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Industrial Structure Information Blog

Tag Archives: safety gate

Inspection Platform With Custom Support Columns

Recently, a customer contacted us with a problem. They needed a safe way to inspect and clear their conveyor chute. The plan was to fabricate an inspection platform, enclosed with railing, with a caged ladder for access. The top of the ladder would require a self-closing gate in order to meet OSHA requirements for guarding at ladder way openings, as the ladder was not offset from the platform.

Designing the Inspection Platform

As we started with concept drawings, we realized that the traditional fabrication of a post in each corner would not work with their application. The leading edge of the inspection platform extended into the aisle-way and a post in that corner would encroach on forklift traffic.

Drawing of inspection platform, ladder and MLG ladder safety gate

Upon consulting our PE, it was decided that we could use a short knee brace at the corner in question, and utilize a bolt-on kicker off the rear post for reinforcement. The kicker was designed to nest underneath their existing equipment.

As the installation location is open to the elements, and there is a high likelihood of debris, the inspection platform utilizes an open bar grating deck. This allows dirt and water to fall through the treads instead of collecting on top of a solid surface deck.

Platform Shipping and Installation

Photo of flat packed inspection platform

Inspection platform packed knocked down for shipping cost savings

The inspection platform shipped knocked down for freight savings. A smaller load takes up less space on a truck and costs less to ship. It also allows for smaller, lighter pieces that are more easily maneuvered at tough to access locations. Installation required basic tools and no hot permit was required.

All components are designed for bolt together installation with basic hand tools. This eliminates the need for field welding, hot permits, and additional finish touchup around weld areas. Installation for the platform and ladder requires two men and one day. As the height is under 12 ft high, a forklift and A frame ladders or a scissor lift are all that are required for install.

Photo of inspection platform installed with ladder

Inspection platform installed with ladder and MLG ladder safety gate

With the new platform in place, this customer can now safely inspect and perform maintenance on their chute at any time without impeding regular business activity in the area. Fabrication lead time for the platform, ladder, and gate was quoted at 5-7 weeks after approved drawings were returned. The material was shipped at right on time at 5 weeks. Pricing was also what the original estimate was. On time. On budget. Contact A-Mezz for help with your next project.

Let A-Mezz Help Tackle Maintenance Projects That Have Been On Hold

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With the challenges that COVID-19 has caused, many companies are experiencing unexpected and historic slow downs. While on shutdown, this is the perfect time to review your facility’s maintenance needs.

Do you have ladders that do not have the safety gates that are required by OSHA? Our MLG gates are versatile, durable, and economical.

Does your facility need a lockable tool crib to prevent tools from walking off? Our welded wire partitions can provide limitless customizable options at an affordable price.

Quarantined Delivery & Visitor Entry Cage

Do you have a quarantined area for delivery drivers to keep your facility secure from wanderers? A-Mezz can help with a wire partition equipped with pass-through service windows, hinged doors with push bars, and electric strikes for wiring to RFID card readers.

Are your employees properly guarded from your machines? Are your machines properly guarded from mobile equipment? We have many options of machine guarding whether you need framed mesh panels, trimmable welded panels, or heavy duty guardrail in both single rail heights and double rail heights. Now is the time to not only protect your employees around your machines, but to also install proper guards to protect your machines from forklift trucks and other mobile machinery.

These are difficult times for everyone, but let’s not waste the opportunity we’re given to finally tackle those maintenance issues that have been pushed off. A-Mezz is here to help ensure you get in a better position for success than where you were before COVID-19.

The New Pallet Rack Gate System: Improving the Safety on Your Pick Units and Pallet Rack Mezzanines

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pallet rack gates protecting two bays of pallet rack

The Pallet Rack Gate automatically closes off the edge as the pallet clears the bay, protecting your employees.

We’ve been adding a number of gates to our mezzanine gate collection over the past year. Today I’d like to take a minute to talk about another of our newly added gates: the Pallet Rack Gate.

