Machinery & Equipment MRO
30
November 2017
30 HEALTH & SAFETY
Industrial facilities, storage ware-
houses and distribution centres can
be dangerous places.
Safety challenges exist around ev-
ery corner, from forklifts zipping around
workers and materials to hazardous ma-
chining processes that need to be guard-
ed. Injuries to workers or pedestrians
can occur, products can be damaged and
equipment can take punishment.
By regulation – and as a matter of
good practice – facilities will often use
a combination of visual cues and phys-
ical barriers as a safety solution in these
risk-laden areas. In some instances,
these barriers may simply separate pe-
destrian traffic from other internal ve-
hicle traffic. In other facilities, barriers
may be employed to keep people away
from automated processes and machin-
ery or to protect employees against falls.
As evidenced by OSHA’s final rule on
Walking-Working Surfaces, selecting the
right barrier will play an integral role
in fall protection in the coming years.
Barriers may also be used to protect pro-
duction equipment and/or the building
itself from vehicle damage.
Regardless of the application, all bar-
riers play an important role in helping
facilities operate safely and efficiently.
While the industry standard of 10,000
lbs. at 4 m.p.h. (4,535.9 kg at 6.4 km/h) is a
good starting point for selecting a barri-
er, more facility managers are beginning
to look at two different forklift operat-
ing criteria – the weight of the load and
the speed of the forklift – at various ar-
eas of the facility. An appropriate safety
barrier can be selected after evaluating
this detailed application criterion.
Once the correct barrier is selected,
it’s a good idea to maintain it as part of
a planned maintenance program. Before
getting into maintenance specifics, let’s
first take a look at barriers and the new-
est method facility managers are using
in selecting the right one for their specif-
ic application.
Types of barriers
While painted yellow lines on facility
floors to designate pedestrian walkways
are common in industrial facilities, they
are increasingly being augmented with
physical barriers. These barriers add a
vertical visual component and create
a physical barricade between pedestri-
ans and potential hazards, enhancing
safety. And it’s a good idea, considering
workplace injuries in the United States
accounted for nearly $190 billion in loss-
es in 2011 according to the recent data in
a report from the National Safety Coun-
cil. The most recent statistics from the
Association of Workers’ Compensation
Boards of Canada (AWCBC) report that
in 2015, 852 workplace fatalities were re-
corded in Canada, while 232,629 claims
were accepted for lost time due to a
work-related injury or disease.
Safety barriers are typically used to
separate workers and pedestrians from
potentially hazardous operations or dan-
gerous situations. In some applications,
they are used to visually and physically
define work zones on the plant floor in
areas where industrial vehicles aren’t
typically present – including restricting
access to loading docks and corridors
where forklifts might be operating.
In heavy equipment operation zones,
safety barriers are used even more fre-
quently due to the increased risk. OSHA
estimates there are approximately
110,000 forklift accidents every year, so
the risk is certainly great. The barriers
used in these applications are designed
to absorb the energy of a vehicle impact,
protecting plant personnel from poten-
tially life-threatening injuries.
Safety barriers can also be applied to
protect sensitive equipment or struc-
tural elements in a facility, saving repair
costs and downtime.
Deflection power
Barriers absorb an impact by distribut-
ing the impact energy into the materials
that comprise the barrier. As the barrier
absorbs energy, the materials that com-
prise it elongate and the barrier deflects.
During the impact, the barrier deforms
elastically to the point at which energy
reaches equilibrium.
After most impacts, the barrier returns
to its original position. After a severe im-
pact, the barrier may sustain permanent
deformation. In more major impacts,
the barrier might break or become inad-
equate to protect against future impacts.
Before installing a barrier, the user must
consider the maximum elastic deflec-
tion to ensure adequate protection of
personnel and equipment.
Considerations when choosing a
barrier
There are several considerations facili-
ty managers should keep in mind when
GUARD
On
Selecting and maintaining
industrial barrier systems.
BY ANDY OLSON
