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Did you know that OSHA created a National Emphasis Program to prevent falls, which are the leading case of fatalities in the workplace? This program was put into place last year, and will continue to be of focus for the next couple of years. If you haven’t done a facility safety audit recently, it may be time to do so to ensure the facility meets OSHA fall protection regulations.

The goal of the NEP is to “significantly reduce or eliminate unprotected worker exposures to fall-related hazards in all industries that can result in serious injuries and deaths. While much of the inspections will be conducted in the construction industry because that is where the most employee fall fatalities happen, it does not not rule out investigating material handling, warehousing or manufacturing facilities.

How Can You Be Sure Your Facility Complies with OSHA Fall Protection Regulations?

Check all elevated work platforms of four (4) feet or higher. Take a close look at pallet drop areas and production platforms; take note of any that include doors, as that is an often overlooked area.

Fall protection around pallet drop areas and on production platforms can be achieved without impacting production or workflow. Using dual-gate safety systems ensures that the ledge is protected at all times, even during the loading and unloading of pallets or material. When the ledge gate is open, the rear gate is closed, blocking the worker from accessing the ledge. When the ledge gate closes, the employee has access to the material with the barrier at the ledge. Safety gates can also be configured with power operation, in a Total Control Access (TCA) design that ensures one gate is fully closed before the other gate opens.

Don’t forget to look at pallet flow lanes. While employees are not to walk out on the lanes, it happens. Safety gates for flow lanes can be configured in a number of ways; we can help determine the best model for your application.

Check elevated work areas in loading docks. Take a close look at the way employees use the lifts in the dock area, and note if fall protection is needed on lifts or the loading dock itself.

Fall protection on loading dock lifts - especially pit mounted dock lifts and scissor lifts, often require safety gates that automatically close and lock into place as the lift rises, and stay locked until it’s aligned with the dock or on ground level. Loading docks also need to have a fall protection barrier in place to keep employees from the open ledge. Safety gates for loading docks can be configured to automatically close and lock into place as the truck drives away, creating fall protection without relying on employees to remember to move it back into place.

Don’t skip over the unique areas. Look at every elevated work platform to determine how it’s used, and if fall protection devices don’t seem to fit, get a custom engineered solution.

Once you have completed your facility safety audit, we’re here to help you with your pallet drop gate needs. We have safety gate designs for elevated platforms, lifts and loading docks, and our team has created hundreds of custom engineered fall protection solutions.

A nation wide retail chain was looking to make its supported shelving systems safer for employees. Each retail location features a product storage system that includes elevated pallet drop areas in order to fulfill one of its top business goals - to have the product available when customers came to the store in need of the supplies. Thus, the shelving systems are usually packed to ensure customers do not leave empty-handed.

Safety gates and other protective guarding had been considered a space waster. However, corporate management knew that fall protection was important for employees health and well-being, and to ensure compliance with OSHA walking working surfaces regulations. Management set out to find a safety solution that would work in all its stores across the United States.

Each store has its own unique shelving system, but most often employees pick from shelf to shelf. Most stores used sliding or swinging gates that relied on employees to move them in and out of place. But, because the shelves and system were constantly being picked from and replenished the gates were often left open, which was a fall hazard and OSHA violation.

While the stores had some of their own unique requirements, height was limited in the majority of the systems, and room on the sides was scare due to the shelving, so the safety system would need to fit into tight spaces. In addition, the company required any safety gates to close flush with the deck and include 4 inch kick plates.

After researching safety gate options, the retail chain management chose Mezzanine Safeti-Gates to provide safety gate systems for each store.

Mezzanine Safeti-Gates worked closely with corporate management and the individual store managers to ensure the safety gate model would be a seamless fit within each store’s shelving system configuration. Measurements were taken in each store location and specific recommendations were made for each store environment, which included custom engineering to design safety gates to fit within each system.

