Your loading dock has some of the most important traffic for the success of your business. This much traffic means a lot of exposure to hazards, falling off the loading dock.

If you want to learn more, please visit our website.

Preventing someone from falling off the loading dock is as simple as installing a guardrail.

Here are 4 questions that will help you know that you’re picking the right option.

Will the Guardrail Meet Loading Dock Railing Requirements?

OSHA details the requirements for guardrails in more detail since the update. However, OSHA .29 repeats itself a lot and it can be a little confusing to sort through.

Here is a summary to make it easy for you:

• The top rail must be 42 inches in height, give or take 3 inches.
• The top rail must be able to withstand 200lbs of force in the downward and outward direction.
• A midrail should be installed midway between the top rail and the surface.
  • Additional midrails should be added as needed to make sure there is no opening greater than 19 inches.
• The midrail should be able to withstand 150lbs of force in the downward and outward direction.
• Do not create projection hazards with any rails extending beyond terminating posts.

We built a guide for OSHA compliant guardrails If you’d like to dig deeper into this.

The ADA will want to make sure those with disabilities have safe means of accessing the work zone, if applicable. We put a guide together to help you navigate the ADA code and determine if and how it applies to you.

Also, check with your local building code if you’re doing anything that requires a permit and inspections.

A Kee Klamp mounted guardrail will meet OSHA standards and can be designed to meet ADA requirements and local building codes. It can even be modified after installation to meet new requirements that come up.

How easy is it to design?

Not every loading dock is made equal. You may have long ramps that slope down towards your dock. Or maybe you have a long exterior dock with multiple load points and access stairs.

No matter how simple or complicated your loading dock is, you want a guardrail that can easily conform to the layout and your work needs. Pre-welded panels can pigeonhole you into specific configurations or potential leave blank spaces that someone or something could fall through.

You should be able to design the guardrail yourself, if you choose, and still know that it's compliant with any applicable standards.

How Easy is the Loading Dock Railing to Install?

Being able to DIY the guardrail will give you a lot of freedom around the time that the railing gets installed. How many times have projects been delayed because a contractor was behind on a project?

You want a guardrail that is so easy that the new guy can install it. Here are a few questions that you can answer to see how much complication the guardrail will add to your project:

Is a Hot Work Permit required?

This could add days and weeks to your project as you wait for the permit to be approved and for the inspections to happen. This also adds money as you may have to pay for these inspections and for the expertise of a welder.

What tools are needed to install the guardrail?

This could be as simple as needing a torque wrench, Sawzall, and hammer drill, which is all that is needed for a Kee Klamp railing. Or you may need large diamond core bits with an appropriately large drill to core into the concrete.

What happens if the guardrail doesn’t fit?

Sometimes you have to move the location of the guardrail during installation. Maybe someone forgot to work around a support beam for the dock canopy. Or it could be that a process has changed overnight, and the layout now needs to change.

Our component-based guardrail will allow you to make these changes on the fly. You don’t have to worry about sending huge panels of guardrail back by freight and waiting for the replacements to arrive. Kee Klamps are small and can be easily shipped overnight to help you finish your project on time.

The answers to these questions could determine if you have removed stress induced headaches or added them.

How will you protect the loading areas?

A very common question is what to do with the empty space in the guardrail where the trucks are being loaded. After all, it’s not efficient or safe to try to unload a truck by handing product over a mounted handrail. I’m picturing that now. So much can go wrong.

Here are the 3 options you can use.

Safety Gate

A safety gate is the most effective option for protection because it requires the least amount of work with the strongest protection. You can also build one yourself if you use the correct swivel fittings. Any gate that you use must provide safety equivalent to a guardrail.

Loading Dock Safety Chains

A chain can be used, but like with safety gates, needs to be able to provide the same level of safety as a guardrail. Most of the time, I don’t see this happening. The top rail (or chain) must not deflect to a height lower than 39 inches. Most chains I’ve seen sag 5+ inches. Also, as shown above, multiple chains will need to be used so no opening is greater than 19 inches. This is the option with the greatest margin of error.

