither AmQuip nor its customers can accept employees being unprotected on top of cranes any longer. TRAM provides a safe and convenient solution while still meeting compliance with OSHA’s new Crane and Derrick standard, 1926.1400.”

The first AmQuip units to be fitted with TRAM are four of its Grove GMK 7550 cranes, including two that have Grove’s Mega Wing attachments. The first installation was completed mid-August. The next three installations will be completed by the end of September. The GMK 7550 is a 550-ton capacity telescopic crane with a five-section, 197-foot main boom and jib extensions up to 240 feet.

The TRAM system comprises a secure handlebar at waist level that moves along a rail installed at foot-level along the length of the main boom. A lanyard or pair of lanyards attach to the handlebar and to the rigger’s harness. By tying off at waist level rather than foot level, the TRAM user has no distance to fall in the event of a slip or trip, yet still has total freedom to do the work required.

Meanwhile the movable handlebar provides support while walking along the boom of the crane. The handle rotates 180 degrees, if required, to aid maneuverability, and folds down for storage when not in use.

Ascent and descent is often the riskiest part of working at height. TRAM makes this not just safer but easier too. As the user climbs up the side of the crane, he or she clips the lanyard onto the handle. Squeezing the hand brake releases an air-powered spring that pushes the arm gently but firmly to vertical, helping the user climb up and over onto the top of the boom. Similar assistance is given in descent. A deadman’s brake prevents the arm from moving along the rail unless the hand brake is squeezed.

“We spent a long time researching ways to assemble large cranes in a safer way,” added Hammons. “When we discovered TRAM, it was a clear choice not just because it is so effective, but because it is also convenient and very easy to use. I have found, in my 20-plus years providing safety and risk management services, that if something is not convenient and comfortable, people won’t use it. TRAM meets all our criteria. It allows the employees to go about their work at their normal pace with no impediment. It prevents them from falling, and it stows away when it is not in use.”

TRAM has been tested to and conforms to the relevant test requirements of ANSI/ASSE Z359.1-2007, EN795:1997, and AS/NZS 1891.2:2001. With integrated twin lanyards, the TRAM restraint belt has been tested to and conforms to the relevant test requirements of EN358:2000, EN354: 2002, and AS/NZS 1891.1:1995. Standfast has now retrofitted TRAM in Europe and Australia to several sizes and makes of both telescopic and lattice boom mobile cranes from 60-tonne up to 600-tonne capacity upwards, as well as on gantry beams of overhead travelling cranes.

Early crane installations required a degree of modification to fit each application, depending on the design of the crane. However, with growing demand from crane owners worldwide, Standfast has now developed, refined and standardized its methodology for either welding, banding, or bonding TRAM rails to most crane types.

Besides providing crane owners with a retrofit safety solution, Standfast supplies TRAM systems to Terex Cranes for installation on original equipment. Terex offers TRAM as a recommended option on its larger ATs, and the system has been recently specified by several Terex customers. Standfast is also in discussions with other OEM manufacturers that are under pressure from customers to develop improved height safety measures that are both practical and affordable.

“The TRAM fall restraint system has attracted a lot of interest from crane owners and manufacturer alike,” said Standfast CEO Cameron Baker. “Safety authorities all over the world are really tightening up on working at height since falls are the biggest cause of industrial accidents. They are pressuring major contractors to raise their game in eliminating fall risk.”

Producing a system that offers riggers safety while still giving them the freedom to do their work seems to have been quite a challenge for the crane industry, continued Baker. “Fall arrest systems that leave guys dangling in the air and risking shock trauma are clearly inadequate. Fall restrain systems like TRAM that prevent falls in the first place are a far better approach.”