A MANDURAH man who spotted a potentially life-threatening risk has turned his concern into a revolutionary new invention.
Shaun Cottone was employed at a gas plant when he noticed workers had to step under loads suspended by cranes.
“A rope is wrapped around the object before it’s lifted and then the rigger needs to grab the rope to move the load to where it needs to go,” he said.
“You’re not supposed to go under a load that’s hanging because if there is a crane failure or a dropped object, someone could be injured or killed.
“I thought ‘there must be a safer way to do this’.”
Mr Cottone created a rigging device, called Tag-Ex, that moves the rope one metre away from the object being lifted to keep the worker safe.
“It’s a tag line extension arm and I’ve been working on it for about two years,” he said.
Mr Cottone uses businesses in the Peel region to create the product through his business Rising Fast and it has been sold across the country.
“The most important part is educating employers and workers about how dangerous this situation can be,” he said.
“Tag-Ex seems simple but safety is so important.”
