Enhance The Safety of Your Workplace With Fall Prevention Equipment
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), fall protection is required at any height of four feet or above in industrial workspaces. Falls can be life-threatening, so it’s important to use safety equipment to help prevent them.
Having the right safety equipment is essential. Items like guard rails, anti-slip flooring, and well-maintained staircases can go a long way in preventing slips and falls.
In this post, we’ll cover some of the leading fall protection systems and strategies implemented in industrial environments and how A-Lined Handling Systems can help further increase worker safety:
Fall Prevention Equipment, Strategies, and Systems
Guard Rails
One of the simplest strategies happens to be one of the most effective – guard rails. Guard rail systems offered by A-Lined aren’t just able to withstand impact up to 13,000 pounds – more than enough strength to withstand blows from forklifts or other heavy-duty equipment – but they’ve also painted a bright yellow, making them easy to see. Other benefits of guard rail systems include:
- Protection for lower-level workstations.
- Safeguarding expensive equipment.
- Defining traffic patterns throughout the facility.
- Affordable and easy to install.
While some guard rails are described as passive fall protection, other guard rail systems are highly flexible and not fixed. A-Lined offers Lift-Out Guard Rails, which allow plant managers to easily remove sections to make it easy to access certain equipment or machinery.
Fall Arrest Systems
Fall arrest systems provide an active means of protecting workers from falling. Arrest systems tend to include a variety of different fall restraints, such as:
- An anchor.
- A body harness.
- A connector.
Good fall arrest systems still allow workers to maintain maximum flexibility while supporting a weight of more than 300 pounds. Fall arrest systems also tend to be affordable and flexible, with the ability to customize said solutions to different types of situations or locations throughout the facility.
Swing Gates and Dock Gates
Swing gates and dock gates are two solutions that make sense in the industrial workplace.
Ladder guard swing gates, for instance, can improve safety where ladders are located throughout the environment and restrict access when ladders are not in use. They’re durable, reliable, and designed to handle even the harshest industrial environments. Other features of ladder guard swing gates include self-closing spring-loaded hinges and adjustable sizes from as little as 16 inches up to 40 inches. They’re ideal for loading dock ladders, platforms or mezzanines, rooftop ladders, and maintenance access ladders.
As the name implies, dock gates are ideal on dock doors and in shipping areas and work to provide a barrier for workers near these locations. They’re easy to install and operate and are available in straight rail and folding rail designs. EdgeGuard dock gates offered by A-Lined meet OSHA’s 200-pound load force protection requirement. In addition to dock doors, dock gates are also applicable in loading pits to restrict access to certain areas. Outside the warehouse, they’re often used in retail, religious, higher education, and hospital environments.
A safe facility is a productive one. And fall prevention is imperative to establishing a secure workspace. Remember, fall protection is required when working at heights of four feet or more in industrial spaces. Take the time now to assess your fall prevention plan and enhance protective measures where necessary. Contact A-Lined today to learn more about our industry-leading fall prevention solutions.