VIDEO: TOOLING UP – Don’t Fall Behind: Keeping Up with the ANSI Update

Narrator: This video is brought to you by 3M, Science of Safety. If you're looking for real world insights, tips from leading industry experts, the latest trends in products and technology, you've come to the right place. From MSC Industrial Supply, this is Tooling Up.

TONI NEARY: Hello and welcome to Tooling Up. I'm your host Toni Neary and I'm so glad that you're here with us today. If you're Tooling Up, newbie, go ahead and click that like and subscribe button so you don't miss any of our upcoming episodes. All right, everybody's subscribed? Great. Let's get started. Today, I'm excited to talk about 3M fall protection and the ANSI standard update with Jon Eichman.

He's our fall protection sales training manager at 3M. Jon, thanks so much for joining us today.

JON EICHMAN: Yeah, thank you, Toni, for having me. Excited to get into it.

TONI NEARY: Well, before we dive into fall protection and the ANSI update, tell us a little bit about how you landed at 3M.

JON EICHMAN: Yeah, so I started working at 3M back in 2017. So kind of crazy to think that it's already been seven years. But I, I did a lot of residential construction and roofing jobs back in high school and college and really gained an appreciation for safety and working at height. And 3M was always a goal company of mine. Started back in 2017 and I've held a variety of roles, all within 3M’s Personal Safety Division.

But as you mentioned, my current role is in fall protection training and I'm really enjoying it.

TONI NEARY: So you could sort of say you fell into fall protection and while you couldn't have landed in a better spot, for those who aren't familiar, tell us just a little bit more about 3M.

JON EICHMAN: Yeah. So 3M was actually founded back in 1902, in Two Harbors, Minnesota. And for those that don't know, 3M stands for Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing. The company really has a long standing history of, you know, both innovation and customer-focused product development, working with end users of products like consumer goods, sandpaper, tapes, abrasives, safety products to develop products specific for that application.

And then 3M acquired Capital Safety, which was a fall protection company also based in Redwing, Minnesota back in 2015.

TONI NEARY: And I have to say after almost 20 years in the industry, I had no clue what 3M stood for and I'm so excited to know that now, that is going to be one of my fun facts that I can pull out when I'm kind of traveling around the country as well. 3M does more than just create fall protection.

You also help train people on how to use it. Can you tell us a little bit more about that?

JON EICHMAN: Yeah. So if you think about the, the topic of fall protection, falls are the leading cause of death in construction. And actually the second leading cause of death across all industries. So a quick question for you, Toni. Do you know what the leading cause of death is across all industries in the US?

TONI NEARY: Oh boy, that's a tricky one. Um, is it transportation?

JON EICHMAN: Transportation incidents. You got it. So you think of that number of people who hop in a vehicle, they drive to work, for work, or from work, that ranks number one. Falls are shortly behind it at number two. And in addition to the fatalities, fall protection is the number one most frequently cited OSHA standard and fall protection training is somewhere in the top 10 most years.

So I believe in 2022 it was number eight. But you think about not only giving these people who are working up at heights, the harness, the anchor point, the connector, but training them on it and the importance of that is critical. So we know how to use those products.

TONI NEARY: So I think we can say that you've got the kind of boots on the ground approach for anybody whose boots are going to be off the ground. Talk a little bit more about why training on how to properly use all of the equipment is so important.

JON EICHMAN: Yeah, so there's a lot of different levels of training for fall protection. And if you think about the different levels of compliance, there's going to be, you know, more, more intense training as we go up that ladder. So if we think about OSHA compliance, those are going to be the laws and the regulations that we have to follow.

But then there's entities like ANSI and ASSP who create updated standards where it may not be mandatory to follow in certain areas or jurisdictions, but it's probably industry best practice. And I think an important part about fall protection training is really focusing on those limitations and letting employees know there's ways that we can use these products and then there's ways that we can't use these products and training on how to differentiate between the two.

TONI NEARY: So there's recently been an important update to the standards of fall protection, and that's ANSI/ASSP Z359.14-21, and with a catchy name like that, it's probably a cinch to understand, right?

JON EICHMAN: Super easy. Yeah.

TONI NEARY: Tell us a little bit more about what some of these changes mean and how they're actually impacting the industry as well.

JON EICHMAN: Yeah, so this standard, the Z359.14-2021 is ANSI’s standard around self-retracting devices. The ANSI Z359 code has many different things from nomenclature to lanyards to harnesses to self-attracting devices. So this specific standard is for self-retracting devices and really focusing again on those capabilities and limitations of these devices. So ANSI requires equipment manufacturers like 3M to meet 19 different design and testing criteria if we want to claim ANSI certification or ANSI ratings on our products.

And the standard really has a couple of main changes from the 2014 revision, which was the last update of this standard. So now we have three different types of SRDs or self-retracting devices. You have an SRL, which stands for self-retracting lifeline. These are larger units with thermoplastic housings 30 feet, 50 feet model and they anchor to the structure.

So they anchor to the I-beam, they anchor to the concrete that we're working on. And then the snap hook attaches to the worker's back D-ring . The next type is SRL-P, which is a personal unit. These are replacing six-foot, shock-absorbing lanyards. They're worn on the worker, they attach to the harness, and they're typically around six, eight, nine feet in length.

And then the third type is SRL-R, which is a rescue or retrieval device. So think lowering a worker down into a confined space, retrieving them out with a non-entry rescue or at height applications to lower workers down after the event of a fall.

TONI NEARY: And Jon, I mean, it's complicated, right? 19 checkpoints, three different devices. Do you work with companies to really help them find the right fit to keep their employees the safest?

JON EICHMAN: Yeah, absolutely. So back in the day, you know, pre-ANSI 2021 update, as a manufacturer, we actually had six different ways that we would allow people to use products. We had over-height applications, D-ring height applications, waist level, knee level, foot level, sharp edge, non-sharp edge. So all of these different variances led to the standard change. But to answer your question, we can take topics like the ANSI update, we can take other topics and partner with these end users of fall protection to help train their workers.

TONI NEARY: Perfect. So I'm a worker. I'm somebody who has boots off the ground, if I'm trying to decide the right SRL, where do I get started?

JON EICHMAN: So a couple of options. I would say reach out to your, you know, your MSC team and reach out to your 3M fall protection team. We have one of the most extensive teams out there specifically dedicated to this topic of fall protection. We have over 50 fall protection specialists in the US alone, and these guys and gals are dedicated to this topic 100% of their time.

So you can go to our website, you can just type in your zip code and actually find the rep that you're looking for. I'm sure if you contacted the local MSC account manager and things like that, you could reach out to them that way as well.

TONI NEARY: I think it's fantastic Jon, I know I've learned so much from you here today and I want to thank you again for spending some time with us.

JON EICHMAN: Yeah, thanks for having me. It's been fun.

TONI NEARY: It was so great hanging out with Jon today. And if you've enjoyed our conversation as much as I did and you'd like to make sure you don't miss any other discussions, please subscribe to our channel. To find out more about 3M's line of fall protection, visit www.mscdirect.com/3m. Thanks and we'll see you next time on Tooling Up.

Narrator: Want more insights and ideas to improve the efficiency and productivity of your operations? Check out the MSC Tooling Up video playlist to hear tips that can take your company to the next level. And subscribe to our channel so you won't miss out.