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With the launch of our new web site, we’ve added a blog. Here we’ll keep you updated on the latest news and trends for safety in the material handling industry. That may cover many topics, from the latest forecasts for manufacturing and material handling, updates in regulations and standards from OSHA and ANSI, as well as some of our safety gate installations and custom work.

On the blog you’ll also find updates from some of the organizations we belong to, like MHEDA and MHI, as well as MHI’s ProGMA Committee.

We’re looking forward to sharing our news and views with you, and if there is a topic you would like us to touch on, just let us know.

Safety Gates Secure Grocer's Loading Dock Lifts

Custom designs are our specialty...as we mentioned in our post last week, our new Dock-Lift safety gate began as a custom design for a customer. The national grocery store chain’s safety need was not inside the facility, but rather in the busy loading dock area in which deliveries are made each day.

In some loading dock operations lifts are installed to help transfer pallets of material. Employees often ride the lift from ground or dock level to align with the tailgate of the tractor trailer when they are moving material on and off of the truck. When the lifts elevate, employees are at risk for falls if there is no protection provided on the lift.

Docks and material handling operations vary widely from facility to facility - even the grocery store chain had different environments for their distribution centers and even stores. Large grocery stores often have dock areas to get their daily deliveries, with material coming from their separate distribution centers or individual suppliers. Our customer had multiple applications that used lifts in their dock operations, so our engineering team had to really dig into the ways each lift was being used to create the right fall protection safety equipment.

The Dock-Lift safety gate configuration that was the most popular in the grocery chain was one in which the gates moved in a crossing-guard style pattern. As the lift elevates, the gates automatically close and lock into place. The gates stay closed and locked until the lift goes back to ground level, providing fall protection while the lift is raised and material is moved from the lift, truck and dock.

Because each lift was in a fairly unique environment, our team created multiple Dock-Lift gate configurations based on the operation of each lift. In one of the grocery store dock operations, there was an awning that limited the height for any equipment on the lift. In this instance, we needed to create a safety gate in which the gates swung outward instead of in a crossing-guard style.

In addition, some of the lifts used at the grocery stores had specific dock traffic patterns so the gate design needed to accommodate the flow of the trucks moving around the area. Some of these areas used gates that swing outward, sometimes with a single gate that covered the entire eight foot lift. In other applications, bi-parting gates were used to prevent the gate from swinging into the delivery area. Our team also created a safety gate that can roll into position after the traffic has moved, and then can be rolled back into a safe position once the material has been transferred.

All of the Dock-Lift safety gates feature automatically closing gates, which ensures fall protection for any worker on the lift. They can be made in multiple configurations, depending on the operations of your dock, and in powder-coated mild or stainless steel. In addition, they meet OSHA regulations and ANSI standards for safety on lifts. Let us know if you have a dock environment that you need to secure; we’d love to help.

Fall Protection for Dock Lifts

For over 30 years, we’ve focused on keeping employees working on elevated areas safer. We’ve focused on the inside of the facility used in material handling, manufacturing and distribution. Our original dual-gate safety system, the Roly model, has been installed in hundreds of facilities around the world.

It’s no secret we love creating custom-design safety gates for material handling and manufacturing facilities. In fact, it’s how our full line of pallet drop safety gate models has come to life. Our newest design, the Dock-Lift safety gate, launches this week and is another example of a customer asking us to create a fall protection solution for their needs.

We were contacted by a national grocery chain to help them make their operations safer, but their need was not inside the facility; it was in their loading docks, a busy area in which many deliveries are made each day.

Our engineering team worked to develop a new style of safety gate that would protect workers using dock lifts. Employees often ride the lift from ground or dock level to align with the tailgate of the tractor trailer when they are moving material on and off of the truck. When the lifts elevate, employees are at risk for falls if there is no protection provided on the lift.

The new safety gate model has been named the Dock-Lift safety gate, and it is now part of our standard product line. This design provides fall protection for employees riding the lift, and is available in a number of configurations and designs.

The Dock-Lift safety gates automatically close and lock into place as the lift elevates, forming a barrier for employees riding the lift, as they make the transition from the tractor trailer to the loading dock or ground level. The gates stay locked until the lift is lowered and back on the ground. The gates open when the platform is on aligned with the ground level so material can be transferred on and off the lift.

The newly designed Dock-Lift safety gates meet OSHA and ANSI codes for work platform lifts and aerial scissors platforms, and are available in powder coated mild steel. We’ve also been awarded U.S. Patent No. 9630823 for our swinging gate style Dock Lift safety gate, with another patent pending. The patents are numbers five and six for our safety gate product line.

We’re very excited to expand our reach into the loading dock area, and provide safety gate designs to keep workers safe outside of the facility too. Let us know if you have questions or a need for our new Dock-Lift safety gates.

