Development of a rapid deployment safety fan that bolts onto existing building framework and is movable on rails between floors without the use of a crane significantly reducing operating costs.

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The European construction industry accounts for over half of the fatal and major fall injuriesfrom height, slips and trips. In 2013/2014 period, fall injuries prejudiced the UK economyapproximately 1.5 million working days (ca. £800 million) (LFS 2013/2014). Falls mainlyarise from working on a scaffold or platform without guardrails, or with improperly attachedor no safety harness. Other causes include fragile roofs, ladders that are badly maintained,positioned or secured, lack of edge protection, unprotected openings in buildings andinadequate scaffolding. The cost of these accidents to the individual, the employer and tosociety is often significant.To try prevent falls, construction companies use safety nets that have costly and longinstallation processes, requiring the use of cranes to install and move between floors. Thesenets have to be drilled or permanently attached to the building often destroying buildingconcrete and other structures. Moreover, crane time is the most sought after and valuableresource on a construction site, with the booking schedules reaching weeks in advance. Thereis thus a ready and growing market in the UK, Europe and worldwide for innovative safetynet designs that minimise the use of cranes.Rapid EPS is developing an innovative, extendable safety net system that bolts onto theexisting building concrete through self-tapping bolts and can be moved up and down on railsbetween floors without the use of cranes. Our safety net system will be able to support falls ofup to 400kg in weight, four times more than existing products and has proved to significantlyreduce injuries from falls and completely eliminate fatalities compared to the use of worksattached by support harnesses. Further to this, the system can be retracted rapidly forequipment transport or access to the floor as needed without lengthy dismantling or damage tothe building structure.