Working four feet or higher above the ground requires special equipment. Believe it or not, a fall from that height can cause serious damage and sometimes even death. Fall prevention equipment that meets OSHA, industry, and local safety standards is required for any type of work that takes place at elevations four feet or higher — that includes loading/offloading rail cars.
The Right Equipment for the Job
If your company’s operators access the tops of rail cars for venting, loading and offloading, then you need loading racks for ideal safety. By using OSHA-approved fall prevention products you have the peace of mind knowing that your company is providing the proper equipment that will deliver a greater level of safety to employees. Loading accessories can include: tracking gangways, protective canopies, articulating or elevating rail car cages, and more. Most of the time these products can be retrofitted to your current site meshing seamlessly with the existing equipment. This will save your company time and money while raising worker safety and productivity.
Multi-Hatch Railcars
Rail cars with multiple hatches require customized equipment to access the entire length of the railcar safely and easily. With the proper equipment, your work force can access the entire length of all rail car types with the highest level of safety. Not all rail cars are exactly the same, so it’s critical that your equipment provider understands the details of constructing effective fall prevention solutions.
Once your operators have quick and safe access to all areas of a rail car at one time, the end result is faster throughput and enhanced safety. Railcar loading racks should be designed to clear rail car envelopes with manually operated or powered systems.
Benefits of proper fall prevention equipment Include:
• safer working conditions
• access to all required areas at once
• quicker throughput
• increased work force productivity
• reduced downtime
• more satisfied customers!
Single Hatch Railcars
Loading racks for both single and multiple hatches can be designed as single- or double-sided models, depending on the size and needs of your facility. All racks are designed with the focus on fall protection requirements established by OSHA. You’d be surprised how something fairly simple can make a big difference. For example, a safety cage should fit easily around the railcar crash box and extend the height by an extra 12 inches. This extra foot of height is enough to improve fall protection.
Additional advantages of loading racks:
• parts are shipped in modular components that can be bolted together for quick assembly, saving time and money
• consolidate activity into one place with a single loading platform thereby creating more space in a processing area
• loading racks can be configured to include pipe supports and bridges
If your company needs updated or new fall prevention equipment, Carbis is the company to call. We can design single or multiple rail car loading and unloading facilities to accommodate both coupled and uncoupled rail cars. With more than 80 years of experience, we can also guarantee that our fall prevention solutions for rolling stock will meet all your requirements and OSHA’s. Best of all, we do everything in-house. Carbis can address everything from greenfield projects to retrofitting existing sites with the proper equipment eliminating the need for tie-offs and optimizing workplace safety and space. Contact us today.
