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Just like snowflakes, material handling facilities are all unique. There is so much change happening in the industry; automation is booming, and new types of equipment are being created to accommodate the increased demand for speed and storage. Given the changes, material handling equipment manufactures need to be flexible and create solutions that will fit into these new systems and applications.

While in most cases standard size protective guarding will work within the changed environments, others require custom engineered solutions. These solutions must be tested to ensure they meet industry standards and comply with OSHA regulations, which may include numerous requirements. Ergonomics is also a factor when creating custom material handling equipment, especially when the equipment is heavy or large in size.

Determining whether a custom designed solution is needed can often be very apparent, especially when dealing with material of great size. However, other times it may look like standard size guarding is a fit, but when the workflow starts going, it becomes clear that a different solution is needed. Below are three signs that you may need a custom-engineered safety solution. Note that the examples will be centered around pallet drop safety gates, but the signals apply to a wide range of protective guarding solutions.

Real Estate Squeeze
Space is a precious commodity in material handling facilities. Depending on the application, there must be enough space for employees, material and equipment. Barriers to keep all three safe and oftentimes away from each other, have to be included within the spaces. When space is compromised or extends beyond a double-wide pallet drop area for instance, custom engineered solutions are often the answer.

For example, we worked with a company to secure pallet drop areas in a new pick module and rack system. The bays were 156 feet wide to accommodate three pallet positions, and space in the bay was tight, so the gates had to take up minimal space while providing fall protection. To accommodate the material in the three pallets positions in the bays, we created a custom designed High Pallet Pivot safety gate which normally can handle pallet loads up to 80 inches tall while using a minimum amount of space on the platform. The gates were constructed wide enough for the pallet positions while maintaining a safe environment for the workers in the bay at all times. Although the safety gates were made 13 feet wide and out of heavy square steel tubing, we ensured ergonomic, effortless operation by including our hydraulic gas assist mechanism.

Robots on the Move
While there are still way more people in the facility, the investment into this technology is great, and companies want to make sure their investment and equipment is protected as well. If robots get damaged, not only is it monetarily expensive, it can shut down the complete system for hours or days, and if they fall from an upper level, employees and machines below are at risk for damage too.

We are seeing more and more facilities using lifts and conveyor systems in their applications, especially with robots moving from the floor level, up into the system. To prevent robots from falling from these empty shafts, we created custom safety gates that automatically open and close with the lift to ensure the robots are contained without relying on an employee to secure the area.

Material Mishaps
How is the material packaged when it’s placed in the pallet drop area? Is it all wrapped and contained, or is it smaller boxes and loose material? Material in pallet drop areas can face many hazards while it’s waiting to be picked and moved. Fork lift trucks and pallet jacks can jostle pallets or pierce packaging around the material, leaving it exposed on the ledge. Material can fall from the drop zones, crashing to the lower level; the material, as well as employees and machinery below are left exposed to damage from the falls.

We’ve recently helped customers secure the ledge-side of a Pivot safety gate with metal mesh guarding to keep material contained in the pallet drop area within a pick module. Another customer wanted to ensure its material, which was of smaller nature, did not leave the busy pallet drop area while it was being moved. For this instance we created a custom Total Control Access (TCA) safety gate that included full netting on all four sides of the safety gate, creating a fully enclosed, power-operated safety gate cage.

While the above scenarios are common signs that you need custom-engineered solutions, there are many additional unique situations in which they may be necessary. If you have doubts about a standard size working, reach out to your provider to discuss any concerns about the application. They can provide valuable guidance and the right solution for your facility.

This article first appeared in the December 2023 issue of Workplace Material Handling Solutions

A customer that uses Rack Supported Roly® safety gates in its pick modules reached out to us after identifying a potential hazard in their pallet drop areas. Pallets of products were no longer being wrapped, which eliminated the need for employees to remove the wrap for picking.  However, the facility manager noticed that the pallets were often moved by an employee using a lift jack before picking, and was concerned that material could dislodge, bounce over the kick plate and fall down to a lower level. Concerned for risk of product falling to lower levels and striking employees walking below, the facility safety manager reached out to us to help them provide fall protection for the products within the pallet drop area.

The facility manager let us know that the Rack Supported Roly safety gates were very effective, protecting employees from the ledge when the pallet drop area was being loaded. They did not want to change the safety gate operation with a new fall protection solution. Our team suggested adding high strength safety netting system to the ledge gate for product containment in addition to fall protection. The add-on option allows the netting to expand and contract within the safety gate system without impeding upon pallet operations and safety, and prevents items two (2) inches or larger from falling from the elevated pallet drop area.  

