Scott Bauck, with Hog Slat, spoke to The Pig Site’s Sarah Mikesell at the World Pork Expo in Des Moine, Iowa, USA while Mark Stender, also with Hog Slat, performed a product demonstration.

New Fall Arrest System

“This is a new product that Hog Slat introduced here at the show,” said Bauk. “It's called the Fall Arrest System.”

The new Fall Arrest System is designed to protect people who are climbing up and down ladders on farms. It's a very simple system. It works in all kinds of weather: sun, sleet, ice, wind and snow.

“It doesn't prevent falls,” he noted. “However, it does prevent serious injury.”

Stender was wearing a harness, and each harness has an attached lanyard that hooks onto the cable. The rest of the system is the cable that's attached to the top of the bin or silo.

“It has a spring tension to keep it tight,” Bauck said. “The unique thing about this system is if you look at the top of the bin, for every other system on the market today you must unhook it and rehook it as you move from the sidewall ladder to the roof ladder. With our system, that’s not necessary – you are able to go up and onto the roof without disconnecting.”

Stender then attached the harness and lanyard to the cable and began to climb up the ladder. As he ascended the ladder, the Fall Arrest System continued to slide upward with each step.

To demonstrate, Stender reached the center point on the cable and extended away from the bin as if he was falling. The Fall Arrest System then caught him and kept him from falling. Once Stender regained his footing, he was able to continue to slide the system up and come back down the ladder of the bin. Next, he can unhook and can move on to the next bin.

Keep your farm team safe

“We really feel this is an important product because your personnel are one of the most important things on your farm,” said Bauck. “This will prevent serious injuries when they're climbing bins or ladders to do maintenance or repair a roof.”

Hazardous weather - whether it's snow, ice or rain – can create dangerous situations on the farm.

“You'll never have to climb the bin on a sunny day,” Bauck noted. “It'll always when it just snowed or it's icy or wet. We feel like this is an important tool for producers to reduce their risk of serious injury.”

Learn more about Hog Slat Fall Arrest System.