Virginia Tech® home

Hokie alumni protecting people at great heights

(From left to right) Michael Clapman ‘09, ‘11, R. Bruce Simms ‘93, and Christopher T. Link ‘01, ‘03 in the Industrial TurnAround Corporation (ITAC) office.
(From left to right) Michael Clapman ‘09, ‘11, R. Bruce Simms ‘93, and Christopher T. Link ‘01, ‘03 in the Industrial TurnAround Corporation (ITAC) office. Photo courtesy of R. Bruce Simms.

Within a firm of over 500 employees, Industrial TurnAround Corporation (ITAC) has hired many Hokies to help protect workers from height-related falls. In particular, three Virginia Tech alumni were instrumental in starting, and now running, ITAC’s fall protection division. The division has installed over 250 miles of horizontal and vertical lifeline systems to date to keep laborers safe on the job. The impact of their work can be seen on locations such as the U.S. Supreme Court, the Pentagon, U.S. Botanic Gardens, Kings Dominion, and NASA launch pads. 

From the design of the apparatuses to facilitating training on fall protection design philosophy, R. Bruce Simms ‘93, Christopher T. Link ‘01, ‘03, and Michael Clapman ‘09, ‘11 utilize their engineering degrees to save workers' lives. Learn more about the journeys of these civil engineering Hokies into the niche field of fall protection.