Mobile fall protection systems and carts
Malta Dynamics XSERIES mobile fall protection: towable grabbers, davit anchors, penetrating and non-penetrating roof carts. Buy or rent. Call 949-954-6581.
What a mobile fall protection system is
A mobile fall protection system is a freestanding, relocatable anchor. It gives you a compliant tie-off point on a surface that has none, which is the situation on most large low-slope roofs, on leading edge work, and anywhere a permanent anchor was never designed in. The unit provides the anchorage, you provide the harness and connecting device.
These systems exist because the alternative on a bare roof is either no tie-off, or improvised anchorage that will not hold. On a big-box roof or a tilt-up there is frequently nothing structural within reach.
Penetrating or non-penetrating: the first question
A penetrating system anchors through the roof deck and the penetration is patched afterwards. It is secure and compact. A non-penetrating system uses ballast or counterweight and never breaches the membrane, which matters on TPO, EPDM and any roof under warranty where a penetration voids cover. Ask the roof warranty question before you choose, because it decides for you more often than the fall distance does.
Industries that buy these units
Roofing is the obvious one, but it is not the largest. Anyone who climbs on top of something tall to load, sample, inspect, fuel or repair it has the same problem and no anchor.
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Railcar and tanker loading. Loading, sampling and transloading put crews on rounded tank tops with nothing overhead. A mast-and-arm unit puts the anchor above the worker, which is what makes the arrest distance work.
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Aircraft maintenance and hangars. The work moves plane to plane and bay to bay, so a fixed rail installed for one airframe leaves gaps on the next.
- Industrial and plant maintenance, warehouse and dock loading, utilities, bridge and marine work.
Buy or rent
Renting fits a defined scope: a re-roof, a shutdown, a leading edge phase, a heavy check, a seasonal loading push, or a second crew. Buying fits continuous multi-site use. See fall protection rental and the rental rate sheet. Sales and rentals ship nationwide across the U.S. and Canada.
Frequently asked questions
What is a mobile fall protection system?
A freestanding, relocatable anchor point that provides compliant tie-off on a surface with no permanent anchorage, such as a large low-slope roof, a leading edge, or alongside railcars and trailers.
When does OSHA require fall protection?
In construction, generally at 6 feet above a lower level under 29 CFR 1926.501(b)(1). Scaffolds have their own trigger at 10 feet under 1926.451, and steel erection at 15 feet under 1926.760. In general industry the trigger is 4 feet under 29 CFR 1910.28. The height is only the trigger; the obligation is to provide a compliant system, and on a bare roof that usually means bringing the anchorage with you.
Can I rent an XSERIES unit instead of buying it?
Yes. The Malta Dynamics X1250 Mobile Grabber is on our rental fleet, alongside Tie Down PX3 and Squatch carts. Daily, weekly and monthly rates are on the rental rate sheet. Renting suits a defined scope such as a re-roof or a shutdown; buying suits continuous multi-site use.
Which XSERIES model do I need?
It comes down to reach, mast height, how the unit gets to site, and whether the roof can be penetrated. A road-towable unit with a tall mast solves a different problem from a compact cart that has to go up in a lift. Rather than guess from a spec sheet, call 949-954-6581 and describe the roof, the work and the access. See all twelve XSERIES models.
How many workers can tie off at one time?
It depends on the unit. The Tie Down PX3 supports up to five workers at once, three in fall arrest and two in fall restraint. A single Squatch supports up to four. Two Squatch carts joined by the 100 ft pre-engineered horizontal lifeline support up to seven, three in fall arrest and four in fall restraint. Never exceed the rated number of simultaneous users for the specific unit, and remember that capacity and fall clearance are separate questions.
Does mobile fall protection work on a flat roof without penetrating it?
Yes. Non-penetrating systems such as the Tie Down Squatch use ballast or counterweight and never breach the membrane, which is what you need on TPO, EPDM and warranted roofs where a penetration voids the cover.
What is the difference between a mobile grabber and a davit system?
A mobile grabber is a self-contained wheeled or towable unit that carries its own counterweight and mast, so it can be repositioned across a roof. A davit is an arm that sets into a base or socket, usually fixed or semi-permanent, and is commonly used for suspended access and confined space entry over an opening. A grabber travels with the work; a davit serves a location.
For confined space entry over a vertical opening see confined space equipment.
Flatbed trailer and truck loading fall protection
Loading, tarping, strapping and unloading a flatbed puts a worker on a deck that commonly sits about 5 feet above the yard, on a trailer 48 or 53 feet long, with nothing overhead to tie off to. That deck height matters more than it looks. It clears the 4 foot general industry trigger while sitting under the 6 foot construction trigger, which is why the same trailer is treated differently depending on which standard applies. Buy or rent. Call 949-954-6581.
