Figure 6
Operating the $martline descender
from the top when rescuing another
person.
Figure 4
Controlling the descent
Figure 5
Tighten the rope between the $mart-
line descender device and the injured
person.
7) Start the descent using the $martline (fig 4).
8)
The speed of the descent is adjusted with one hand on the handle and the
other hand holding the line below the device
. Start with the line at an angle out
of the slot as shown in figure 3 and figure 4. When moving the handle down, the speed
increases. When moving the handle upwards or releasing the handle, the device will stop.
Additional friction is given by moving the line into the narrow part of the slot.
It is im-
portant to always keep one hand on the line below the descender to control
the descent
.
9) During long descents and heavy loads a lot of heat will be induced. There might even be
some smoke developing inside the descender. This is normal and not a safety concern.
Avoid contact between exposed skin and the descender body, since this may be very hot.
10) When the user is safely on the ground, the descender is detached from the harness. If this
is difficult, cut the rope with the enclosed knife.
3.6 Rescue
In situations where a person is unconscious or otherwise unable to descend by themsel-
ves, he/she can be rescued by another person using the $martline.
Follow these instructions for rescue:
1) Approach the person to be rescued. Use appropriate fall protection equipment to protect
yourself from falling.
2) Break the seal of the $martline bag by twisting the seal until it breaks.
3) Open the bag. Read the short version of the instructions for use if you are unsure about
the correct use.
4) Detach the black karabiner from the anchor sling. Place the
anchor sling around a
structure and into the blue karabiner
as shown in figure 1A or figure 1B. The an-
chor must be able to support a load of 10 kN (EN795). The $martline hangs upside down
as shown in fig 5.
5) Connect the black karabiner at the end of the line to an attachment point on the harness
of the person to be rescued. On full body harnesses, an upper attachment point should be
used. Ensure that
both karabiners are locked off
.
6) Take up any slack in the line by pulling the free end of the line as shown in figure 5. It is
important that dynamic loads are avoided.
7) If the injured person is hanging in a harness, his safety line has to be removed before he
can be lowered. To make this possible, the weight of the injured person must be transferred
to the $martline. This is done in two different ways depending on the type of fall protection
equipment used. It is important that users are trained and supervised in these methods:
Person hanging in adjustable fall protection equipment
After the line between the anchor and the person to be rescued is tightened as much as
possible (figure 5), adjust the loaded fall protection equipment so that the person is lowe-
red until his weight is fully onto the $martline. Then the other fall protection equipment can
be removed and the descent started.
Person hanging in none adjustable fall protection equipment
In such situations the $martline has to be used as a pulley system to transfer the load
from the fall protection equipment to the $martline. This is done by making a loop of the
line below the descender and threading it through the karabiner attached to the harness.
By pulling the line as showed in figure 7 (alternatively figure 8) the person can be lifted
and the load transferred from the fall protection equipment onto the $martline. The person
only needs to be lifted a small distance before the other fall protection equipment can be
removed.
Instructions for use
$martline
|
Revision number: 12, 2012-12-12