Removable Loading Dock Railing

Removable rails do not have the sag issues of chains. They also don’t have the ease of safety gates. This will depend on how the removable rail was designed. It should include some form of locking mechanism, like a set screw, so that it doesn’t slide or fall out, exposing the hazard.

How Easy Will the Guardrail be to Maintain?

Grabbing some lumber from your local shop to slap a railing together can be very tempting. However, how long will that last before you have to replace it again? What happens if a forklift, pallet jack, or truck bumps into it?

Galvanized steel or aluminum systems will last much longer. After all, we’re trying to get things off your plate, not snooze the problem like your morning alarm.

If something happens to damage the guardrail beyond normal wear and tear, then you want a guardrail that can be spliced into quickly. Wood can do this very easily, but do you really want to do this over and over...and over again?

 Our component-based guardrail systems will be easier to repair if something happens. Just cut the pipe and attach the new fittings and voila, you have a fixed guardrail. Also, you don’t have to wait for the store to open because you can buy the pipe and fittings you need online.

Wrapping Up

Getting your people home at the end of the day in good health is important. It’s one important thing of many on your plate...today. You don’t have to take all of this on by yourself.

Let us help you relieve some of your stress by getting the loading dock railing that you need.

Types of Guardrails - A Buying Guide

Guides

Guardrails are used for safety and barrier purposes and are an integral part of various industrial structures. These assemblies are typically installed at platform ends and are incorporated within mezzanine structures in industrial sites, such as warehouses. They are used on highways as a protection barrier against vehicle impact, to prevent falls, and in production areas. Standard guardrail fabrication materials include variations of Stainless Steel, a material recommended because of its durability. Wooden guardrails are another common barrier material. There are numerous variations of standard guardrails, which must comply with OSHA standards. Both single and double railing systems are a standard guardrail installation option.

Guardrail Types and Styles

The most common types of guardrails include:

W-beam

Curved

Bolt-on

Drop-in

Video on the Types of Guardrails

W-beams

W-beams are the standard traffic and highway safety rails and are constructed in high gauge steel. To protect against environmental conditions, this type of beam is fabricated with zinc coatings and weather (resistant) coated materials.

Curved

Curved guardrails feature a convex or concave-shaped rail and are used to provide protection on roadways and highways that have a bend radius to them. These units are usually prefabricated to fit the required dimensions of the site where they will be installed. Concave rails are those in which the rail curves in towards the vehicle, while convex rails are those that curve away from the vehicle.

Drop-in rails

Drop-in rails feature brackets that allow post sections to slide into the structure upon installation. This type of railing is easily accessible. 

Bolt-on rails

Bolt-on rails involve specific installation with hand tools and drills, though the hardware for this type of railing is typically included by the manufacturer. Single, double, or triple rails may be selected for an application.

Standard Guardrail Applications

Pedestrian walkway protection  

Workstation and transformer area barrier

Protect equipment from forklift damages

Protect building from damage (ie, walls and doors)

Installed along roadways to prevent and minimize accidents

Guardrail Components

A standard guardrail system is mounted to the floor by base plates, which are fastened with anchor bolts. Each guardrail system also includes columns that are commonly fabricated from steel. Such columns, or posts, are often pre-drilled by the manufacturer and include the hardware for installation. Standard galvanized steel systems (specifically 12-gauge) provide durability and are often fabricated in curved, 90-degree variations, for traffic areas. Other variations include cylindrical steel beams and flatter beams, featuring ribbing. For indoor and outdoor areas, railings are typically painted OSHA yellow. The type and amount of beam railing vary according to the application requirements. For instance, the railing can consist of one to three beams and the beams may be coated with UV resistant polyurethane sleeves.

Box Beam Guardrail- Best Choice for Beautiful Surroundings

Box beam guardrail, a kind of highway barrier, is not as common as traditional w beam or thrie beam guardrails, but it caters the need of appreciation of the beauty and is widely used not only on highways, but also in parks, picturesque bridges, etc.

