Griffin Mobile System Keeps Workers Safe During Aircraft Inspections And Maintenance
Products used
Overview
The Pima Air & Space Museum was founded in Tucson, Arizona, in 1966, to preserve the heritage of the US Air Force and the history of aviation in America. The goal was to save many of the aircraft of the 1940s and 1950s that were being scrapped from Air Force bases and storage, and to make them accessible to the public.
Today, the Pima Air & Space Museum stores and maintains 350 military aircraft, as well as other retired Air Force equipment and deactivated missiles. The museum continues to expand and acquire additional aircraft for the collection, and workers keep the collection in good condition through regular maintenance and restoration.
To store such a large collection of aircraft and equipment, the Pima Air & Space Museum requires a large amount of land. The museum currently houses its collection in more than 100,000 square feet and displays many of its aircraft outdoors on the rest of the127-acre property.
Solution
Much of the maintenance and restoration performed at Pima requires workers to climb on top of the many aircraft stored on the grounds. In many cases, the fuselage and wings of the larger aircraft are well over four feet high—the OSHA requirement for fall protection. Jason Simmons, with the museum’s Restoration Division, explained that the workers had been using forklifts with safety baskets, manlifts, and ladders. However, these solutions were slow and cumbersome, and they weren’t designed to provide the kind of fall protection the workers needed.
The Pima restoration workers needed a fall protection system that would allow them to be more mobile while also providing complete fall protection while on top of the aircraft. The solution they chose was the Rigid Lifelines® Wheeled Griffin™ Anchor Track™ System. The standard trolley-hook height of 22 feet is tall enough to accommodate most of the museum’s larger aircraft, and the 40-foot track length allows workers to travel the full distance they need to cover while working.
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Impact
The Rigid Lifelines Griffin Fall Protection System improved many of the work processes for the Restoration Division. One of the most important features of the system is its mobility; the outdoor display is huge, and there are many aircraft on display, so workers have to cover a lot of ground with their fall protection. Jason said that the Griffin is “quick and easy to move around. Every situation we have when we’re outside in the field and we need to get up high, it’s there.”
Another important benefit of the Griffin system is the mobility it provides to the users. The fall arrest equipment protects workers while on top of the aircraft without obstructing or slowing down their work. “The harness follows you and tracks you as your working, so nothing gets in your way.” The Griffin is also equipped with dual tracks, so multiple users can work in the same area without interfering with one another. With these features and benefits, the Rigid Lifelines Griffin provides a new level of protection to the workers who frequently have to climb on top of large aircraft.