Safety starts with Safety Pole
Safety Pole was not conceived in a design studio or boardroom. It originated on active construction sites, informed by decades of firsthand framing and project management experience.
During large-scale residential construction projects, fall protection was frequently addressed through improvised or temporary means. While these approaches often met minimum expectations on paper, they relied heavily on worker judgment, inconsistent anchorage, and reactive supervision. Over time, this gap between regulatory intent and field reality became increasingly apparent.
The founding concept behind Safety Pole emerged from a practical concern: there had to be a more reliable way to provide fall protection that did not depend on constant repositioning, judgment calls, or last-minute compliance measures.
The original Safety Pole concept was developed by a longtime framing contractor responsible for large, multi-home construction operations. While traveling home from a jobsite, the initial idea for a vertical, perimeter-based anchorage system was sketched with a specific goal in mind: to create fall protection designed for framing work, not adapted from unrelated systems.
From its earliest iterations, the system was shaped by three non-negotiable requirements:
This early concept eventually evolved into what would become the patented Safety Pole System.
As the system was refined and deployed across multiple projects, its value became clearer—not as a replacement for safety programs or training, but as physical infrastructure that enabled them to function as intended.
Rather than treating fall protection as a reactive activity, Safety Pole was designed to integrate directly into framing operations. Installation procedures, inspection protocols, and training could be standardized because the system itself was consistent from project to project.
This shift—from improvised protection to engineered infrastructure—became central to Safety Pole’s identity.
Safety Pole Inc. was formally established in 2004 to manufacture, deploy, and support the Safety Pole System as a dedicated fall protection solution for construction professionals.
The company’s focus has remained narrow and deliberate: overhead fall protection for framing and elevated work where perimeter exposure presents consistent risk. Rather than expanding into unrelated safety categories, Safety Pole has concentrated on refining system engineering, installation methodology, and field training tied directly to its equipment.
From its inception, Safety Pole has operated on a simple premise: safety performs best when it is engineered into the work, not layered on afterward.
Policies, training, and supervision are necessary—but without physical systems that make safe behavior practical and consistent, those measures often fall short in the field. By providing fixed, engineered anchorage as part of the jobsite environment, Safety Pole supports predictable, observable safety practices throughout a project’s duration.
Today, patented Safety Pole systems are used on residential and commercial projects where framing crews require reliable fall protection aligned with real-world construction sequencing.
The company continues to refine its systems, documentation, and training materials in response to field use, regulatory interpretation, and contractor feedback. Development remains grounded in the same principle that drove the original concept: fall protection should work with the job, not against it.
Safety Pole’s leadership is grounded in construction operations and field experience. The company is led by individuals directly responsible for framing execution, jobsite safety decisions, and the practical realities of managing elevated work. This leadership structure reflects the belief that effective fall protection is achieved through engineered systems and disciplined operational practice, not abstract policy alone.
Gary Franke is the Founder and President of Safety Pole Inc. and the originator of the Safety Pole System. With decades of experience leading residential and commercial framing operations, his career has been defined by direct responsibility for workers, schedules, and jobsite conditions.
The Safety Pole concept emerged from this field experience. While overseeing large-scale projects, Franke identified a recurring risk: fall protection was frequently addressed through improvised or temporary methods that relied on worker judgment and constant repositioning. These approaches often met minimum expectations on paper but proved difficult to manage consistently in practice.
In response, he developed the original Safety Pole concept to provide engineered, perimeter-based anchorage that could be installed early in a project and remain in place throughout framing operations. The system was designed to function independently of improvised structural tie-offs and to support consistent fall protection without disrupting workflow.
Jase Franke serves as Chief Operating Officer and Vice President of Safety Pole Inc., overseeing the operational deployment, system integration, and field alignment of Safety Pole systems across projects.
His role focuses on translating the original concept into a repeatable, field-ready system that can be installed, verified, documented, and used consistently across varied jobsite conditions. This work emphasizes operational discipline—ensuring that training, procedures, and documentation align with how crews and supervisors actually operate in the field.
He works closely with contractors, superintendents, and safety personnel to support standardized installation and inspection protocols, competent person verification practices, and training aligned to the systems deployed.
Safety Pole’s leadership reflects continuity rather than division of roles. The company’s direction is shaped by a unified perspective that connects invention, engineering, and field execution.
One leadership perspective originates from identifying risk through lived jobsite experience; the other focuses on embedding engineered solutions into daily workflows at scale. Together, this continuity supports Safety Pole’s long-term objective: enabling predictable, verifiable fall protection through systems designed for how framing work actually occurs.
Leadership at Safety Pole remains closely tied to the field—where safety decisions carry real consequences and systems must perform reliably, day after day.
The Safety Pole System was developed in response to real jobsite conditions and continues to be used on active construction projects across a range of environments. The Safety Pole Showcase highlights field installations, jobsite conditions, and system configurations as they are applied in practice.
The gallery provides visual context for how Safety Pole systems are deployed as part of framing operations, illustrating the relationship between planning, infrastructure, and execution on real jobsites.
View field installations and system applications in the Safety Pole Showcase.
Safety Pole’s history reflects a practical response to persistent jobsite risk and an ongoing commitment to engineered, system-based fall protection. To learn more about how this approach is carried forward today, explore Safety Pole’s leadership, review field installations in the Safety Pole Showcase, or visit The Jobsite Standard for reporting and analysis from the field.
