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It’s rare to walk into any warehouse and not see a system of guardrails. In many cases, this network outlines the building’s layout and aids in navigating the space while enhancing safety.

Exploring the various reasons to install guardrails can help you create a unique and helpful system for your facility.

Separate Forklift Traffic From Pedestrian Walkways With a Warehouse Guardrail System

A warehouse brings pedestrians together with heavy machinery in a workplace environment, and this means that both on-foot employees and drivers must remain alert at all times. A misstep or a distraction can lead to serious accidents and workplace injuries.

In addition to providing safety training and placing caution signs in your facility, you can use a system of guardrails to enhance safety. Guardrails are more effective than painted lines on a floor since forklifts are effectively blocked by a physical barrier. Even if a forklift strikes the guardrail, pedestrians on the other side will remain safe.

Create Distinct Work Areas in a Warehouse Environment

Machinery likely travels throughout your warehouse as drivers pick products to load onto trucks. Amid this activity, you might have employees reworking pallets of products, completing partial orders, or performing other manual tasks. These conditions can create a hazard if forklift operators don’t know when to anticipate pedestrian workers.

You can create separate workplaces for these tasks by using a warehouse guardrail system. Build a border by placing guardrails in a square or rectangular shape in an isolated part of your warehouse. The guardrails will tell drivers that the area is off-limits while operating their machines, and this can improve both safety and efficiency.

Use a Warehouse Guardrail System to Provide a Barrier to Protect Machinery

Besides forklifts and other similar machines, warehouses often house equipment that forklift operators need to access regularly, including cardboard baling machines, trash compactors, refrigeration systems, or manufacturing machines.

Due to the high costs associated with replacing this equipment, you’ll want to take steps to protect against damage. Outlining the area around machines with guardrails minimizes the chances of impact injuries to these objects.

With a protective guardrail system, you won’t have to worry about drivers hitting expensive equipment because even if an accident damages the rails, the equipment should remain unharmed. The guardrails will also provide valuable protection for employees when they’re working in these spaces.

Improve Safety Around Warehouse Offices

In addition to machinery, pedestrian activity, and rows of inventory racks, warehouses often include office space. Dispatch offices, manager offices, and other such areas are convenient and efficient locations for overseeing warehouse activity. Unfortunately, this setup may also place office workers in hazardous situations.

Use a warehouse guardrail system to provide a protective barrier between offices and the general warehouse environment. Since forklifts can easily tear down a room made with wood and drywall, sturdy guardrail protection is especially important.

Even if a forklift slides across a grease or oil spill, the guardrail will slow the vehicle’s speed and block the impact.

Keep Electrical Panels Safe

Every warehouse has rows of electrical panels that manage the use of energy throughout the facility. If a forklift strikes an electrical panel or pierces it with its forks, the consequences can be devastating.

A forceful impact can cause an electrical fire and potentially electrocute the driver. A system of guardrails surrounding the electrical panels will help prevent these dangerous incidents and create a safer environment.

Protect Chemical Storage Areas

Chemical storage closets and cabinets also require effective protection against impact damage.

Often, a single storage area can house several different types of chemicals. A spill can lead to the release of a caustic chemical or a mixture of chemicals that interact dangerously with one another. In either case, exposure to fumes or liquids can be extremely harmful.

Surrounding these storage areas with guardrails helps to prevent forklift drivers from impacting the chemical storage area. Since guardrails and posts usually have bright yellow coloring, you’ll keep these areas visible from a distance. The yellow guardrails will notify drivers to use caution when nearing an area with dangerous substances.

Use Guardrails to Keep Your Warehouse Safer

As you explore the types and styles of guardrails on the market, you’ll find that there are rails to meet your every need. You can even employ a wide range of guardrails to serve a variety of different purposes within one facility. Use guardrails to ensure employee safety, protect your products, and create a more orderly workplace environment.