Picture this: You’re connecting a sling to a swivel hoist ring using a screw pin shackle.  You get the sling nestled nice and comfy in the bow of the shackle and put the ears around the bail of the hoist ring.  You insert the shackle pin through the ears of the shackle (being careful to catch the bail on the way through) and you twist it until it’s tight against the side of the shackle.  You’re about to fly the load but wait, you forgot something! A supervisor told you that the pin is supposed to be backed off 1/4th of a turn! How could you have forgotten?!

If you’ve ever been in this situation before, we have some news for you.  The American Society of Mechanical Engineers states quite plainly in its B30.26 standard for Rigging Hardware “screw pin threads shall be fully engaged and tight, and the shoulder should be in contact with the shackle body” prior to any lift.

With rigging especially, there seems to be a lot of industry practices that came about without consulting the manufacturer and this is one of the many examples we cover in our Crosby Rigging Seminars.  One of our trainers goals during the training is to point out where there are no grey areas; if the manufacturer of a product has written procedures for its use and we don’t follow them then who is being negligent?  Proper rigging techniques should always be used to avoid accidents and injuries.

If you’re now wondering if there are any other rigging situations or practices that might not be up to par, please don’t hesitate to contact our professional Safety Trainers. 

We offer a variety of Safety Training courses for the mining and construction industries.  We also offer Emergency Responder courses.

Here is a full list of our Safety Courses:

• Crosby Rigging Training
• Fall Arrest Safety Training
• Tugger Safety Training
• Wirelock Socketing Training
• Suspended Access Equipment Training
• First Aid / CPR Training
• Emergency Medical Responder Training
• Medical Frist Responder Training
• Intermediate Level First Aid Training
• Firefighter Advanced First Aid

Contact Northern Strands to book your next Safety Course at 306-242-7073 by email training@northernstrands.com or visit or webpage to learn more http://www.northernstrands.com/training.aspx 

Northern Strands is proudly Saskatoon, Saskatchewan owned and operated.

One of the most asked questions in Fall Arrest Training is, "Do my fall arrest harness straps need to be tight?".   Yes, it is extremely important that your harness straps be tight and your harness fit properly.  A degloving injury is one type of injury that can result from improper fitting of a fall arrest harness.   Which is an extremely painful injury. 

How do you know if your harness leg straps are fitted properly?  One method is the Hand/Fist Test.

To determine if your fall arrest harness leg straps are adjusted properly, follow these basic steps:
1. Make your hand flat.
2. Insert your hand between your leg and the leg strap until the strap is across your wrist.
3. Make your hand into a fist.
4. Try to pull your fist in between the leg strap and your leg.

Did fist make it through? If so your leg straps need to be tightened until you cannot pull your fist out.  If you weren’t able to complete step 2 above then your leg straps are actually too tight.  As you may know, properly fitting the full body harness leg straps is just one small part of using fall arrest equipment.

To receive more information on proper fall arrest harness fitting, fall arrest equipment or fall protection training please contact the Northern Strands Safety Training Division at 306-242-7073, by email training@northernstrands.com or visit our website http://www.northernstrands.com/training.aspx 

Attached is our recently completed Safety Training Brochure.   This brochure contains information on safety training courses for the construction, mining and emergency responder industries.

Northern Strands Safety Training Brochure.pdf (2.34 mb) 

In addition to training, Northern Strands Engineered Fall Protection Division offers a variety of fall protection systems, solutions and services. Custom-engineered solutions can be designed to suit specific requirements.   For more information you can call 306-242-7073, email lifelines@northernstrands.com or visit our website http://www.northernstrands.com/fall-protection.aspx

Northern Strands is proudly Saskatoon, Saskatchewan owned and operated.

For the third year in a row Northern Strands attended one of the largest safety trade shows in Western Canada.   The Industrial Safety Seminar was held at Praireland Park in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.   Hundreds of people interested in learning more about work place safety were in attendance.   The Northern Strands double booth featured an Advanced Davit Arm System for entry and retrieval applications.   Below is a picture of the Davit System set up at the Industrial Safety Seminar

Many industry experts visited our booth to inquire about Northern Strands safety related divisions; Safety Training, Engineered Fall Protection, Wire Rope and Rigging and Suspended Access.   One of the more popular questions was, "What training courses do you offer?"   This was an excellent question!  

Our current training courses include:

• Fall Arrest Training
• Crosby Rigging Seminars
• Wirelock Socketing Seminars
• First Aid and CPR training
• Tugger Safety Training
• Suspended Access Equipment Training

Northern Strands Saskatoon location now offers hand signal training in Saskatchewan for boom equipment operation to complement our 1 Day Crosby Rigging Course. Upon request, your employees will be given a copy of the Newberry Handbook for Riggers, and instructed on the hand signals therein at the end of the Crosby Rigging Course.

For more information on Rigging and Hand Signal Training:  http://www.northernstrands.com/crosby-rigging.aspx