The Roly® safety gate was the ideal model for most of the store locations. The original dual-gate safety system provides an enclosed workstation for employees picking from pallets. When the ledge gate is up for the pallet area to be replenished, the rear-gate is down, preventing employees from accessing the ledge. When the area is ready to be picked, the ledge gate closes and the rear gate opens, providing access to the material in the pallet drop area. Many of the Roly safety gates that were installed required custom dimensions to fit within the supported shelving system.

Some store locations had shelving configurations that required employees to pick from the sides of the pallet, and in those cases, a Tri-Side safety gate model was installed. When open, the U-shaped rear gate allows for easy access to three sides of the pallet while the ledge side gate is closed, preventing falls.

In stores with very tall loads in their pallet drop area, two different models were offered. First, an Open Top safety gate model offers fall protection at the ledges of pallet drop areas without using overhead mechanics. In other stores, High Pallet Pivot gates were used in stores to accommodate pallet loads up to 80 inches tall within the pivoting safety gate design.

While most safety gates were purchased with manual operation, some stores chose to add power operation to their gates. In addition, some locations opted to include product containment netting on the ledge gate to ensure loose products would not fall from the pallet drop area.

To date, pallet drop safety gates have been installed in over 150 store locations in 20 states including Hawaii and Alaska, and the project is ongoing. Corporate and store managers have been very happy with the pallet drop safety gates, as well as the attention to detail and variety of options that Mezzanine Safeti-Gates provided to ensure fall protection for their employees nationwide.

Just like snowflakes, material handling facilities are all unique. There is so much change happening in the industry; automation is booming, and new types of equipment are being created to accommodate the increased demand for speed and storage. Given the changes, material handling equipment manufactures need to be flexible and create solutions that will fit into these new systems and applications.

While in most cases standard size protective guarding will work within the changed environments, others require custom engineered solutions. These solutions must be tested to ensure they meet industry standards and comply with OSHA regulations, which may include numerous requirements. Ergonomics is also a factor when creating custom material handling equipment, especially when the equipment is heavy or large in size.

Determining whether a custom designed solution is needed can often be very apparent, especially when dealing with material of great size. However, other times it may look like standard size guarding is a fit, but when the workflow starts going, it becomes clear that a different solution is needed. Below are three signs that you may need a custom-engineered safety solution. Note that the examples will be centered around pallet drop safety gates, but the signals apply to a wide range of protective guarding solutions.

Real Estate Squeeze
Space is a precious commodity in material handling facilities. Depending on the application, there must be enough space for employees, material and equipment. Barriers to keep all three safe and oftentimes away from each other, have to be included within the spaces. When space is compromised or extends beyond a double-wide pallet drop area for instance, custom engineered solutions are often the answer.

For example, we worked with a company to secure pallet drop areas in a new pick module and rack system. The bays were 156 feet wide to accommodate three pallet positions, and space in the bay was tight, so the gates had to take up minimal space while providing fall protection. To accommodate the material in the three pallets positions in the bays, we created a custom designed High Pallet Pivot safety gate which normally can handle pallet loads up to 80 inches tall while using a minimum amount of space on the platform. The gates were constructed wide enough for the pallet positions while maintaining a safe environment for the workers in the bay at all times. Although the safety gates were made 13 feet wide and out of heavy square steel tubing, we ensured ergonomic, effortless operation by including our hydraulic gas assist mechanism.

Robots on the Move
While there are still way more people in the facility, the investment into this technology is great, and companies want to make sure their investment and equipment is protected as well. If robots get damaged, not only is it monetarily expensive, it can shut down the complete system for hours or days, and if they fall from an upper level, employees and machines below are at risk for damage too.

We are seeing more and more facilities using lifts and conveyor systems in their applications, especially with robots moving from the floor level, up into the system. To prevent robots from falling from these empty shafts, we created custom safety gates that automatically open and close with the lift to ensure the robots are contained without relying on an employee to secure the area.

