Posted By William When I was younger I had the fun job of working on pylons, thankfully when they were not live. There was a similar issue with working on the insulators, you needed both hands free to be able work on them. We had a harness which had 2 lanyards, one was your standard type with a shock absorber for general climbing, the other however was different it was made of rope and was clipped one side of the harness around waist height and then the other side could be adjusted and be wrapped around the insulator and then clipped back on the other side of the harness, which was also the same height it was adjustable. It was very safe (well I never fell!)and also comfortable and most importantly you could use both your hands. I think sala made them.

Posted By P. Moore Thank you to you both for your comments. The spatial constraints preclude the fitting of hoops. A dedicated attachment point for attaching a lanyard could possibly be sunk into the shaft wall (if our client was willing to do so). How often would such a point need to be tested to ensure its integrity under shock loading conditions? Also, how would the person testing it ensure that they were suitably tied in if they could not use this point until it had passed the test? Alternatively, could the lanyard be attached to the ladder itself? If so, how would I determine whether the ladder would retain its integrity under shock loading conditions? Any thoughts on these matters would be appreciated.

Posted By Sally What about a lanyard attached to a tripod over the top of the shaft. That would cover your rescue from a confined space requirements as well. How far down the shaft is the panel?

Posted By CFT Yes you could use a tripod style man entry system; greatly depends on the total depth of descent and the remaining depth below the working point and the overall width of teh working space. What is the regularity of this task? Here is a link for testing methods & frequencies http://www.hse.gov.uk/falls/downloads/anchors.pdf You would also need to consider potential suspension trauma if you decide to use any of the aforementioned methodologies, remote, agreed but never-the-less necessary. On many occasions during the past, works of the nature you describe were taken for granted and any protective measures for an infrequent activity were considered by 'some' to be overkill; this posters opinion however knows it only takes just one such incident to make a difference. I completely agree with your reasons for asking. CFT

Posted By Phil A way ive used in the past is to use a pole belt to allow both hands free working. Its an adjustable cows tail type lanyard thats adjusted to suit how much you need to lean back to carry out the work. To protect the guy climbing down the ladder use a tripod with a G saver attached to him. A G saver is an inertia reel that doubles up as a recovery winch. Dont forget your rescue plan and consider suspension trauma too. Phil

Posted By Dave Merchant Unfortunately you're all missing a vital point - if the ladder is being used to access a confined space, shaft etc. then you CANNOT use a polestrap in the normal way, as it would prevent the worker from being rescued in an emergency - winch or no winch you can't haul someone out if they're knotted to the ladder! When working in a regulated confined space with 'local tie-off' like this, you would need a full rescue team in attendance as someone will have to climb down into the shaft to unclip the casualty. Even if it's not covered by the CSR, you'll still hit problems of rescue under WAHR unless you duplicate the fall arrest system (for the rescuer to use). There's a specific way of work positioning we've developed for ladders in confined spaces which would be the most effective (and legal) option in the case being discussed here - but I can't link to an article about it without someone throwing AUG3 at me. Guess there's always email...

Posted By CFT Mitch I would have agreed but for the nature of the task; practicable requirement? Yes, reasonably practicable approach,No; the foreseeable risks in working this way whether it be for a couple of minutes or a couple of hours dictate IMO that cost effort time energy are a consideration. CFT

Posted By GT P. Moore Would it be possible and practicable for the worker to take a leg-lock on the ladder allowing him/her to have both hands free for the task and a short period?? GT