Painted or Stainless Safety Gates? How to Decide
Contributed by: Mezzanine Safeti-Gate
Fall protection systems are required by OSHA for any work platforms in a facility that are elevated over four feet. Dual-gate safety solutions are often the best method of creating a permanent safe environment. To select the right mezzanine safety gate solution for your area, you need to review the available space in your area, the size of the pallets being moved and the procedure for loading and accessing the material. But there is another decision that must be made before selecting the proper safety device – what the safety gate will be made of and how it will be finished or painted.
To select the right construction material for the safety gate, review the environment in which the gate will be installed to determine if the area has any specific requirements.
In a basic warehousing or material handling environment where palletized material is lifted to an upper level, and picked or moved with a pallet jack, painted mild steel is often the right choice. This is an economical and durable solution. Most manufacturers use a powder-coating process over wet paint for a more durable finish that will not flack or crack.
Choosing Color
A two-color scheme in opposing colors help the moving components stand out from the stationary parts. This helps increase safety awareness for the employees working around the ledge. For example, the Roly Model from safety gate designer and manufacturer Mezzanine Safeti-Gate is powder-coated with frames silver and safety yellow for the gates. The company’s Pivot Model has frames in blue with yellow gates.
Sometimes it is preferable for the safety device to blend into the facility environment, so it’s possible to select a custom color to match existing guardrails or rack structures. In other instances, it’s advantageous to select a custom color that clashes with the surrounding area, again for safety. For example, one of our customers paints everything blue and yellow in their facilities, but requests the pallet drop gates be painted red in order for the areas to stand out as potential hazards.
The key to selecting color for your safety systems is to look at your surroundings to determine what should blend in and what should stand out. Then, talk to your safety gate supplier to work on color schemes that fit your needs. Most companies have several colors to choose from or can match colors with RAL numbers.
Some facilities may have sanitation requirements that do not allow any type of paint, whether powder coat or wet. Some of these areas may be able to use mild steel equipment with specialty finishes such as Steel-It Paint, which includes FDA-approved stainless-steel pigments. For food or processing plants, it is imperative to review the specific sanitation requirements for each area and to communicate those requirements to the safety gate supplier.
Many processing plants feature applications in which ingredients are moving through the pallet drop area. In these instances, stainless steel is often the best choice as it allows material to be washed down and cleaned without concern of flaking or chipping paint contaminating the ingredients.
When it comes to stainless solutions, some designs work better than others. It’s ideal to have as few moving parts as possible, and necessary to be able to clean all components without allowing water to enter the structure where it cannot fully drain.
Questions to ask when choosing a safety gate:
- Are units constructed in stainless steel fabricated out of 305 stainless steel with all stainless hardware?
- Are open ends capped to prevent water and debris from entering the system?
- Are there continuous welds (which can eliminate any bolts holes in the tubing)?
- Before the unit is shipped, will it be electro-polished to remove any burn marks from the welding process to ensure installing the cleanest system available?
If your application uses caustic material, galvanized steel or aluminum, gates may be required. Find out if the company you’re doing business with can construct the safety gates from these materials to match the other equipment in the facility.
The key to making sure your safety system is constructed out of the right material is to review the specific requirements with operations, maintenance and safety teams to determine the specific requirements are in the facility, so those features are designed into the gate system. Don’t hesitate to make special requests when it comes to paint colors and construction. WMHS
Mezzanine Safeti-Gate designs and manufactures fall protection systems for mezzanine levels and pallet drop areas on elevated work platforms in warehouses, distribution centers and manufacturing facilities. Its product line now includes many standard pallet drop safety gate models, including rack supported designs and safety gates for the loading dock and lifts. A version of this article first appeared on https://mezzgate.com.