Safety gates can be confusing. Don’t let them be.

We often get calls from customers looking for bi-directional safety gates, i.e. gates that do not have a stop and swing both in and out. Often these customers are looking for gates for staircases to hang signage on in order to “restrict access” beyond certain floors in staircases. The problem is that these gates do not meet OSHA standards for fall protection. OSHA’s guard rail standard requires a top and mid rail and requires the gate to hold back a minimum of 200 lbs. of pressure at the top rail. By definition, bi-directional gates do not meet that requirement, especially when used at the top of stairs. The best option for these customers is to use a self-closing and self-stopping gate, similar to our AG series of gate.

Stair safety gate mounted with the orientation requiring user to pull the gate towards them to walk downstairs. Coming upstairs, the user would simply push through the gate.

When used at the top of stairs, these gates can be positioned to require anyone going down to a restricted area to pull the gate towards them and descend the steps. They can also be positioned at the bottom of the steps requiring anyone going up the steps to pull the gate toward them to ascend the steps.

What you cannot do, and what is not safe by any means, is to do the opposite. If you install a bi-directional gate at the top of a staircase and someone falls into it, odds are they are going to have a very bad injury.

Bi-directional gates are not fall protection. They can actually give a false sense of safety creating more accidents.

So take the extra second and install the proper gate for your location. Being safe is a LOT cheaper than cutting corners.