The same as W-beam guardrails, it is made of high quality steel and plated with superior zinc coating or coated with PVC coating. Thereby, it is anti-rust and durable enough to endure the impact force. Additionally, there is no need of paying much money on the maintenance of the box beam guardrail, which makes it cost effectively in the long run.

Anda are exported all over the world and different industries with quality first. Our belief is to provide our customers with more and better high value-added products. Let's create a better future together.

Box beam guardrails can be used on bridges.

Advantages:

Anti-rust

Corrosion-resistant

Durable and well-constructed

Designed to have a long service life

Can be used with or without blocks

Easy to install and repair

No need of maintenance

The box beam guardrails we supply:

According to the shape of the box beam guardrail, we can divide them into two types: square and rectangular. Meanwhile, we can also provide open box beam guardrail depends on your requirements.

Square box beam guardrails

Rectangular box beam guardrails

W Beam Guard Rails for Highway Collision Safety

W Metal Beam Guard Rails for Highway and Bridges

w-beam guardrail has a section or profile of W shape, it is also named as two wave beam guardrail. This is the major type of beam barriers for highways safety with symmetrical designs on each side of the beam. We supply two kinds of finishes for w beam guardrail panels: hot dipped zinc coating or plastic coating. According to the fabricated shapes, our W-beam guardrails can be divided into two types: the straight line w-beam,or the curved beams.

How to choose straight W beam or Curved Beam used for your uses?
The straight W-beam guardrail can be lined up for transitioning smoothly and is suitable to the curves with a radius greater than 45m. For the radius less than 45m, the pre-curved W-beam guardrail product exploits its advantages to a full.

W beam guard railings can be used in expressway and highways to absorb maximum energy of the impact force when collision occures and reduce harms to cars and people. It can also protect the vehicles against skidding off roads, especially mountain roads and bridges and prevent the pedestrians from the danger of walking across highways.

General Technical Information of W Beam / Two Wave Guardrail Barriers:

Base Metal Material: steel: Q235 (S235JR / ASTM A283M) or Q345 (S355JR / ASTM A529M )

Standard specification: 380*85*2.75/3/4*/mm or 306*80*2.75/3/4*mm

Surface finishing: Hot dipped galvanized finish or powder coated.

Zinc coating thickness (double sides): 550 g/m2 (40µ) / g/m2 (80µ) / g/m2 (85µ)

Relevant parts required for guard rails: post, spacer (C, U and Sigma types etc) and fasteners

Profile: W-beam / two wave.

Plate Thickness:2.5mm-4mm

Thickness Tolerance: +/-0.015mm

Popular Specification of W Beam Guardrails:
Wave width: 310mm
Wave height: 85mm
Plate thickness: 2.5mm - 4mm
Beam length: mm

Scise Most Popular W Beam Guardrail System ( beams and necessories parts for installing ) for Export is composed as following:

Guardrail W-Beam Galvanized including bolts, nuts and washers;
Guardrail Steel Post, Box Beam;
Guardrail End Units;
Guardrail Terminal Units;
Hot Dipped Galvanized Steel Guardrail W Beam;
Hot dipped galvanized terminal section;
Hot dipped galvanized round steel post;
Hot dipped galvanized post cap;
Hot dipped galvanized black spacer;
Hot dipped galvanized flat plate washer;
Hot dipped galvanized bolts.

Packing 1.)25 pieces metal beam road guardrails per bundle, and then fasten the bundle with wire straps or hemp ropes.
2.)One 20 feet GP will hold about 510 pieces.
3.) Customers' requirements are available, too

Popular Specifications:

Normal W Beam Specification ×310 × 85 × 2.5(2.67/2.7/3.0 )   × 310 × 85 × 2.5(2.67/2.7/3.0)   × 310 × 85 × 2.5(2.67/2.7/3.0) Profile A Specification × 306 × 80 × 2.5(2.67/2.7/3.0) Profile B Specification × 310 × 75 × 2.5(2.67/2.7/3.0) Zinc Coating 550g/m²(40u)   g/ m² (80u) g/ m² (85u)   Standard   JT/T 281- AASHTO-M180   RAL RG620

Wave Size Applied to W Beam Guardrails:

W-beam Length -mm Wave width 300-600mm Wave height 50-100mm Thickness 2-6mm Notes: Custom length, width, height and thickness are available as your requirements.

