Put Bumpers on Your Internal Structures!
Steel guards come in a variety of shapes and sizes. They are used to protect columns in the plant from hazards such as forklift impacts or other motorized vehicles coming in contact with the column. These are essentially bumpers for your columns in the factory, warehouse or plant.
The steel guards are painted safety yellow and will absorb the impact from vehicles and other "hits" to the column. This safety product comes complete with mounting hardware to properly install the steel guards. If you have a high amount of forklift or other motorized traffic near columns, pipes and other critical internal structures, you should consider steel guards for these areas to reduce costly damage to your infrastructure.
One impact may not leave a lasting problem, but over time the stress and wear on these structures can add up to a serious problem.
Machine Guards
The machine guard is used to protect machinery and other equipment from vehicles. It keeps a barrier in between the machines-which may have moving parts, arms and cranes--and motorized traffic. Additionally it prevents the traffic from impacting the machinery in case of operator error or equipment malfunction.
When installing machine guards, it is important to consider the location of your power lines with regard to the machine guards. Have you evaluated the placement of your steel machine guards for electrical hazards?
The same machine guards that are supposed to protect your equipment could also turn into electrical conductors under the wrong circumstances. You may wish to consider rubber matting around your machine guards or other areas prone to moisture as a way to protect against such hazards, and a rubber coating over the machine guards to allow safe grasping.
Steel Guard options
Some steel guards come 'spring-loaded' and contain beacons -- these steel guards are built only as warnings for when a forklift or other motor vehicle comes too close to the structure it protects. They are not designed to withstand impacts, just act as a warning.
These steel guards can be handy in areas where you cannot properly anchor a more heavy-duty safety solution, or where you need only a temporary measure against heavy traffic.
Sometimes, using a spotter in tight conditions isn't quite enough, especially where there is a 'blind corner' or other tricky navigational situation. The presence of these warning devices can be a major boost to your mishap prevention program.
The "Elbow" guard
Another type of steel guard is the elbow guard, which is specifically designed to protect the corners of buildings and other structures which lie in the area of heavy traffic. It's important to remember that structures like indoor trailer offices and other such spaces are not built to withstand heavy impacts from fork trucks, forklifts and other traffic.
The steel guard is in place to absorb impact in the event of a mishap, and also to act as a barrier. The steel guard may well be wrenched off its anchors by the impact, but the people inside the structure are given an extra layer of protection. Thanks to the steel guard, the structure can remain intact and the damage may be limited to replacement of the guard.
Safety Products and Tight Budgets
After making a series of purchases or a few large purchases of material handling equipment, you'll probably notice one or two items you overlooked in the initial round of spending. Some of these items can be as inconsequential as safety products such as traffic cones and signs. Even with safety products as basic as safety cones, it's important not to skimp on these items, but?it's?just as important to get the best value for your money.
For example, the "economy" safety cone comes taller and in greater quantity per carton than the "standard duty" version. If your needs are routine, consider an economy carton of five (for just over forty dollars!) as opposed to the heavy duty model which runs $25 on average for a single cone.
Check your needs in the areas you may be using these safety products--you may learn of some hidden savings just by purchasing the right products. It's never wise to skimp on railings, safety barriers and other safety products where immediate threats to safety are located. However, in areas where you simply need to protect fresh coats of paint or a temporary foot traffic inconvenience, the less expensive route may be hiding in your product catalogue.
The Trusty Bollard
Bollards are used to protect everything from door frames to corner offices. These are mounted in the floor or concrete outside the warehouse to provide a bumper type function against vehicles, dollies, fork trucks and other traffic that could collide with the structure or area the bollard protects.
The bollard will not prevent an accident, but the use of a bollard can help contain the accident or prevent an impact to the structure or equipment itself. If you wish to block foot traffic from areas with a great deal of motorized activity, installing a series of bollards in tandem with a barrier or safety sign can be a good move. You can protect those on foot, while providing a barrier from runaway equipment that keeps it from getting into a "populated" area of your factory, warehouse or dock.
Safety Products Part Two
Just as machinery is required to be properly outfitted with safety products including warning signs and load capacity indicators, your workplace in general will need safety products that clearly indicate hazards.
Does your work area have a "hard hat area" sign or anything to indicate overhead hazards? If you aren't advertising the hazards in the workspace you set yourself up for legal action of many different kinds, including lawsuits and other civil action. Your employees deserve to be warned about falling hazards, slipping hazards and other workplace hazards that may not be immediately obvious.
The display of safety products including large warning signs visible at a distance will drastically increase awareness of the dangers of the worksite.