Bucket Harness

Every once in a while a product comes along that changes the way things are done. We present the Bucket Harness.

The Issue- Canada’s equivalent to the US OSHA states-

OHNS in Alberta

1. An employer must ensure that equipment to be used by a worker during occupational rope access work activities is not suspended from the worker’s working line or safety line.
2. An employer must ensure that equipment weighing more than 8 kilograms and to be used by a worker during occupational rope access work activities is suspended from a separate line secured to a suitable anchorage.

Ironically OSHA 1910 uses very similar language-

Equipment, such as tools, squeegees, or buckets, is secured by a tool lanyard or similar method to prevent it from falling; and

The issue is there hasn’t been many options to secure the bucket to prevent the bucket from going to the ground if a handle broke. That’s what’s so exciting about our colleague Adam Gaulin President and CEO of Rope-A-Dope Windows Inc. has created. First Adam is no slouch in the business. They specialize in commercial window cleaning and rope access solutions. His experience led him to a conclusion over the past 15 years that being a window cleaner’s bucket is a “weak spot” in the overall safety of on a hi-rise building. Realizing that this was an industry wide problem and safety issue, he decided to put substantial time and resources into the patent and development of R-A-D’s new Bucket Harness.

Adam says “I spent a lot of time researching the use of current industry safety systems and found that most buckets were still being homemade. Drilling holes in the bucket for a rope degrades the integrity of the bucket itself. This could also lead to cutting or fraying of the rope and warping of the bucket to the point of cracking. In some cases, buckets are being taken off of the shelf and immediately above the general public for High-Rise work. A 5 gallon bucket filled with water has the weight of over 40lbs and the handles that they come with are not suitable for work at height. This poses a serious risk of injury or death to anyone below."

I also noticed there were no safe connection points for lanyards or tools to make sure that the bucket and equipment stay attached. It is quite common for a window cleaner to just grab and go with a bucket with no additional safety lanyards.

The reason I developed the Bucket Harness was because as an employer my first concern always has to be safety, both for my employees and the general public. I wanted to keep our job sites safer and minimize liability.”

The R-A-D’s Bucket Harness is a solution to this industry “weak spot” and helps employers and employees stay compliant for the following reasons:

1. Having the bucket secured from all sides means even weight displacement and mitigates warping of the bucket. This not only means that it will last longer, but that it will also leave more room to access your window cleaning tools.
2. R-A-D’s bucket harness is professionally made from industrial webbing and stitching and far exceeds the current regulations. After having them professionally tested, the Harness broke at 2,800 lbs. This is a huge safety factor when only using 40lbs of water.
3. Our harness has a sewn carabineer slot designed as a main anchor point and a side D-ring anchor point to be used with a lanyard for your bucket while bringing it off the roof to the worker. This ensures that any accidental drops will be caught and that the bucket is evenly weighted while suspended.
4. Attached tool lanyard anchors means that any mops, squeegees or additional equipment will also have a place to be secured. This minimizes unwanted drops and keeps tools secure.
 

Check out Bucket Harness at http://www.bucketharness.com and you can purchase at Amazon.