Curved W Wave Guardrail Radius Details:

Radius (Feet) H/ Rise (Inches) Radius (Feet) H/ Rise (Inches) 5 (1.5m) 41 55 (16.8m) 4 1/4 6 (1.8m) 36 60 (18.3m) 4 8 (2.4m) 28 65 (19.8m) 3 5/8 9 (2.7m) 26 70 (21.3m) 3 3/8 10 (3.1m) 22 75 (22.9m) 3 1/4 12 (3.7m) 20 80 (24.4m) 3 13 (4m) 18 85 (25.9m) 2 3/4 15 (4.6m) 16 90 (27.4m) 2 5/8 16 (4.9m) 14 95 (29m) 2 1/2 20 (6.1m) 11 5/8 100 (30.5m) 2 3/8 25 (7.6m) 9 1/2 110 (33.5m) 2 1/8 30 (9.1m) 7 3/4 120 (36.6m) 2 35 (10.7m) 6 3/4 130 (39.6m) 1 3/4 40 (12.2m) 6 140 (42.7m) 1 5/8 45 (13.7m) 5 1/4 150 (45.7m) 4 1/2 50 (15.2m) 4 5/8    

W Beam & Pedestrian Barrier Project in Australia

Post and rail barrier for office block area and other sites.

Guardrail Fence:

Optional: W beam guard rail system 900 mm high
These system are going on a concrete floor.
The posts have base plates.
Delivery to Melbourne port.

12 Gauge W Beam Highway Guard Rails

We supply w wave corrugated metal beam 12 GAUGE(2.7P MIN.) for high way guard rails & bridge rails, AASHTO M 180 standard specifications and other international qualities. The system contains W-beam rail element, backup plates, and terminal sections, the 12 gage steel formed into a beam minimum 12 inches ( 300 mm) wide and 3 inches (75 mm) deep. The 6 inch channel rail and splice plate are manufactured in conformance with AASHTO M 183. AASHTO is simplified term of American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Quality meeting Division 12 -- for metal beam guard rail of Kuwait and other other international qualities are also supplied.

Physical properties of the materials is as follows:

Tensile Strength: 483 MPa (min)
Yield Strength 345 MPa (min)
Elongation 12% (min).
Guard rails is supplied with Mill Test certificates of the materials.

12 Gauge Beam Guardrails: Elements and Parts

Steel Quality as per Grade Fe 410 or equivalent for W Beam.
Hot Dip Galvanizing as per AASHTO M180, 550 gm/m2.
Metal beam corrugating type: W beam

Details as below attached for reference:

1. Guard rails straight-3.0mm C/C class 'A' type

Material quality: AASHTO
3 mm thick Guard rails, W beam, in black finish.
Also Bridge Railing post only in aluminium mill finish.

2. Guard rail reflector
Quality: AASHTO

3. Railing Post, M16 x 32 bolt, Nut & Washer

Bulk Head
Finish: Galvanized
Quality: AASHTO

Guard Rails with Steel Post Blocks

GUARD RAIL TERMINATION DETAILS

4. M16 x 45 mm,Bolt, Nut & Washer

Bulk head
Finish: Galvanized
Material quality: AASHTO

Since W Beam Crash Barrier,Thrie Beam Guardrail,Galvanized Crush Barriers,Mental Beam Crush Barriers establishment, the company has always adhered to the"terminal demand as the root, Customer satisfaction first" business philosophy, attaches great importance to product quality.

The company is the world’s best Guardrail Accessories supplier. We are your one-stop shop for all needs. Our staff are highly-specialized and will help you find the product you need.