Material Mishaps
How is the material packaged when it’s placed in the pallet drop area? Is it all wrapped and contained, or is it smaller boxes and loose material? Material in pallet drop areas can face many hazards while it’s waiting to be picked and moved. Fork lift trucks and pallet jacks can jostle pallets or pierce packaging around the material, leaving it exposed on the ledge. Material can fall from the drop zones, crashing to the lower level; the material, as well as employees and machinery below are left exposed to damage from the falls.

We’ve recently helped customers secure the ledge-side of a Pivot safety gate with metal mesh guarding to keep material contained in the pallet drop area within a pick module. Another customer wanted to ensure its material, which was of smaller nature, did not leave the busy pallet drop area while it was being moved. For this instance we created a custom Total Control Access (TCA) safety gate that included full netting on all four sides of the safety gate, creating a fully enclosed, power-operated safety gate cage.

While the above scenarios are common signs that you need custom-engineered solutions, there are many additional unique situations in which they may be necessary. If you have doubts about a standard size working, reach out to your provider to discuss any concerns about the application. They can provide valuable guidance and the right solution for your facility.

This article first appeared in the December 2023 issue of Workplace Material Handling Solutions

Just like snowflakes, material handling facilities are all unique. There is so much change happening in the industry; automation is booming, and new types of equipment are being created to accommodate the increased demand for speed and storage. Given the changes, material handling equipment manufactures need to be flexible and create solutions that will fit into these new systems and applications.

While in most cases standard size protective guarding will work within the changed environments, others require custom engineered solutions. These solutions must be tested to ensure they meet industry standards and comply with OSHA regulations, which may include numerous requirements. Ergonomics is also a factor when creating custom material handling equipment, especially when the equipment is heavy or large in size.

Determining whether a custom designed solution is needed can often be very apparent, especially when dealing with material of great size. However, other times it may look like standard size guarding is a fit, but when the workflow starts going, it becomes clear that a different solution is needed. Below are three signs that you may need a custom-engineered safety solution. Note that the examples will be centered around pallet drop safety gates, but the signals apply to a wide range of protective guarding solutions.

Real Estate Squeeze
Space is a precious commodity in material handling facilities. Depending on the application, there must be enough space for employees, material and equipment. Barriers to keep all three safe and oftentimes away from each other, have to be included within the spaces. When space is compromised or extends beyond a double-wide pallet drop area for instance, custom engineered solutions are often the answer.

For example, we worked with a company to secure pallet drop areas in a new pick module and rack system. The bays were 156 feet wide to accommodate three pallet positions, and space in the bay was tight, so the gates had to take up minimal space while providing fall protection. To accommodate the material in the three pallets positions in the bays, we created a custom designed High Pallet Pivot safety gate which normally can handle pallet loads up to 80 inches tall while using a minimum amount of space on the platform. The gates were constructed wide enough for the pallet positions while maintaining a safe environment for the workers in the bay at all times. Although the safety gates were made 13 feet wide and out of heavy square steel tubing, we ensured ergonomic, effortless operation by including our hydraulic gas assist mechanism.

Robots on the Move
While there are still way more people in the facility, the investment into this technology is great, and companies want to make sure their investment and equipment is protected as well. If robots get damaged, not only is it monetarily expensive, it can shut down the complete system for hours or days, and if they fall from an upper level, employees and machines below are at risk for damage too.

We are seeing more and more facilities using lifts and conveyor systems in their applications, especially with robots moving from the floor level, up into the system. To prevent robots from falling from these empty shafts, we created custom safety gates that automatically open and close with the lift to ensure the robots are contained without relying on an employee to secure the area.

Material Mishaps
How is the material packaged when it’s placed in the pallet drop area? Is it all wrapped and contained, or is it smaller boxes and loose material? Material in pallet drop areas can face many hazards while it’s waiting to be picked and moved. Fork lift trucks and pallet jacks can jostle pallets or pierce packaging around the material, leaving it exposed on the ledge. Material can fall from the drop zones, crashing to the lower level; the material, as well as employees and machinery below are left exposed to damage from the falls.

