Electric Shock Eliminated with New Safety Harness Detail

Electric Shock Eliminated with New Safety Harness Material
Business Challange
The electric generation industry had a need for a better safety harnesses. When working in the rain, the old harnesses held water and became a conduit for electricity instead of a safety device. Often times, workers experienced tracking injuries as a result of these wet harnesses. Some people even died.  A tracking injury occurs when a wet or contaminated lanyard (the tie-off to the full body harness which connects harness to bucket truck) comes in contact with a source of power. The current travels through the lanyard, into the harness, and injures the person. A tracking injury is also called an arc flash to describe the current crossing the line.
BioPlastics Solution
BioPlastics Company was asked to develop an improved material that would eliminate the danger from tracking injuries. Ethan Boron, President of BioPlastics Company said, “We wanted a product that was recognizable and familiar to our customers with improved properties, so we adapted the sling webbing. We put a protective coating on it and made it translucent.“ As a result, Genuine BioThane® Safety Webs were developed.Genuine BioThane® adds a protective coating to the webbing that resists electricity, substantially increases abrasion resistance and makes it easy to clean. These features combined make this new material resistant to static discharge.Genuine BioThane® was put through rigorous standardized tests to determine if it truly was spark resistant. One of these tests was ASTM F1701 –Standard Specification for Unused Polypropylene Rope with Special Electrical Properties to confirm the dielectric properties of Genuine BioThane®. The second test was ASTM F887 -Standard Specifications for Personal Climbing Equipment, also known as the “Arc Test”. To see the actual arc test view the video below.
 
     
The Arc Test video shows the straps hanging in place. A high voltage of electricity is applied to the gap or “Arc” between the two electrodes. The voltage flashes quickly and goes out as a result of the straps. You will notice that the straps are intact. Damage from the electric jolt only appears on one side of the strap where the coating has been vaporized, the other side looks like new.