Safety Rail Systems Are One Item with OSHA Guidelines and Regulations

Creating safe working environments is the responsibility of all organizations. Companies have to ensure that they have taken the proper steps to ensure the safety of their employees. In order to verify and confirm companies are providing the proper level of safety, different government agencies, such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), issue compliance regulations, as well as reserve the right to conduct inspections on a regular basis. OSHA has guidelines for a wide variety of areas, including air quality levels, noise levels, the use of safety rail systems, fall arrest systems, safety gates, hatch and ladder guards, skylight guards, and visual warning line systems, in addition to how these items are to be utilized and installed in your industry.

Select a Safety Rail System Based on How It Will Be Used
 
Deciding what type of safety rail system is best for your organization depends upon how it will be used. For example, if you are in construction, purchasing and installing permanent guard rails would not be cost-effective because it is difficult to remove them once the project is completed. Instead, using portable guard rails is better suited for construction firms. During the construction processes, though, your project could including installing permanent systems for your customer. In these situations, you are able to use them in place of your portable system, once they are properly installed. You customer might want you to install railings for delivery docks, along the edge of the roof, or other such areas.

Create Additional Storage Using Mezzanines with Mezzanine Safety Gates and Guard Rails

Sometimes you need additional storage space within your facility, but are unable to expand the size of your building. One viable option many industrial and warehouse operations use is to install mezzanines. Mezzanines are raised open areas constructed above the ground floor, with limited obstructions. Mezzanines do require the proper support beams to be able to support the weight of equipment, items and people placed on them. Further, you need to make sure mezzanines are installed with safety in mind. Open sides of each mezzanine need to have safety guard rails installed, along with mezzanine safety gates. The gates need to be installed so that they swing inwards and have a latch preventing them from opening outwards in order to prevent someone from accidently falling.

Use Mezzanine Safety Gates and Guard Rails on a Mezzanine Installed Over Equipment

 In addition to being used for storage, mezzanines may also be installed to create raised platforms for gaining easier access to equipment. Some types of machinery can be rather large, and performing maintenance and repairs on this equipment requires access from above. Using a safety harness with a support line, and lowering yourself into place, limits what maintenance you are able to complete without the assistance of other employees, and has an increased risk of potential accidents and injury. However, by installing a mezzanine with mezzanine safety gates and guard rails over the equipment, you have a solid surface to stand on to complete repairs and maintenance. You are also able to eliminating the risks associated with attempting to fix equipment using a safety harness and support line.

A Safety Gate Can Be Used in Work Areas for Different Reasons

Certain areas of your facility may require the use of a safety gate for different reasons. One use for these types of gates is to install them into railings around dangerous equipment and machinery. The gates act as a deterrent and help to prevent unauthorized access and reduce the potential of accidents and injuries. Another use for gates is to use them at entryways through safety guard railings on elevated areas, like mezzanines or cat walks. Without the use of gates in elevated areas, someone could accidently fall through entry openings and be seriously hurt. Gates used in these locations should be installed so that they swing inwards and away from the opening. The safety catch on the gates is designed to stop the gate from opening outwards, in the event someone were to lean against the gate, and it prevents them from falling.

The Type of Safety Gate You Use Should Satisfy OSHA Requirements
 
OSHA has specific guidelines and requirements for the use of a safety gate in work areas. Depending upon the exact location where the gate is being used, it may have to be a self-closing gate. These types of gates automatically return to their closed position after a person enters through them. For instance, in raised areas, safety gates should be self-closing as once they are closed -- they are designed to be used along with your safety guard rails to prevent accidental falls. When used at the ground level of your facility, you might have the option to choose from manually closing and self-closing gates. However, you need to verify the kind of gate you select does satisfy OSHA safety regulations.

Permanent Guard Rails Need to Include Height Allowances for Securing Them in Place

The height of permanent guard rails has to be taken into consideration when installing permanent guard rails. This is because a portion of the guard rail is normally secured in place with brackets, which are cemented in place below the floor level where they are being installed. While the use of brackets may be optional, they do help to ensure that the proper amount of railing is placed into the floor, in order to provide the necessary support to remain securely in place. You also have to account for OSHA requirements for the height of the railings. OSHA guidelines are based upon measurements taken from the floor, to the top of the railings, and do not include any length of the railing placed below the floor level. For this reason, the total length of the railings needs to include both the required OSHA measurement and the length of railing secured into the floor.