We’ve recently helped customers secure the ledge-side of a Pivot safety gate with metal mesh guarding to keep material contained in the pallet drop area within a pick module. Another customer wanted to ensure its material, which was of smaller nature, did not leave the busy pallet drop area while it was being moved. For this instance we created a custom Total Control Access (TCA) safety gate that included full netting on all four sides of the safety gate, creating a fully enclosed, power-operated safety gate cage.

While the above scenarios are common signs that you need custom-engineered solutions, there are many additional unique situations in which they may be necessary. If you have doubts about a standard size working, reach out to your provider to discuss any concerns about the application. They can provide valuable guidance and the right solution for your facility.

This article first appeared in the December 2023 issue of Workplace Material Handling Solutions

A customer that uses Rack Supported Roly® safety gates in its pick modules reached out to us after identifying a potential hazard in their pallet drop areas. Pallets of products were no longer being wrapped, which eliminated the need for employees to remove the wrap for picking.  However, the facility manager noticed that the pallets were often moved by an employee using a lift jack before picking, and was concerned that material could dislodge, bounce over the kick plate and fall down to a lower level. Concerned for risk of product falling to lower levels and striking employees walking below, the facility safety manager reached out to us to help them provide fall protection for the products within the pallet drop area.

The facility manager let us know that the Rack Supported Roly safety gates were very effective, protecting employees from the ledge when the pallet drop area was being loaded. They did not want to change the safety gate operation with a new fall protection solution. Our team suggested adding high strength safety netting system to the ledge gate for product containment in addition to fall protection. The add-on option allows the netting to expand and contract within the safety gate system without impeding upon pallet operations and safety, and prevents items two (2) inches or larger from falling from the elevated pallet drop area.  

We worked with the customer to retrofit the existing Rack Supported Roly mezzanine safety gates with the product containment netting system on the ledge gate. When the area is being loaded with material, the ledge gate is open and the netting compacts into the system, out of the way of operations. After loading is complete, the ledge gate closes and the netting automatically extends from the deck to the top frame of the gate, providing full length coverage on the ledge side.

Product containment netting on the ledge gate in the Rack Supported safety gate design eliminated the risk of both employees and products falling from the elevated pallet drop areas in the facility’s pick modules. Since installing the product containment netting on the Rack Supported Roly gates in one facility, the customer has ordered the same solution to be retrofit onto its freestanding Roly pallet drop gates in another location.

A customer that uses Rack Supported Roly® safety gates in its pick modules reached out to us after identifying a potential hazard in their pallet drop areas. Pallets of products were no longer being wrapped, which eliminated the need for employees to remove the wrap for picking.  However, the facility manager noticed that the pallets were often moved by an employee using a lift jack before picking, and was concerned that material could dislodge, bounce over the kick plate and fall down to a lower level. Concerned for risk of product falling to lower levels and striking employees walking below, the facility safety manager reached out to us to help them provide fall protection for the products within the pallet drop area.

The facility manager let us know that the Rack Supported Roly safety gates were very effective, protecting employees from the ledge when the pallet drop area was being loaded. They did not want to change the safety gate operation with a new fall protection solution. Our team suggested adding high strength safety netting system to the ledge gate for product containment in addition to fall protection. The add-on option allows the netting to expand and contract within the safety gate system without impeding upon pallet operations and safety, and prevents items two (2) inches or larger from falling from the elevated pallet drop area.  

We worked with the customer to retrofit the existing Rack Supported Roly mezzanine safety gates with the product containment netting system on the ledge gate. When the area is being loaded with material, the ledge gate is open and the netting compacts into the system, out of the way of operations. After loading is complete, the ledge gate closes and the netting automatically extends from the deck to the top frame of the gate, providing full length coverage on the ledge side.

Product containment netting on the ledge gate in the Rack Supported safety gate design eliminated the risk of both employees and products falling from the elevated pallet drop areas in the facility’s pick modules. Since installing the product containment netting on the Rack Supported Roly gates in one facility, the customer has ordered the same solution to be retrofit onto its freestanding Roly pallet drop gates in another location.