Although mezzanines serve as great storage space, nevertheless, placing goods at the location is quite hazardous as there are chances of the goods falling out. As such, the pallet gate that you install must be sturdy and strong enough to prevent fall hazards.
You need to be careful not just while investing in pallet gates that are required for industrial safety equipment but also for other equipment like the ones for general OSHA handrail requirements.
However, in this article, let us find out few important questions that you must find answers to prior to settling for pallet gates. So, read on for better insight.
At what instance is fall hazard the greatest?
If you have an elevated platform where you have to store goods and the that platform is at a height of 49” or more, the boundary of the platform must have a guardrail. Although, the guardrail is a common structure that you find, yet there have been instances when the edge of the platform must be accessible for forklift and pallets. And this is when you require a pallet gate to prevent the fall hazard.
Check out these questions that you must find a satisfactory answer to so that the safety of your workers is assured.
- Does the direction of the traffic matter?
The pallet gate is installed to protect the access point for items, regardless of whether they are being taken off or being placed in there. You have two options when it comes to placing the items on the mezzanine floors, firstly, in some cases the traffic can be moving “floor-up”, and secondly, in some cases you will find the items moving from the mezzanine to the floor.
However, the most important thing that you must find out is whether or not the pallet gate that you are investing in moves in both directions allowing traffic to move both ways or just allows movement in one direction.
2. Is there adequate space for mounting
When you have to place items on the mezzanine, remember they are available in various shapes and sizes. The same applies to the platforms too. So, prior to forklifting, you must ensure there is adequate space for mounting and most importantly, the handrail or the pallet gates allow for horizontal or vertical traffic. This is because you will come across few structures that are attached to the handrails while few can be dislodged.
3. Does the size of loading material matter?
The standard size of the pallets is 48”x40”, however, the sizes may differ at any point of time. So, when you are planning to move material that is not of the aforesaid mentioned standard size, you must by all means find out the size not just of the material being moved but also the size of the platform and also the height. The best part about thesepallet gates are that they can be customized according to the requirement.
Lastly, regardless of whether it is pallet gates you are pondering over or handrails, ensure that the equipment is OSHA compliant at all times. It will allow you to enjoy peace of mind because you know that the workplace is safe for workers and incidence of hazards get reduced greatly.