Guardrail systems
A guardrail system is a passive barrier at the exposed edge that stops a fall before it starts, protecting every worker on the deck or platform without a harness, training in tie off, or a rescue plan.
OSHA puts the top edge of a guardrail at 42 inches plus or minus 3 inches above the walking surface, in general industry under 29 CFR 1910.29(b)(1) and in construction under 29 CFR 1926.502(b)(1). The system has to withstand a force of at least 200 pounds applied downward or outward within 2 inches of the top edge, under 1910.29(b)(3). The construction rule also lets the top edge exceed 45 inches where conditions warrant, provided the other criteria are met.
On the trailer itself the common approach is a post that drops into the stake pockets along the rub rail and carries a rail down each side. We do not carry a stake pocket mounted trailer rail. What we carry is guardrail for the fixed edge beside the trailer, meaning the dock, the loading platform and the rack, including the Tie Down Universal Guardrail on socket bases, which is also on the rental fleet. See guardrail systems.
Overhead lifelines
An overhead lifeline puts the anchor above the worker's head rather than at their feet, which is what keeps the arrest distance short enough to matter on a trailer deck only about 5 feet above the ground.
This is the category we carry most deeply. The XSERIES X550 truck counterweighted davit system is built for this work directly: the truck drives over the base thresholds and becomes the counterweight, and the mast gives one worker a fixed anchor point up to 22 feet above ground level for loading and unloading. Where the trailer moves between bays, or the yard has no truck to hold a base, the towable XSERIES X1250 Mobile Grabber carries its own counterweight and extends to 34 feet, with three anchor points rated 310 lb each, though only one is usable when the mast is fully extended. See all twelve XSERIES models.
Access platforms
An access platform is a rolling or fixed stair and deck unit parked alongside the trailer, giving a guarded standing surface and a safe way up, so the crew works from the platform instead of from the load itself.
A platform is the right answer where the same bay is loaded every day and the trailer always stops in the same place, because it protects everyone who steps onto it without any personal equipment, training in tie off, or a rescue plan. We do not currently carry rolling access platforms or gantries. Where a platform is not practical, or the trailer parks somewhere different each time, the overhead anchor is the option that travels to the work.
What OSHA requires on a trailer
The height trigger depends on which standard applies, and trailer and dock loading usually falls on the general industry side. Under 29 CFR 1910.28(b)(1)(i), an unprotected side or edge 4 feet or more above a lower level requires guardrails, safety nets, or a personal fall protection system. In construction, 29 CFR 1926.501(b)(1) sets the same duty at 6 feet. A flatbed deck at roughly 5 feet sits between the two, and deck height varies with trailer type, suspension and tires.
The construction standard also carves trailers out of its own scope. The definition of a walking/working surface at 29 CFR 1926.500(b) covers floors, roofs, ramps, bridges, runways, formwork and concrete reinforcing steel, but excludes ladders, vehicles and trailers. OSHA's letter of interpretation dated March 10, 2004 applies that exclusion to workers climbing on tractor trailers to rig a load. It concludes that fall protection is not required for employees who are on vehicles and trailers when the employee must be on the vehicle or trailer to perform his or her duties, and that no duty exists under the General Duty Clause or 29 CFR 1926.95(a) where there is no feasible means of providing it.
Two things follow, and both get missed. First, the general industry definition has no such carve out. Under 29 CFR 1910.21(b) a walking-working surface is any horizontal or vertical surface on or through which an employee walks, works, or gains access to a work area or workplace location, and 1910.21(a) applies the subpart to all general industry workplaces. Second, the 2004 letter turns on feasibility, not on trailers being safe. Equipment that can be towed to the bay and set up beside the trailer is what makes protection feasible, which is an argument for having a unit rather than against one.
For the dock or platform beside the trailer, 29 CFR 1910.28(b)(1)(iii) allows work without a fall protection system on the working side of a loading rack, loading dock or teeming platform only where the employer can demonstrate that fall protection is not feasible, and then only while that work operation is in process, with access limited to authorized employees trained under 29 CFR 1910.30. State plan states run their own enforcement posture, so check the state rule as well as the federal one.
Railcar and tanker tops raise a related but separate question, because OSHA has treated open rolling stock differently from a highway trailer. For the enforcement history and the anchorage numbers, see railcar and tanker loading fall protection: OSHA rules and equipment, or railcar and tanker loading fall protection equipment for the units that fit that work.
To buy or rent a trailer or dock system, see fall protection rental, or call 949-954-6581 and describe the trailer, the bay and how the work moves.
