Guardrail Safety
You should be familiar with OSHA’s requirements for guardrails so that you can identify locations that need to have guardrails installed and know the critical components of a standard guardrail. Other fall protection systems may be used instead of barriers in many situations, such as personal fall arrest systems or safety nets. If bars are used, remember these guidelines on where and how they should be installed.
First, let’s consider some of the fall hazards that must be guarded:
Ladderways and stairways must be guarded except at the actual point of access. The access point must have a gate or be offset from the opening so no one can walk straight into the hole.
Hatchways and floor openings for chutes must have guardrails or hinged covers.
Any hole in a floor must be guarded with a standard guardrail or cover; this includes skylights. OSHA defines a hole as “a gap or void 2 inches or more in its least dimension in a floor, roof, or other walking/working surface.”
Wall openings or windows must be guarded when there is a drop of 6 feet or more on the other side and the bottom of the door is less than 39 inches from the working surface on your side.
Open-sided floors and platforms 6 feet above the adjacent floor or ground must be guarded.
A standard guardrail will have the following:
A smooth surfaced top rail at the height of approximately 42 inches.
An intermediate rail at about half the height of the top fence.
A four-inch-high toeboard at floor level.
Vertical posts spaced not more than 8 feet apart.
Paneling or screening if materials are piled high enough or close enough to the edge that a toeboard is inadequate.
By properly guarding holes, openings, and open-sided floors, we can eliminate a significant source of potential accidents and injuries. Know when to use fall protection and use it.
