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Vac-Con’s rolling ladder improves employee safety

The ladder protects employees as they complete tasks throughout the company’s renovated campus.

The ladder protects employees as they complete tasks throughout the company’s renovated campus.

Renowned as the leading provider of custom-built products for sewer cleaning, industrial vacuuming, hydro excavation and water jetting, Vac-Con has manufactured more than 8,400 products since 1986.

To keep pace with the market’s growing demand for their custom-built, combination cleaning machines, Vac-Con, which is located in Green Cove Springs, Fla., underwent a total campus renovation that expanded its facility to 160,000 square feet.

Following the completion of this project, Vac-Con’s 350 employee owners became interested in purchasing new access equipment that would be safe and durable, while also enhancing employee safety and productivity. As a result, the company would have a leaner, more efficient manufacturing environment that would incorporate durable equipment throughout the campus, leading to continued success.

Vac-Con saw an opportunity to provide its employees rolling ladders, mobile work platforms and shipping bay security equipment that would increase safety without sacrificing operational efficiency.

Through a partnership with an industrial ladder manufacturer, Vac-Con found a supplier whose custom access solutions would help the custom-built products provider achieve its goal of a safer, more efficient manufacturing environment. In particular, the solutions—multi-tiered shelving systems—would provide a well-organized stocking area for additional supplies and parts at Vac-Con’s renovated facility.

While Vac-Con employees contemplated how to provide safe and efficient access to these elevated supplies, it became evident that a rolling ladder was the ideal solution. Equipped with four heavy-duty casters, the rolling ladder can be easily maneuvered to any desired location. Guarded by strong steel hand rails, employees would be protected from falls as they traveled up and down the stairwell obtaining supplies.

This protection is especially important, as Vac-Con’s employees (during the final stages of assembly) need access to the vacuum machines that have been mounted to the back of a commercial truck chassis. Given the technical nature of the task, sturdy work stands, which ensure technicians are within arm’s reach, are essential for the safe and quick completion of final tasks.

Through its collaboration with the industrial ladder manufacturer, Vac-Con obtained stable, custom work stands that positioned employees on level with the deck of the truck. Designed to lock in place during use, employees working at these elevated heights will be able to avoid overreaching injuries.

Additionally, when deciding how to best protect the facility’s shipping bay area, Vac-Con selected a guard rail. The product’s modular and economic design ensures Vac-Con’s continued compliance with OSHA’s regulations for guarding elevated platforms.

While reviewing his purchasing experience with the manufacturer, Ian Beattie, Vac-Con’s inventory control manager, says, “[Its] ease of ordering and customer service was second to none. [And its] range of products and ability to customize made the purchasing experience enjoyable.”


Wildeck

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