WinGrip Systems

Railcar Maintenance and Fall Protection

Traditionally, providing safe access to railcars has challenged fall protection engineers with a near impossible task due to the variable heights, lengths and widths of the many different types of railcars. Providing a safe working environment is required and in most cases working on railcar meets the threshold height requirements for providing fall protection for our workers.

While working in a rail shed, the traditional fall protection solutions have been overhead cable or rigid rail based fall protection systems. While these are good solutions for standard applications, they will not be available with the introduction of overhead cranes to the environment or if you are working out in the rail yard with no free-standing fall arrest systems. In a dynamic railcar operations which services many railcars, there may also be difficulty positioning the railcars relative to fixed overhead systems.

Wingrip may be used as a single fall protection anchor point on the top of railcars.

Fall Arrest vs. Fall Restraint

In most railcar applications, the Wingrip is rigged to provide fall restraint. In this situation, the worker may work on top of the railcar but the anchor is placed in such position so the worker cannot get to the leading edge and experience a fall. This is the most popular application for railcars which may have very little distance from the working surface to the ground. The restraint system prevents the worker from being introduced to a fall.

However, where there is sufficient fall distance for a workers shock absorbing lanyard to elongate and prevent the worker from contacting the ground or next lower level, the Wingrip may be rigged for full fall arrest. The Wingrip is designed to provide a compliant anchor for the forces that may be experienced in fall arrest.

Low Operating and Maintenance Cost

Efficiency and innovation in design make calibration and maintenance of the Wingrip vacuum module and pads a simple and painless procedure. Calibration may be conducted on site by competent personnel with no specialized tools or equipment. Operating cost is also very low, without the need for a backup stock of components.

Safety, Alarms and Backup

The Wingrip system has a number of safeguards should the air supply feed line be compromised or if the vacuum module-to-pad hose be removed without the knowledge of the workers on the railcar. The pads provide up to 20 minutes redundancy (with a 10:1 safety factor) to allow the workers time to safely vacate the elevated work should an alarm sound. Worker safety is paramount.

Portability and Versatility

Organizations with railcars will appreciate the flexibility of being able to use Wingrip on railcars without the requirement to limit overhead crane operations. Wingrip provides a totally flexible solution that is quick and easy to use. With no electronic parts, the vacuum module is driven solely on compressed shop air or for remote applications where shop air is not available, compressed nitrogen may be used by utilizing the accessory high pressure regulator.

Please contact your Flexible Lifelines Representative for a demonstration of this innovative tool that will help make your team even more efficient.