Glassworks – Marghera

The project, entirely carried out by our decade-long partner LS Linea Sicura, includes securing the 92-m high chimney.

A first gallery located at a height of 45 m and a second gallery at the top. With these numbers, it is imperative to ensure the safety of the personnel involved in the maintenance of the tower and their respective balconies.

The problems to be solved included the sections of the seafaring staircase and the passage between one gallery and another. Both are used for maintenance work and periodic smoke checks.

1. The alla marinara stairs, before the rest floor, have a height of 9 m.In Veneto, the regulations governing the alla marinara stairs are different from the indications of the Testo Unico D.Lgl. 81.

We quote verbatim:

Fixed ladders with rungs or with inclination > 75° and height > 5 meters must be equipped along their entire length with systems (ropes or guide rails) for the attachment of suitable I.P. Fall Protection Devices.

Alternatively they must have:

Solid metal protective cage, from a height of 2.50 mt. having mesh or openings of sufficient width to prevent the person from accidentally falling outward;
wall of the cage opposite the plane of the rungs that is not more than 0.60 m away from them; resting platforms every 4 m, with sufficient surface area to allow the full support of two feet and such as to allow standing comfortably; barricades that prevent its use by unauthorized persons.
(Text taken from the Department of Prevention SERVIZIO SPISAL ULSS 1 di Belluno. VENETO REGION: Annex B to DRG No. 97 of 01/31/2012 )

2. The passage between one balcony and another is characterized by a very wide cage restart space, so that during both the ascent and descent phases, the danger remained that the operator could slip outside.

Intervention:

With this in mind, a vertical lifeline was installed in a single section, uninterrupted from the first to the last step, amounting to about 108 m of steel cable.

In the two balconies we opted for a perimeter lifeline, also continuous, which ensures the constant safety of the operator in the transition between the vertical and horizontal lifelines.

At the conclusion of the project, an accident rescue demonstration was conducted. In order to handle emergencies as correctly and effectively as possible, the activity was carried out with maneuvers to rescue the injured person by rope rescue.