Spider aids extreme sports fitness test

Spider, a division of SafeWorks, LLC, recently provided the suspended access solution for Gillette Antiperspirants’ extreme athletic competition in Latin America.

The record-setting competition involved seven athletes simultaneously performing pull up exercises while suspended from different bridges across Latin America. Zink, the event development organization for Panama’s leg of the competition, turned to Spider to engineer a safe, reliable powered access solution that would safely transport the athlete to the top of the Centennial Bridge spanning the Panama Canal.

Spider’s ST-180 electric drum hoist, equipped with two lifelines and rope grabs, was rigged to a custom rigging point at the top of the bridge’s 425-ft tall pillar. The workbasket’s 5,000-lb load capacity enabled an operator and the athlete to travel to the top with the required 4:1 safety factor. When they reached the top of the pillar, the athlete grabbed the bar while the operator lowered the basket several feet to allow room for the challenge. Once the pull-up challenge was completed, the ST-180 climbed again to gather the athlete and smoothly descended to the ground.