Get a Detailed Schematic with Your Quote for Permanent Guard Rails
 
Installing permanent guard rails requires drawings which have to be added to architectural blueprints. Taking away the confusion of complex blueprints is possible by utilizing our CAD modeling services. We can take any drawing, blueprint or other schematic, and turn it into a simple and easily understood safety rail project. This additional service is free and is provided with a detailed quote that includes descriptions and quantities of all needed hardware and equipment for your project. In addition to guard rails, we also supply other safety equipment, including skylight guarding, hatch and ladder guards, fixed and caged ladders, and visual warning line systems, as well as mobile fall arrest systems.

Ladder Guards, Guard Rails, and Visual Warning Line Systems Are Safety Equipment You Might Need

One of the biggest causes of accidents in the work place is not having the right fall protection and equipment in use. How seriously a person is injured depends upon the length of the distance from where they fell and hit the ground. Falling even a few feet can result in bruising, sprains, and other minor injuries. As heights increase, the extent of potential injury also increases. For example, if one of your employees were to fall from a roof off of a three story building, they could experience broken bones, serious head injuries and internal organ damage, upon impact with the ground, and might ultimately die as a result of their injuries. As an employer, it is your responsibility to ensure work spaces and areas within around your facility offer safe working environments. This means that you have to use the right kinds of safety equipment and gear, including ladder guards, guard rails, visual warning line systems and mobile fall arrest systems.

Provide Protection to Employees Working on Ladders with Ladder Guards

Ladder guards are designed to offer protection to your employees working on ladders. The guards are set up and installed around the base of ladders, in order to prevent other people from walking into the area any time work is being performed. In addition to placing the guards around the base of the ladder, your employee will also need fall arrest equipment, such as a body harness, in case they misstep while climbing up the ladder, or lose their footing and fall off the ladder. Ladder guards are available in both permanently installed and portable models, depending upon your needs and requirements.

OSHA Requires Skylight Guarding on Building with Skylights

Skylight guarding is a specific type of safety gear that is required to be installed and placed over areas on your roof where skylights are in use. The exact specifications, requirements and regulations for this kind of guarding is based upon OSHA standards and have to be followed in order to create a safe, secure and compliant workplace. The reason guarding has to be placed over skylights is because they do not provide any support or protection in the event someone were to trip and fall onto the skylight. The person could easily fall through the skylight and be seriously injured, or may subsequently die as the result of the fall. In fact, OSHA views unprotected skylights just as if you had an open hole in the roof of your building.

You have different installation options available with skylight guarding. One option is to use OSHA compliant guarding manufactured and assembled to your specifications and measurements. The guarding must be able to support a load of at least 200 pounds, when applied perpendicular to any area on the screen. The screens must also be high enough away from the glass so they do not bend downward and cause the glass to break under ordinary impacts. These finished pieces are designed to be simply placed over the top of the skylight. There is no welding, mounting or drilling required with this style. Another option is to use this style and mount it to the surface of your roof, which may be required, depending upon local regulations, such as locations impacted by tropical storms and hurricanes.

Make Sure Safety Railing Meets OSHA Guidelines and Requirements

Safety railing is required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to be installed in specific locations throughout your facility. Any area that is raised over a predetermined and specified height off the ground has to have railings in place in order to prevent accidental falls. This includes locations like loading docks, mezzanines, roofs and cross over ladders. Additionally, railings may need to be installed at the ground level, when it is used as a barrier around equipment and machinery, in order to prevent and lower the likelihood of accidents in the workplace. It is worth your time to review the current OSHA guidelines on a regular basis, to ensure your facility is compliant. It would be a waste of previous corporate resources, to purchase the wrong size railing and discover later it did not meet the minimum OSHA requirements, and then had to be replaced.

Some Organizations Were Provided a Grandfather Clause with Their Safety Railing

OSHA has made allowances in certain situations in regards to safety railing. When they changed the height requirements of the railings and made them taller, some industries were grandfathered in at the previous requirements. This was done to prevent these businesses from having the expense of replacing all of their, then current, guard rails. However, these companies have to follow the new guidelines for any new railing installations within their facility. They also have to install new guard rails, in the event they have to remove and replace old railings covered under the grandfather clause.