Designing a suspended maintenance system that is code-compliant and safe to utilize as well as install requires careful planning. Summit Anchor Co. has years of experience designing systems that are OSHA and ANSI/IWCA I-14.1 code-compliant, and we are dedicated to ensuring that our equipment is safely installed and utilized.

Layout Drawings:

At the conclusion of the design process, Summit Anchor Co. will provide you with a layout drawing stamped by a Professional Engineer to assist you during installation and testing. This layout drawing includes product and connection details, as well as installation, inspection, certification, and re-certification notes. See sample drawing below.

Summit Anchor Co. layout drawings include locations of windows, fall protection, and anchorages, installation instructions, and product details.

Plan of Service:

Upon request, Summit Anchor Co. will also provide a 'plan of service' drawing in accordance with the ANSI/IWCA I-14.1 Window Cleaning Safety Standards, which requires anchorages to be identified on a written plan of service developed by a qualified person. The ANSI/IWCA I-14.1, section 1.7, states that the plan shall identify hazardous areas, drop zones, safety features and areas requiring public protection. Summit Anchor Co. plan of service drawings illustrate the location of all possible safe drop points for one-man rope descents or suspended scaffolding and include guidelines for proper use of anchorages, rescue, and pedestrian protection. See sample drawing below.

The design process:

• Give careful consideration to the client's needs
• Carefully examine all pertinent project drawings to find areas requiring suspended access
• Determine what equipment will best suit the project's needs and areas of the building where equipment will be installed
• Verify that structural elements are capable of supporting the load that will be imposed on them during maintenance
• Design a code-compliant layout of an efficient and cost-effective suspended maintenance system

General design considerations:

• Rooftop Support: Possible locations to which equipment might be attached must be examined to determine whether they will be able to support the loads. Structural features such as roof slabs, concrete curbs, concrete beams, concrete walls, and steel beams may be utilized if found adequate to support the loads imposed by workers and suspended access equipment. If the parapet wall is intended to be subject to direct loading by rigging equipment, the designer must design the parapet to support that load (see Structural Attachment Considerations).
  
  

  

  Parapet must be designed to support loads imposed.
  

• Unique building features: Consideration must be given to building height, rooftop equipment, multiple roof levels, overhangs, cornice conditions, balconies, skylights, rotundas, sloped walls, sloped roofs, curtain walls, atria, etc. (see Building Features)
  
  
• Working Platform: The method of descent along the building facade will affect the equipment required. All Summit Anchor Co. products can support the load of a one-man rope descent using a bosun's chair. However, if a powered platform is intended to be rigged to the equipment, the equipment must be rated to support the load of the platform to be used. Typically, window cleaners will use rope descent systems, rigging directly to roof anchors for tie-back of both a suspension rope and fall arrest rope. Suspended powered platforms eliminate the need for the maintenance contractor to bring his or her own rigging equipment to the roof, which can minimize roof damage and may lower the maintenance worker’s costs.
  
  
• Fall Protection: Wherever equipment is installed, whether it be on a roof level or under an overhang, a worker must be able to safely access the equipment. The ANSI/IWCA I-14.1 Window Cleaning Safety Standard requires fall protection when a maintenance worker must travel within 6 feet of a vertical drop. The simplest form of fall protection on a roof level is a code-compliant guardrail or parapet (perimeter guarding). To be code-compliant, the guardrail or parapet must be at least 42 inches high and capable of supporting the load imposed by workers and their rigging equipment. When no code-compliant perimeter guarding exists, various options must be considered to ensure the worker has safe access to all equipment (see Horizontal Cable Systems).
  
  
• Stabilization: Some method of stabilization must be used to prevent the working platform from dangerously swaying in the wind while suspended. Summit Anchor Co. does not design stabilization systems or provide equipment used to provide stabilization during maintenance. However, stabilization must be incorporated in the design of the building. Here are some key elements to assist architects and engineers with their design (for further information see OSHA 1910.66 Powered Platforms for Building Maintenance):
  
  Angulated roping - the upper suspension points are closer to the face of the building than the corresponding suspension points on the platform, causing the platform to press against the face of the building during its vertical travel.
  
  Intermittent stabilization - secures the angulated wire ropes to anchors on the face of the building and shall keep the equipment in continuous contact with the building facade. The maximum vertical interval between building anchors shall be 3 floors or 50 feet, whichever is less
  
  Continuous stabilization - utilizes 'tie-in guides,' or a building-mounted track along which a suspended powered platform can roll as it is guided up the building facade.

Minimum Requirements for rope descent systems:

1. Each worker shall be tied off to two independent anchorages – one for a fall arrest rope and one for a suspension rope.
   
2. Anchorages must be capable of supporting a 5,000 lb. load.
   
   
3. Anchorages shall be placed in line with the work area requiring service, and there shall be no objects obstructing the path of the rope from the anchorage to the work area. Properly aligned anchors prevent unsafe lateral rope movement or displacement, which abrades the rope proportionate to load.
   
4. The diagrams below illustrate the standards governing a safe placement of roof anchors, davits, and rigging sleeves (also see our Specifications):

Roof Anchors
Click on diagram to download a .pdf file.

Davits
Click on diagram to download a .pdf file.

Rigging Sleeves
Click on diagram to download a .pdf file.

Contact Summit Anchor Co. for assistance with your suspended maintenance layout:

Please provide us with the following information in the form of AutoCAD drawing files:

• Architectural and structural floor plans of any level where equipment is required
• Building elevations
• Section drawings of the parapet walls, penthouse walls, and roof
• Additional drawings showing relevant suspended maintenance on building facade

Call us today at 1.800.372.1098 or e-mail us at jim@summitanchor.com.