We worked with the customer to retrofit the existing Rack Supported Roly mezzanine safety gates with the product containment netting system on the ledge gate. When the area is being loaded with material, the ledge gate is open and the netting compacts into the system, out of the way of operations. After loading is complete, the ledge gate closes and the netting automatically extends from the deck to the top frame of the gate, providing full length coverage on the ledge side.

Product containment netting on the ledge gate in the Rack Supported safety gate design eliminated the risk of both employees and products falling from the elevated pallet drop areas in the facility’s pick modules. Since installing the product containment netting on the Rack Supported Roly gates in one facility, the customer has ordered the same solution to be retrofit onto its freestanding Roly pallet drop gates in another location.

As the race to obtain more widespread testing capability for the COVID-19 virus began, a medical testing equipment manufacturer needed to increase production of its test kit supplies. The manufacturer was working with a local material handling equipment distributor to ensure it could safely and quickly ramp up production at its facility.

At the manufacturing facility, two new elevated pallet drop areas were created to handle the increase in new materials. Because the application required employees to pick the material from the pallets in the elevated drop areas close to the ledge, fall protection systems were needed to keep those employees safe.

The material handling distributor reached out to Mezzanine Safeti-Gates to discuss the high-priority project. Because of the time-sensitivity, it was imperative to find a solution that could be installed quickly. After discussing the application and area, it was discovered that the two pallet drop areas would feature pallet loads that were both extra wide and extra tall. The Roly pallet drop safety gate model was the design that would be best suited for the project because it can be easily customized for different heights and widths. Because the models would require customization, it ruled out the models available in stock, so we immediately worked to fabricate the safety gates and expedite them through the process.

The Roly is a dual-gate safety system that is configured so when the ledge gate is closed, the opposite gate is open and the material can be safely picked from the pallet drop area as the ledge gate provides a controlled access area that ensures fall protection. When the ledge gate is raised, the opposite gate closes, creating a barrier around the pallet drop area while it is being loaded and preventing workers from an exposed ledge.

To meet the manufacturer’s sanitation requirements, Mezzanine Safeti-Gates suggested the Roly safety gates be power operated so that they could be opened and closed via remote controls, which would limit the number of times the safety gate would need to be touched by employees.

While the custom safety gates were being manufactured, the material handling distributor scheduled installation of the gates in the manufacturing facility for three weeks later. Upon the arrival, the safety gates were quickly and easily installed by the distributor’s team to keep the workers at the new pallet drop areas safe from falls from upper levels. This allowed the facility to increase operations and function at maximum capacity while providing a safe environment for its employees.

As the race to obtain more widespread testing capability for the COVID-19 virus began, a medical testing equipment manufacturer needed to increase production of its test kit supplies. The manufacturer was working with a local material handling equipment distributor to ensure it could safely and quickly ramp up production at its facility.

At the manufacturing facility, two new elevated pallet drop areas were created to handle the increase in new materials. Because the application required employees to pick the material from the pallets in the elevated drop areas close to the ledge, fall protection systems were needed to keep those employees safe.

The material handling distributor reached out to Mezzanine Safeti-Gates to discuss the high-priority project. Because of the time-sensitivity, it was imperative to find a solution that could be installed quickly. After discussing the application and area, it was discovered that the two pallet drop areas would feature pallet loads that were both extra wide and extra tall. The Roly pallet drop safety gate model was the design that would be best suited for the project because it can be easily customized for different heights and widths. Because the models would require customization, it ruled out the models available in stock, so we immediately worked to fabricate the safety gates and expedite them through the process.

The Roly is a dual-gate safety system that is configured so when the ledge gate is closed, the opposite gate is open and the material can be safely picked from the pallet drop area as the ledge gate provides a controlled access area that ensures fall protection. When the ledge gate is raised, the opposite gate closes, creating a barrier around the pallet drop area while it is being loaded and preventing workers from an exposed ledge.

To meet the manufacturer’s sanitation requirements, Mezzanine Safeti-Gates suggested the Roly safety gates be power operated so that they could be opened and closed via remote controls, which would limit the number of times the safety gate would need to be touched by employees.

While the custom safety gates were being manufactured, the material handling distributor scheduled installation of the gates in the manufacturing facility for three weeks later. Upon the arrival, the safety gates were quickly and easily installed by the distributor’s team to keep the workers at the new pallet drop areas safe from falls from upper levels. This allowed the facility to increase operations and function at maximum capacity while providing a safe environment for its employees.