Have you planned to ensure the safety of your workers on your construction or maintenance sites over the short term using a removable guardrail? Before moving on to the purchase phase, here are the criteria that you should consider checking with the selling company.

Ease of installation and deinstallation

If you want to acquire a self-supporting guardrail to secure a construction or maintenance site over the short to medium term, then you need to acquire equipment that’s easy to assemble and disassemble. Indeed, the speed and ease of assembly and disassembly are important criteria to check so as not to waste time on this task during your various projects. A removable guardrail must also not require prior assembly training; instead, it must be simple to install thanks to clear instructions from an installation guide issued when purchasing the equipment to be able to entrust this task to your employees. Its installation must also not require possessing a lot of tools and equipment in order to be accessible at all times.

Stability and respect for roofs

A removable guardrail must have a weight suitable for all the roofs, balconies, or patios on which your workers are likely to work. It must also be an extremely stable piece of equipment while offering great flexibility with regard to its adaptability to all surfaces at height. Indeed, a removable guardrail is not a one-time purchase and must be able to adapt to multiple types of surfaces at height, in terms of its width, length, and weight. Finally, although it’s removable, this equipment must under no circumstances risk altering the structure on which it will be placed.

Compliance with applicable standards

In Canada and in the USA, there are specific safety standards that govern working conditions at height. These rules require that a guardrail be installed on any job site with a height of over three metres to ensure the safety of the workers by preventing falls. To choose a self-supporting guardrail for a roof, you must therefore ensure that it complies with the standards to ensure the safety of the workers. The use of a self-supporting guardrail is effective for ensuring a high level of safety on roofs, patios, or balconies more than three metres from the ground.

Material resistant to the all weather condition

Another criterion to consider before buying a guardrail—especially in Canada and in northern USA—is that it must be resistant to the most extreme temperature changes and weather conditions. Indeed, it’s out of the question not to be able to complete a job due to the deterioration of your equipment. This also risks adversely affecting compliance with safety standards for your workers. A removable guardrail must therefore be made with materials such as aluminum, a material that is highly resistant to corrosion, and rubber to provide it with a solid base. The tubes between each section and the vertical bars must also be firmly attached, screwed in, and even reinforced by supplementary additions in the event of extreme weather that may cause a piece of equipment that is not sufficiently resistant to move. Finally, the feet, their bases, and the counterweights must also be made of materials that are highly resistant to weather and therefore to rust.

The acquisition of a removable guardrail is an important purchase that requires taking certain verification steps. Fall risks are risks that should be taken into account and that require great prevention for the respect for the workers.

For more information about our removable guardrails, don’t hesitate to contact us.

MSK Canada has been a Quebec leader in industrial development for 30 years. Working in the automotive, industrial and commercial fields and fall protection systems, MSK Canada's team of experts will advise you on the best products to maximize your space, increase your productivity and safety when working on roofs. Visit our website at www.mskcanada.com.