STANDING GUARD RAILS PLUS

As time progresses, the required minimum height of the guardrail has decreased.Ĥ. The most popular height for the Standard Guardrail is 42”.ģ. The Standard Guardrail is apparently not standard.Ģ. The following observations are noteworthy:ġ. These height specifications have been summarized and presented in Table 1. Over the years, ANSI had OSHA specified various height requirements for the top rail of Standard Guardrails. Subparagraph 1910.29(b)(2): Midrails, screens, mesh, intermediate vertical members, solid panels, or equivalent intermediate members are installed between the walking-working surface and the top edge of the guardrail system as follows when there is not a wall or parapet that is at least 21 inches (53 cm) high. The top edge height may exceed 45 inches (114 cm), provided the guardrail system meets all other criteria of paragraph b of this section (see Figure 1).

STANDING GUARD RAILS PLUS

Subparagraph 1910.29(b) (1): The top edge height of top rails, or equivalent guardrail system members, are 42 inches (107 cm), plus or minus 3 inches (8 cm) above the walking-working surface. The following excerpts were taken from 1910 Subpart D, Standard Number 1910.29, Fall protection Systems and Falling Object Protection – Criteria and Practices, 84 FR 68796, December 17, 2019: 3 Corresponding regulations are provided by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA, which is an administrative code. The preceding two paragraphs were quoted from a voluntary consensus standard, ANSI/ASSE 1264.1-2007. Where vertical or horizontal barriers are not effective a personal fall arrest system should be considered. Guardrail systems are for guarding open-sided floors, platforms, ramps, runways, and stair landings. However, guardrails that are higher than 42 inches may need additional horizontal intermediate rails. Section E5.4 Generally speaking, guardrails are 42 inches to 45 inches in height. Spacing between the guardrail system(s) and adjacent structure(s) shall not exceed 2 inches (51 mm), where a fall hazard exists. The ends of the rails shall not overhang the terminal post, except where such overhang does not constitute a projection hazard. The intermediate rail shall be approximately halfway between the top rail and the floor, platform, runway, stair, or ramp. The top rail shall be smooth surfaced throughout the length of the railing. A railing system shall consist of top rail, intermediate rail or equivalent protection, and posts, and shall have a minimum vertical height of 42 inches (1.1 m) from upper surface of top rail to floor, platform, runway, stair landing, or ramp level. The critical geometry, the strength, and the stiffness of a standard guardrail are characterized in the American National Standard, ANSI/ASSE A1264.1-2007, Safety Requirements for Workplace Walking/Working Surfaces and their Access Workplace, Floor, Wall and Roof Openings Stairs and Guardrails Systems: 2 In 1638, Galileo Galilee introduced his famous book “Two New Sciences” 1 which constitutes the first publication in the field of strength of materials and includes a detailed account of the strength of beams. It is noteworthy that all the members of the guardrail are beams. The parapet presents a very early example of mankind’s effort to accomplish the same task indeed, the Old Testament provides an admonition in Deuteronomy 22:8, “When thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a parapet for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thy house, if any man fall from thence.” When such a structure is reduced to its simplest form, we achieve the so-called Standard Guardrail shown in Figure 1.

These nests fence off a region that differentiates a safe area from one that is unsafe. Birds construct nests to protect their hatchlings from falling before they are flight worthy.

Standing guard rails