Page 62 - Occupational Health & Safety, September 2019

FALL PROTECTION
plants, oil and gas platforms, harsh cor- rosive marine environments and catenary lightning protection systems.
“After he found the rail, I designed the mounting hardware to install the rail onto the towers,” Peters said. “I had to get tower climbing certifications and fall protection training and climb the tower and take measurements.”
After obtaining measurements, Peters drafted the initial design and created fi- nite element models to simulate structural loads and generated presentations for NASA who approved the structure. In- stead of relying fully on computer models, Peters chose to build a small section of the fall protection system and test it on heavy equipment by hanging weights off of it. This test was performed to verify that fall protection design requirements were met, as this is a safety tool they wanted to be certain would work exactly as designed.
Installation
After the successful load test, the specifi- cations were given to one of the machine shops at Kennedy and the components were fabricated. Wisnom and his opera- tions group were tasked with installing the new system in the field. The instal- lation process involved a tremendous amount of strategic planning and coor- dination. The elevator only goes up to 450 feet, so access to the top section of the mast requires individuals to climb a ladder inside the tower shaft. In order to install a fall protection system in the top 100 feet of the inner shaft of a 500-foot lightning tower, a great deal of prepara- tion must precede the actual installation.
The equipment first had to be trans- ported to the bottom of the lightning mast, then the operations team had to go inside of the mast to install the components of the system. This aspect is particularly chal- lenging once the team reached the higher sections of the tower. Considering the height of the tower, the necessity of contin- uous ventilation to mitigate dust hazards and the inherent difficulty of working in a confined space, this team faced a particu- larly daunting challenge.
The operations group worked diligently to ensure all of the work was completed in the safest way possible. This featured the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), including full face respirators and Tyvek suits for the fiberglass dust/fibers.
“We also have a fan at the bottom, pull- ing air from the mast. The fan is connected to eight-inch diameter ducting that the guys have to position near the elevation they’re working at so it can exhaust the dust from the area,” Wisnom said. “The work is at heights, so they’re using fall protection and work position lanyards for themselves and lifting whatever material they need (rails, rungs, bolts, etc..) up to elevation with rope.”
The installation involved removing 23 fiberglass ladder rungs, and replacing them with acetyl resin rungs, and remov- ing the fiberglass bolts that mount the ladders to support channels. Finally, the 106-foot fiberglass rail was installed in 11 sections and spliced together.
Safety First
This newly installed ladder system is fully OSHA compliant; at Kennedy, safety is the
number one concern.
The novelty of the new design comes
from its material make up. Until recently, all fall protection systems were comprised of electrically conductive components. In this case, electrically non-conductive fi- berglass was used to design the ladder fall protection system for the lightning tower fiberglass mast. An existing ladder skate and rail system, comprised of a perma- nently installed fiberglass rail and remov- able skate, was adapted for this purpose by designing and fabricating non-conductive mounting hardware.
This new improvement to the lightning protection system is the newest of many innovative improvements that have been made since the genesis of the lightning pro- tection systems at the launch pads. Kenne- dy is dedicated to continuously improving safety and efficiency.
The Technology Transfer Office at Ken- nedy is working to transfer this technology to other industries, in order to achieve the widest possible utilization of the technol- ogy and its benefits.
Mikaela McShane has a BA in English Ed- iting and Media Production and an MA in Marketing Communications, she is currently the Marketing & Communications Director for NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Technol- ogy Transfer Office.
Jesse Peters has a BS in Chemical Engineer- ing and a Master of Engineering (M.Eng) in Mechanical Engineering with a concentra- tion in Manufacturing from Johns Hopkins University. Jesse has been a Mechanical Engineer at Jacobs with the Kennedy Space Center for three years.
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