Fall Protection: Safety Gate Selection Guide

Fall protection is a necessity in today’s facility, no matter what the operation or type of facility. Manufacturing, material handling and distribution center facilities often have platforms that are elevated more than four feet on which employees are working. In today’s market, there is no shortage of solutions...in fact, we offer many different models of our pallet drop safety gates.

Pallet drop safety gate selection can be confusing, as there are many different models and designs. OSHA and ANSI standards mandate that a barrier be in place at all times during the operation, even while pallets are being loaded, staged or worked on. Often the best method for meeting this requirement is a dual-gate system that always keeps one gate closed. These systems basically have a gate at the ledge that is connected to a second gate behind the pallet and configured so when one gate is open the opposite gate is closed. Fixed stanchions on the side create a controlled-access area.

Sounds simple, but there are many dual-gate systems that can be configured in certain ways to accommodate specific applications – that’s why we created so many designs. We’ve created a guide that can help you determine which pallet drop safety gate model would be best for each area in your facility, and can always offer further assistance in the selection process.

Roly®
The Roly safety gate is the original dual-gate safety system; we designed this model over three decades ago. This safety gate model is ideal for most applications, and is idea for protecting pallet drop areas in doorways. The Roly is also the most flexible in terms of size; it can accommodate wide, deep or tall pallets, as well as be configured for multiple pallets wide or deep. It can also be power operated, so the Roly is the best model if you need to operate the gate remotely from the lower level or lift truck.

Tri-Side
The Tri-Side safety gate is a dual-gate system designed to allow access to both sides of the pallet, allowing material to be removed straight back into the area or to either ninety degree side. It takes up a minimum amount of space on the platform as the fixed stanchions are only fourteen inches deep. Tri-Side safety gates are ideal for production platforms, walkways or any other area in which the depth is limited. If the pallet drop area also serves as a walkway or catwalk or if you need to access the pallets from the side, the Tri-Side is the best solution.

Pivot
The Pivot pallet drop safety gate design uses gates connected on a pivoting framework that allows the gates to fit in low overhead spaces while clearing pallet loads. The short side stanchions on this design allow pallets to be removed at an angle from the pallet drop area. The system has few moving parts, making it ideal for process mezzanines or hostile environments, especially as it is available in all stainless design. If the pallet drop areas are located on multiple levels with restricted available height, or if the environment is dusty or has specific sanitation requirements then the Pivot model is best for the area.

Open-Top
On the Open Top safety gate, the gates are connected off to the side. The system has no overhead mechanics so there is no pallet load height restriction, and in addition to lift trucks, overhead chain and vacuum hoists can access the pallet drop area. The Open Top is the ideal solution if you have very tall pallet loads, or if an overhead hoist system is used to move supersacks to an upper level, or to move bags of palletized material back from the pallet drop area into a reactor or hopper.

Pallet Flow
Pallet Flow safety gates secure the ledges of multiple deep pallet flow lanes in rack supported pick modules or on structural mezzanines. The model, much like the Roly design, uses dual-counterbalanced gates that allow pallets to be loaded into a system while creating a fall protection barrier along the flow lanes. It can accommodate multiple deep pallets and inbound or outbound empty pallet return bays. If your system has multiple deep flow lanes where the last pallet is picked, or in a cluster-configuration where employees walk the aisle between two lanes, the Pallet Flow safety gate should be installed.

Rack Supported
Rack Supported models are ideal in high bay picking modules to secure the picking positions and empty pallet return lanes in multi-level systems. By using existing pallet rack for support, this model takes up a minimum amount of space in the rack bay and does not extend into the lift truck or working aisle. Roly, Tri-Side and Pivot models can be made into Rack Supported gates, and is designed to fit any brand of pallet rack. When the elevated platform is designed out of pallet rack then a Rack Supported gate will save cost while maximizing space.

All of our pallet drop safety gate models come in two standard sizes, single and double-wide, and are available in powder-coated mild or electro-polished stainless steel. In addition, the safety gates can be power operated with remote push button-stations, radio frequency remotes and sensors. We also design custom safety gates for any area in which one of our standard models will not fit. If none of the solutions described above will fit your application then please contact us – we’ll design one that does.