 

 

Tri-Side Safety Gate: The History

Many of our pallet drop safety gate models start out as custom designs for customers; the Tri-Side safety gate is another great example. We invented the Tri-Side safety gatemodel for a large drug store chain. We had worked with the drug store chain over many years, and had installed hundreds of safety gates in their distribution centers across the country. The drug store chain primarily used our Rack-Supported Roly safety gates to provide fall protection in its pick modules, and also installed some free-standing versions of the Roly safety gate on their mezzanines. 

When the customer built a new distribution center, they reached out to us to provide fall protection systems, noting that they had a few areas in which the pallet drop area was in a walkway. Space was an issue in these areas; fall protection was needed, but there was not enough space for a Roly mezzanine safety gate model. To provide fall protection in this area, our engineers went to work to design a custom safety gate that had the benefits of the dual-gate system, but took up less space on the mezzanine.

The Tri-Side safety gate was created for this job. The Tri-Side model has a U-shaped rear gate, which when lifted up allows access to the workstation while the ledge gate closes to the deck, creating a secure work environment. The model has fixed stanchions only 14 inches deep, creating a controlled-access area while taking up a minimum amount of space on the work platform. Pallets can be accessed from either side, and be removed straight back into an area or to either ninety degree side. The drug store chain installed Tri-Side safety gates in the work areas with the pallet drop areas in the walkways. 

Since the creation of the custom Tri-Side design, many other customers have voiced the same concern and space limitations. Given the need for and popularity of the model, we added the Tri-Side design to our standard product line over 10 years ago. We can fabricate them in stainless or mild steel. The safety gates can also be power operated, and can be made in custom widths, depths and heights.

The Tri-Side safety gate model has also been installed in a number of customer facilities with pick modules as a rack supported design. In these pick module applications, the existing pallet rack is used for support; this is a great design for pallet drop areas located on the sides of the module.

It’s also available in a compact design making it ideal to provide fall protection in doorways, especially when they integrate with overhead climate or fire doors. Production platforms in which employees are opening ingredient bags and dumping them into a hopper, are also a perfect spot for the Tri-Side model. The most unique application in which the Tri-Side safety gates have been used are on scissor-lift tables to secure the areas as lifts are raised and lowered.

We’re always happy to work with customers to create a fall protection solution that works for their specific material handling application. Whether you need a standard design or don’t really know where to start, we’re at your service.

 

5 Responses When Management Says No to Safety

Ensuring safety for all employees is one of the most important tasks for any facility manager. Many facility managers pride themselves on having zero accidents or incidents and take regular steps to make sure all workers are safe. A zero incident record often means that safety equipment is in place and being used properly.

However, as applications and facilities change, there is often a need to procure additional safety equipment. Many times upper management is much more focused on ensuring operations are as efficient as possible and profits are as high as they can be. Safety devices can often carry high costs, and it is not always easy to make the case for the equipment needed to ensure safety at all times.

We’ve heard many ways that executives have pushed back on safety managers about their spending, and have put together five responses that can help to sell your executive team on the purchase of the right safety equipment for your facility.

We don't need it - the work platform is not very high.
While three feet doesn’t seem high, a fall from that level can produce a sprain, break or some other injury. ANSI standards mandate that fall protection should be in place for all workers that work at heights of three feet or greater - OSHA takes it a foot higher to four feet. But, all it takes is one incident, which can lead to lost work days for employees and costs for the company. Even without an incident, fines from OSHA may be implemented for improper safety equipment. Fall protection equipment also provides employees working on elevated platforms confidence and ease of mind, so they can focus on doing their job.

We have a chain or other movable barrier; it’s working fine.
This thought process is very high risk - barriers like chains or movable guarding are often never moved into place, leaving employees working at exposed elevated ledges. These “safety devices” also do not meet code, and don’t provide the level of safety needed for employees working at height. ANSI fall protection guidelines mandate a barrier is in place at all times, even while pallets are staged, being picked or in the process of being delivered or removed. The best solution to meet these needs is a dual-gate system, which provides protection from elevated ledges and keeps employees from pallet drop areas when they are in use without having to move full systems into and out of place.

The safety equipment is too expensive.
While the initial cost of safety equipment can be high, depending on the complexity of the facility and the number of areas that need to be secured, the cost of not having the safety equipment in place is much greater. If there is an incident, costs can add up - OSHA fines, potential for the facility to be shut down for a period of time can be daunting. Additional costs for legal teams and even to rebuild the corporate reputation after incident can also accrue. These potential costs outweigh any cost for safety equipment.

The safety equipment will impede production.
As long as you choose the right safety equipment for your specific application, productivity should stay intact, and may even improve. For example, dual-gate safety systems like the ones we offer can include power operation, wireless controls and sensors, and even can be integrated with software. It’s pretty easy to debunk this one, and if you need more evidence, we can provide many case studies on productivity.

We’ve never had an incident using what is in place now.
Congratulations, you’ve been relying on luck in the past and it’s worked. What happens when the luck runs out? This too is a high risk strategy, and luck is just not something to rely on when it comes to employee safety.

Have you heard another excuse for not purchasing the safety equipment you need to get to zero incident status? We’re happy to help you find the right response and equipment - just reach out.