Harness for heavy cylinders at coal terminal

Port Kembla Coal Terminal has a strict fire safety protocol in place, which requires up to nine heavy cylinders, each weighing 121 kg, to be regularly lifted from ground level to a height of 20 m for ongoing maintenance.

These gas cylinders are critical components of the fire safety system installed at Port Kembla, which includes 28 fire panels and more than 100 Inergen cylinders located in switch rooms throughout the terminal.

Drawing on the expertise of Tyco Integrated Fire & Security, a specialised ‘Inergen Cylinder Lifting Harness’ was designed for the safe lifting of the heavy cylinders with the use of a crane.

“Developing the new safety system was not a straightforward process,” said Tyco Fire Alarm Leading Hand Trent Green.

“It took three months of brainstorming, sketching, consulting and locating a suitable manufacturer before a prototype could be produced.

“It then took extensive testing and trials, with a number of improvements and modifications, before the harness could be manufactured and put into use.”

The finished product proved a success with the harness improving workplace safety at the coal site. The Tyco team was formally recognised by Port Kembla Coal for its creative safety solution.

The harness has since taken the interest of other industries that are interested in having the product adapted to suit their heavy lifting requirements. There are now three harnesses designed to lift CO₂ cylinders, and two different-sized harnesses to lift cylinders onto ships with low ceilings.

Image caption: Trent Green and Steve Caple from Tyco with their design of the Inergen Cylinder Lifting Harness.