Oil refinery production in 2023 and 2024 could reach record highs, giving facility managers pause to consider if their safety measures are up to par. At the top of that list should be fall protection, where a single well-placed platform gate can make the difference between multiple finable infractions or full compliance and incident-free operations.
Given refineries’ wide variety of elevated working surfaces, meeting OSHA fall protection standards is critical to oil refinery safety. Only the most efficient, adaptable, and user-friendly fall safety equipment can meet regulatory standards without adding further complexity in an already challenging environment.
Outstanding Fall Risks Demand Equally Exceptional Solutions
More than almost any other industrial setting, oil and gas refineries require continual maintenance to safely operate a complex array of equipment. That equipment is both densely contained and widely dispersed throughout various indoor and outdoor settings. For facility managers, this translates to near-constant site activity – and for staff, long hours in highly varied work sites.
Risks of combustion, chemical leaks, and frequent changes in working height all contribute to tough working conditions. This is true even under the best circumstances. More than in almost any other industry, achieving oil refinery safety requires constant vigilance against a wider range of fall safety risks:
- Slip hazards caused by weather, oil slicks, and machine fluid leaks
- High-pressure systems and dangerous machines that could cut, shock, burn, or otherwise cause injury
- Highly varied indoor/outdoor environments
- Complex networks of elevated walkways, mezzanines, and stairways connecting tight spaces
- Numerous ladders that often extend several stories high
- Use of vertical space for work functions and elevated storage, such as mezzanines and catwalks
Combined Risks
Fall hazards also frequently combine, such as when ladders over 25 ft (7.6 m) require additional devices beyond general ladder safety requirements. Economy of space often puts workers close to dangerous machines and stair/ladderways simultaneously. Simply moving from indoor to outdoor areas can temporarily blind workers near tripping hazards – and the list goes on.
Fortunately, it’s possible to resolve many of these challenges with a carefully placed industrial swing gate built for maximum adaptability and ease of use. For a mezzanine swing safety gate, a similar design philosophy enables the safe transfer of custom-palleted materials and equipment between levels without exposing workers to the leading edge at any time.
As we explore more scenarios, the key solution is single-touch operation gates with secure, near-automated closing functions. In a complex industrial environment, it could be the difference between incident-free operations or a distracted workforce.
Versatility: The Antidote to Complexity
While elevated walkways and other means of saving vertical space improve economy of space, it comes at the price of greater complexity and less room to maneuver. Wherever additional equipment or workflow requirements exist, so too does the need for extra safety precautions.
Multi-Function Industrial Swing Gates
Safety considerations can be much simpler than the challenges if your fall protection devices are versatile and adaptable. This is possible with innovative safety swing gates with the following design features:
- Universal mounts compatible with various handrails, including wall anchoring
- Left/right mounting options
- Standard or 90° open positions
- Automatic self-closing mechanisms
- Adjustable bolts, with a range of gap coverage
- Fully custom design options
- Easy hand-tool installation
- Full positive stop at the hinge side (for reduced handrail contact)
- Various material and finishing options for specialized environments
Even the most standard self-closing swing gates can fulfill an extremely broad range of OSHA fall protection standards in highly varied work environments. In addition to meeting the same dimensional and force requirements for handrails, a swing gate can fulfill numerous functions:
- A secure handgrip, especially when closed
- Access control (such as for industrial vehicle zones, lifting operations, or different authorization levels)
- Reduced clutter – an essential consideration at the top or bottom of stairs and ladders
- Machine guarding that doesn’t interfere with proper access requirements
- Less risk of burns or electric shock with low-conductivity materials
- A brief moment to pause before entering bright areas, stairways, or ladderways
Adapting Swing Gates to The Environment
Greater adaptability allows safety managers to install equipment without cutting corners. For instance, gates at stairways require additional foresight. First, be sure your stairway platform meets the dimensional requirements for gates or doors in OSHA 1910.25(c). Then, refer to 1910.25(b)(5), which requires an open gate to leave 22 in. (55.9 cm) of space before the first step.
This can be fulfilled in one of two ways:
- Configure your universal-mount platform gate to open away from the stairs, so long as it doesn’t open into another hazard
- Install a platform with at least 22 in. between the first stair and the edge of the open gate (see Figure D-7 of OSHA 1910.25)
Note that these requirements apply to both the top and bottom of stairways. Also, the 22-in. requirement is only 20 in. (50.8 cm) for platforms installed before January 17, 2017.
Of course, it’s essential to verify the information found here or in any shorthand guide! Defer to your local, OSHA, or CCOHS regulations frequently to ensure proper compliance.
Self-Closing Swing Gates for Unique Circumstances
In the previous example, what if neither of the options are possible? This is a common challenge in oil refineries, where lateral space isn’t always available. Here, a vertical lift gate can be tremendously useful. It’s also an effective solution in high-traffic areas where a swinging gate might interfere with movement.
Other situations call for toe boards to prevent objects from falling off elevated surfaces; this includes OSHA 1910.28(b)(3)(iv), which outlines requirements for toe boards and guardrails near ladderways. While the toe board isn’t strictly required at the gate entrance, it’s possible to maintain a continuous toe board barrier with a full-coverage safety gate(which also improves gate visibility).
Sometimes, a gap’s width is subject to change, or the opening is wider than a standard platform gate provides. In such cases, an adjustable extended-coverage gate might be perfect. Adjustable gates also expand versatility, making a single gate compatible with one of several different openings as your needs change.
Safer Elevated Storage
What about much larger openings on elevated platforms, such as mezzanines intended for storage or semi-mobile heavy machinery? Here, workers must heed many of the same considerations as on loading bays, but with an added challenge of particularly tall leading edges.
A mezzanine swing safety gate functions along the same principles as a self-closing swing gate, i.e., eliminating the need for constant manual handling, latching, etc. By replacing the need for latching mechanisms with dual counterbalanced gates, employees achieve one-touch operation at each critical phase of the materials delivery and handling process.
When closed, the gate maintains the same protection expected of guardrails. Each gate then opens one at a time; opening one automatically closes the other. The result is a user-friendly means of always maintaining a barrier between workers and the leading edge.
As with standard safety swing gates, a mezzanine swing gate removes the need for excessive handling and operation. The result is safe, focused workers free of the biggest cause of split attention in industrial settings: overly complex safety equipment that may present more difficulties than they resolve.
Optimal Oil Refinery Safety Means Optimal Workflows
Regardless of how much activity comes to America’s approx. 130 oil refineries in the coming years, the need to comply with OSHA fall protection standards remains the same. The key to doing so easily and effectively is leveraging the cutting edge in fall protection technology, where simplicity and versatility is the safest bet.
We’ve covered just some of the most common scenarios in which a self-closing platform gate or mezzanine swing safety gate can protect workers better than the alternatives. If you have further questions about your oil refinery safety needs, contact Fabenco – a global leader in custom and modular safety gate technology for over 45 years.
