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Preferred Ropes for Professional Roof Cleaners

In the spring of 2022, we introduced the Eveook non-penetrating fall protection system for residential style sloped roofs to the members of the Spray Wash Academy. We assumed that because the Eveook fall protection system was, in our opinion and many others, an extraordinary system for installing Christmas lights, when it came to safety and getting jobs done quickly and efficiently, that it would also be an extraordinary choice for roof cleaners. (We have been endorsed by CLIPA [Christmas Lights Installers Professionals Association] and Christmas Decor [largest franchisor of Christmas lights installers]).

Responding to our introduction, someone asked about the ropes we use and how they are affected by chemicals. Following up with a few roof cleaners, it became our understanding that sodium hypochlorite 4% to 6% is most used for roof cleaning. We were carrying all nylon ropes, but a nylon rope is not acceptable with sodium hypochlorite. Our research showed that rope materials that are great choices for use with sodium hypochlorite and most other chemicals include polyester, and UHMWPE (Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene). For roof cleaners, we recommend and now provide 100% polyester ropes.

Testing ropes for Eveook non-penetrating fall protection system for residential style sloped roofs.

For roof workers that need a system that will protect up to eight users, we have incorporated a new rope as an anchor line with a UHMWPE core and a polyester sheath. (Generally, we do not recommend UHMWPE unless you have more than four people on a system. These ropes can only be used as anchor lines, they are not interchangeable with the lifelines, and they cost twice as much.)

For roof cleaners that need a system that will protect up to four users we recommend our polyester ropes.  All ropes that we provide are tested to ensure the strength to arrest a fall, when used properly.

 

Testing ropes for Eveook non-penetrating fall protection system for residential style sloped roofs.

From the link, you can see the properties of this extraordinary rope, made of a high-tenacity polyamide. With the new rope, the system arrested the fall and the test mass did not hit the ground. We successfully repeated the test several times in different environments and it always arrested the fall when testing a fall that met the specifications within the technical manual of the Eveook Non-Penetrating Fall Protection System for Residential Style Sloped Roofs  Polyamide ropes, when approaching an excessive force, will often stretch, rather than tare. Based on our tests and the available data, the Safety Pro 11mm high tenacity polyamide rope appears to be an excellent choice for use with sodium hypochlorite and most alkalines. Please let us protect your lives, quality of life, and businesses.

 

 

Modern Casting Makes Roof Work Safe

 

Our Story

Ballantyne Gear

Creators of the revolutionary Eveook Fall Protection System

Ballantyne Gear is a leading designer of technical tools, methods, and training for workers on sloped roofs, including commercial and residential and is the company behind the most innovative fall protection solution available for sloped roofs—the Eveook Fall Protection System.

This groundbreaking system is strong, lightweight, portable, engineered to deliver unparalleled safety, and does not damage roofs with nails or screws. Each Eveook anchor is made from aerospace-grade aluminum, weighs just 22 pounds, and has been independently tested to exceed a breaking strength of 9,000 pounds each. Unlike many products that feign OSHA compliance, the Eveook system meets and exceeds OSHA’s rigorous safety standards.

For more than a decade, Flent led a team of safety professionals from the United States, Canada, and Western Europe that created a proprietary fall protection system that took on the complexities of protecting sloped roof workers with simplistic innovation. 

In 2018, Flent’s employees used the fall protection. For the next two years it was beta tested and refined prior to certification.

Most sloped roof fall protection products fail to address critical OSHA safety requirements such as protecting the installer and preventing free-falls greater than 6 feet. The Eveook system protects the installer and avoids dangerous swing falls, preventing injuries and fatalities.

It is common practice in the industry to use single-point anchors, which are often nailed into the roof. The installer is required to risk serious injury, climbing unprotected on to the roof to attach the anchor.

Once installed, use of these single point anchors often creates dangerous swing falls that commonly result in the users striking a lower object, such as a chimney or even the ground.

At Ballantyne Gear, we’ve designed The Eveook Fall Protection System to specifically to prevent these risks. The system can be set up without getting on the roof, removing hazards before work begins, and ensuring quick, safe, and efficient installations that protect property and, most importantly, workers’ lives.

The Eveook Fall Protection System functions by anchoring two Eveook devices to the eaves of a structure. A horizontal anchor line is tensioned between these non-penetrating anchors, allowing users to work safely, perpendicular and parallel to the anchor line, with a slidable anchor point while avoiding dangerous swing falls.

The system emphasizes fall restraint; however, it is strong enough for fall arrest for up to 8 users per system. It is designed to adapt to various roof types, pitches ranging from 4:12 to 16:12, and structures with or without soffits.  The system can protect up to eight users using our, strong as steel HMPE Maxibraid rope.

 Major benefits of the Ballantyne Gear System include:

  • Installer is protected from falls when installing the system.
  • Dangerous swing falls avoided.
  • Systems installed in less than 15 minutes, truck to roof.
  • Workers are protected on the ladder, between the ladder and roof, and on the roof.
  • Emphasis on fall restraint; however, the system is strong enough for fall arrest for up to 8 users per system.
  • Jobs are completed in less time.
  • Roofs are not damaged from nails and screws.

In 2020, after testing at an independent ISO 17025 lab, the Ballantyne Gear Eveook Work and Fall Protection System was certified to the ANSI Z359.6 and the CSA Z259.16 standards as an engineered fall protection system for sloped roofs, also exceeding the OSHA 29 CFR 1926.501(b (13) duty to have fall protection standard and the OSHA 29 CFR 1910.140 personal fall protection standard.

Ballantyne Gear has garnered national recognition for this life-saving innovation. The Eveook system was presented to NIOSH, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, in Washington D.C. and is now recognized as a CPWR Construction Solution by the Center for Construction Research and Training.

Additionally, Ballantyne Gear has received the Job-Site Safety Institute’s Safety Award for Excellence and was a top finalist for
the National Association of Home Builders’ Most Innovative Construction Tool.

At Ballantyne Gear, we’ve created a revolutionary fall protection system that helps businesses, customers, profits, and—most importantly—people thrive. As leaders in safety innovation, we continue to prove that what was once thought impossible is now a reality.