Roof guardrail is one of the fall protection safety equipment used across different environments, including commercial, industrial, and domestic. For example, some air conditioners sit on the edge of the roof. Accessing them for maintenance and servicing purposes will not be safe if there is no guardrail on the roof. Therefore, in simple terms, you need this equipment to avoid falls. However, in some cases, you can also require them to block unauthorized access.
As per the guidelines, if an upper surface of the building has a difference of 30 inches from the lower surface, then using guardrails is mandatory. If you belong to the construction sector or general industry, you must be aware that OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) is quite strict with the guardrails. It mandates that every employer should take care of the safety of his or her workers so that they can avoid falls.
General guidelines around the guardrail
Installing guardrails in buildings can be necessary for the protection of employees and visitors, and compliance with OSHA and IBC. At the same time, you have to ensure the proper installation of the equipment. If not done well, you will not only risk violating the organization’s compliance standards but the health of your workers also. For this mistake, you may have to pay exorbitant fines and insurance premiums too. Besides, in case of a disaster, if someone gets hurt, you may end up spending on medical expenses and legal claims.
Hence, it is necessary to make sure that the installation is secure. For that, you need to consider a few things. For example, a guardrail typically has to be about 42 inches high from the ground. Although OSHA doesn’t talk about the quality or installation of guardrails, it does make it clear that you need to have a robust protection system in place on the roof to ensure safety for your employees.
In this context, it is also critical to have awareness about the load levels of a guardrail system. As per OSHA, a guardrail should be able to support at least 200 lbs of pressure. Meeting such code is essential in an industrial setting where a guardrail sees extensive use. That’s why checking its strength and stability is crucial.
If you don’t follow the commercial building codes, you can face stiff fines from the authorities. For instance, for not paying attention to OSHA’s rules, you may have to bear a cost of over $1,00,000 every time you violate them.
Tips on finding the right guardrail
Strength and sturdiness are the two main characteristics of a roof guardrail. Besides, you can explore its design, construction, and use and maintenance instructions to ensure the best experience. Plus, as mentioned above, proper installation is also the utmost priority. When you take care of all these factors and use it the right way, you don’t have to fear anything.
Many companies offer fall protection systems. However, choose only trusted partners. If you need to book a guardrail or other such safety equipment, you can visit the company website. It lists all the products and their specifications to help you find what you need.
