Tag Archives: fall protection

Pedestrian Traffic Control Signs Mounted on Gates

While our Mezzanine Stair and Ladder Gates (MLG safety gates) are designed to meet OSHA fall protection requirements, they also work great as pedestrian traffic control gates. Below you can see that the design lends itself very easily to control pedestrian traffic flow to restricted locations. They are also a great way to get your message out. 

304 stainless steel MLG gate used for pedestrian traffic control with mounted signage

304 stainless steel MLG gate used for pedestrian traffic control with mounted signage

Your Message… Right Where You Need It

Our customer above had custom signs printed up that they riveted onto our stainless steel gate. After mounting the sign to our MLG gate, their message is front and center – right where they need it. Do you have cost concerns about using these at your location? It is easy to incorporate an advertisement for a local business with its logo/slogan to offset the cost of the gate and sign printing. While A-Mezz does not offer graphic printing, we have heard from customers that they have had it done for $30-100 per sign – depending on what material and options they choose, such as di-cutting they had selected from their printer. 

Rear view of MLG 304 stainless steel safety gate mounted to stairs with pedestrian traffic control sign.

Rear view of MLG 304 stainless steel safety gate mounted to stairs with pedestrian traffic control sign.

MLG gates are also a great place to have important safety information such as at the top of a ladder that accesses a confined space.

Stairwell Interruption Gate

Our MLG gates are also often used to comply with NFPA 101 – Life Safety Code as a stairwell interruption gate. The 2018 edition of NFPA 101 stipulates 7.7.3.2: “Stairs and ramps that continue more than one-half story below the level of discharge shall be provided with an approved means to prevent or dissuade occupants from traveling past the level of discharge during emergency building evacuation”

When descending a stairway, A-Mezz MLG gates are used where the stairs continue past the emergency exit. The gates stop panicked occupants from continuing down the stairs, past the exit point.  When ascending the stairs from below, anyone can simply walk through the gate to safety. Many customers have aluminum signs printed stating there is no exit past the gate and an arrow pointing to the exit location. 

While they were designed for fall protection applications, our MLG gates are much more versatile. Featuring quick shipping times, in-stock status, and low cost, MLG gates are ideal for many uses. Contact A-Mezz today for more details and a quote.

A-Mezz Rigid Track Personal Fall Arrest System

Personal fall arrest systems are causing cages to go out of vogue with OSHA. As of November 2018 they will not count as fall protection on new fixed ladders and they will only count as fall protection on existing ladders until November of 2036. Note that if an existing ladder is modified at anytime, that modified section of ladder must be retrofitted with a personal fall arrest system at that time. 

Personal fall arrest system with body harness and trolley

Personal fall arrest system in use with body harness and trolley

We now carry a rigid fall arrest track that, when used in conjunction with a trolley and body harness, will meet OSHA’s new requirements for fall protection. The rigid track and trolley allow the climber to move freely up and down the track without needing to push, pull, or even touch any part of the fall arrest system.

Should an accident happen, your foot slips or you fall, the trolley on the fall arrest system will automatically lock onto the rigid rail, stopping your fall.

Tracks are available in 316 Stainless Steel or Aluminum with an anodized finish. The trolleys are designed for a single user and have a capacity of 310 lbs. Note: Two users are permitted to use a single track when used for rescue purposes, but never the same trolley. With that in mind, we suggest the single track and two harnesses and trolleys.

One track/trolley may get you by for most things, but if you ever need to have more than one person on the roof at the same time you will need to have a harness and trolley for each climber. If you do not, the first climber has to get to the roof, remove the trolley and harness, lower it by rope to the lower person who then has to put on the harness and climb up. Likewise, when work is done, one person has to climb down with the harness and trolley and then remove it, tie it to a rope for the upper climber to pull up, put on the harness and climb down… It doesn’t make much sense to us either.

Close up view of A-Mezz personal fall arrest systems utilizing rigid track.

Close up view of A-Mezz personal fall arrest systems utilizing rigid track.

The rigid tracks are installed in the middle of the climbing side of the ladder rungs. The fall arrest system clamps around the ladder rung every 4’ to 6’ to secure and can have multiple pieces of rigid track spliced together to accommodate long climbs without requiring a single long rail to be shipped, which saves on shipping costs. Often the increased cost of the system is offset almost entirely by the fact that the ladder does not need to have a cage anymore. Cages are costly to manufacture and especially to ship. Taking up 4’x4’x34’ of space on a truck isn’t cheap. We have seen some freight costs come back almost 1/7th what they were compared to caged ladders.

 

Our New Loading Dock Gate

Closed loading dock gate

Our new loading dock gate providing fall protection at your dock door.

 

I often receive calls from customers who are looking for a gate system to provide fall protection for their workers at bays when the garage / overhead door is open.  Today I have the pleasure of announcing a new gate in our portfolio designed for just such a situation:  The Loading Dock Gate.

opening the Loading Dock Gate

The Loading Dock Gate is designed to easily lift out of the way with one hand

The Loading Dock Gate meets OSHA Standard 1910.23(c) providing OSHA compliant railing for your personnel at loading dock bays, which can be quickly and easily pulled out of the way.  The gate has a 42” and 21” high railing with a counter balanced design to swing up vertically 90° out of the way with only one hand.  Its unique compact design folds up as it pivots up and out of the way without pinch points.  When you’re finished unloading and ready to protect the opening again, the slam proof dampening system keeps the gate from closing hard as it is lowered.  The Loading Dock Gate is designed to be adjustable to fit standard 8’ or 10’ loading docks, and requires a 155” to 179” clearance height, depending on the width, to cleanly swing out of the way.   Constructed from heavy gauge steel with a powder coat finish, the Loading Dock Gate is built to last through repetitive use.

Open Loading Dock Gate

The compact design of the Loading Dock Gate rises out of the way without pinch points

If the Loading Dock Gate looks like it would work for you, please let us know, and we’ll be happy to work up a quote for you.  We’re going to try to keep a stock of these on hand at the factory so we can quickly ship them out to you.