PROVEN SOLUTIONS: Improving Safety By Controlling Pedestrian Traffic In The Workplace

Busy industrial facilities feature a complex sort of choreography as they operate. Skilled workers walk, talk and perform their duties at ground level, on elevated platforms and around powerful machines that simultaneously do jobs that are impossible for humans and pose a risk to the humans who work with them. When everything is running smoothly, productivity soars. When humans get distracted or complacent, injuries happen. In fact, OSHA says that approximately 85 fatalities and 34,900 serious injuries happen each year just from the use of forklifts. That statistic doesn’t account for other vehicles or workplace hazards.

If only workers stayed away from dangerous areas! Manufacturers and other industrial facilities have tried for decades to overcome this problem with signage, floor tape and traditional safety railings that stubbornly refuse to conform to anything but 90-degree angles. The results have been disappointing, with space used inefficiently and workplace injuries continuing to stack up.

The EdgeSafe® Safety Railing from PS Safety Access™ helps companies overcome these challenges by giving them a means to direct pedestrian traffic that is flexible enough to accommodate almost any angle or application, including protection around elevated edges. This innovative product keeps traffic where it belongs in a busy facility, separating workers from machines, vehicles and other dangers. Click here to learn more!


The Facts:

  • Industrial vehicles and machines pose a risk to those moving about the facility. For example, forklifts cause approximately 85 fatalities and 34,900 serious injuries each year, according to OSHA.
  • In addition, forklift-related occupational injuries to pedestrians resulted in the highest median days away from work (20 days) compared to other forklift related events.

The Challenge:

  • Industrial facilities need to safely and reliably direct pedestrians away from dangerous traffic areas like those with forklifts or other machines.
  • Traditional safety railings are cumbersome to use because of their adherence to 90-degree angles.

The Solution:

Customizable EdgeSafe® Safety Railings serve as the foundation for a complete safety system in any facility. By utilizing a universal, omnidirectional bracket, these safety railings are flexible enough to address almost any application (unlike a typical straight or 90-degree railing) and adaptable enough to follow virtually any required angle. The EdgeSafe Safety Railing is easy to assemble and simple to install. From the top of the mezzanine to the ground level, use it to protect workers from elevated edges, control floor traffic or guard hazardous machines.

EdgeSafe® Safety Railings meet OSHA 1910.29, ANSI A1264.1-2017, and Canada OHS SOR-86-304 Section 2.12 and 2.13.

Learn More

SOURCES:
https://www.osha.gov/redirect?p_table=FEDERAL_REGISTER&p_id=13456
https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/cfoi/forklifts-2017.htm