The Pallet Rack Gate System is a self-closing gate designed to improve the safety of your pick modules with pallet flow systems or pallet rack based mezzanines, and are designed to meet or exceed OSHA railing standard 1910.23(a)(2) with a 42” high gate and mid-rail.

As the name implies, it is specifically designed to integrate with your existing pallet rack. The universal hinge post brackets of the gate connect to the uprights of your pallet rack via U-bolts, minimizing the footprint of the gate, while allowing for an easy installation in minutes without the need for drilling. The gates are designed to fit standard 60” wide or 96” openings in your rack system, but custom sizes are available. If you need something special we’ll be happy to look into it.

Then protecting multiple bays of rack, the intermediate gates would share a bracket at each upright to minimize the cost

The intermediate sections of the Pallet Rack Gate system combine both a left and right gate on a shared hinge bracket, minimizing the cost.

The gates are available as a single left gate with hinge bracket, a single right gate with hinge bracket, or if covering multiple connected bays of pallet rack, both a left and right gate connected to a shared hinge post bracket. This helps keep the footprint and your costs down by minimizing the amount of material required.

These gates are designed to stand up to the rigors of heavy use and require little to no maintenance. They are constructed out of durable mild steel and have a safety yellow powder coat finish baked on. The four stainless steel torsion spring hinges connected to each gate assure a safe and reliable operation.

The Pallet Rack Gate System is a simple, durable, and cost effective method of increasing the safety on your existing pallet rack mezzanine systems and pick units. Give us a call and we’ll be happy to assist in laying out the design of the gates and working up a quote. And if you’re looking to protect the base of your pallet rack from fork truck damage, or looking for a pallet rack itself, we’ll be happy to help with that as well.

Our New Loading Dock Gate

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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.

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.

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.

Now Available, The SafeMezz360 Mezzanine Safety Gate

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closed SafeMezz360 mezzanine safety gate

The new SafeMezz360 mezzanine safety gate

It’s an exciting time over in our mezzanine gate division. Over the next year we will be introducing several new gates to our product line. Today, I have the pleasure of introducing the first new gate to our regular product line up; the SafeMezz 360 mezzanine safety gate.

The SafeMezz360 mezzanine safety gate open to the edge.

Lately many facilities are opting to follow the voluntary ANSI standards in their workplace. One area in which ANSI goes above and beyond OSHA would be ANSI MH28.3 Section 6.4.3 requirement that states: “A work platform shall be designed such that the elevated surface is protected by the guards at all times. Gates that swing open, slide open or lift out, leaving an unprotected opening in the guarding, are not acceptable.” This means that at facilities following the ANSI standards, all pallet openings need to be protected by a true double layered safety gate so that your employees always have a line of guard rail between them and the edge of your deck.

In order to meet these more stringent ANSI requirements, the SafeMezz360 gate utilizes two counter balanced gates which travel on a track up and over your pallets. Each gate consists of the ANSI required 42” top rail, 21” mid rail, and 4” kick plate. Designed for repetitive use in tough work environments, the SafeMezz 360 is constructed from heavy gauge steel with a durable safety yellow powder coat finish and utilizes an industrial duty chain and sprocket operating system. The SafeMezz 360 mezzanine safety gate also features a slam proof cushioned dampening system to keep the gate from dropping on your toes.

The SafeMezz 360 is easy to install and operate. The gates travel smoothly on 2” nylon rollers along it’s track system providing for an easy one-handed operation. The gate ships in knocked down form for a simple assembly in the field, and bolts easily into place on the mezzanine.

In order to minimize the lead times, we have single and double wide openings available as “quick ship” mezzanine safety gates. This means that many of the components will be prefabricated and stocked at the factory so that your gate should be ready to ship out in 1-2 weeks. Custom sized safety gates will still be available, but will need to go through full production (typically around 6 seeks after signed approval drawings).