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Guardrails deserve most of the focus when designing a flat rooftop fall safety system, but not nearly as much thought goes into the guardrail base. This is unfortunate for two reasons:
The guardrail's base controls how the entire system adapts to its environment
Limited installation equates to limited functionality
For many safety managers, there's something of a before and after moment when they see the utility of a portable guardrail system. Not only do portable systems meet every expectation from a regulatory standpoint, but they also dramatically expand workflow capacities without compromising on safety. In fact, by increasing the utility of roof guardrails, portable bases improve safety and efficiency with no compromise on either front. They also protect the roof's surface – and with it, building owners' interests.
A portable guardrail base works by virtue of several innovative design features. A heavy, flat base firmly connects vertical posts using four flanges, or receiver posts. The receivers lock the posts in place through a precision-engineered positive-locking slot and pin system. Positive locking ensures the fastening pin won't loosen over time, even with:
Constant vibration from heavy machinery or HVAC equipment
Hard tremors, as force throughout the guardrails transmits into the receiver posts
Sudden impacts, where force exerted at the handrail is higher at the base, due to leverage
If desired, you can further reduce the transmission of mechanical forces by placing a thin, durable EPDM pad between the baseplate and the roof. Because the cast iron baseplate only takes up approx. 3 sq ft (0.9 m) – being 1.7 ft (0.5 m) at its widest points – they're easy to carry, install, and adjust. Further, they accomplish their purpose with no loss of function compared to traditional fixed railing.
Any rooftop fall safety system should conform to your daily operational needs, even those unknown. Permanent guardrails require long anchor bolts that penetrate the surface, breaking the critical weather-resistant function of the roofing materials. This is suboptimal even if you do want permanent fixed railing, given several issues commercial building owners know all too well:
Penetrating into roofing material usually voids factory warranties, reducing the materials' long-term value and exposing the structure below to damage
Heavy long-term use can gradually strip anchor bolts or their recesses, creating play that loosens over time
Technicians are unlikely to know about a compromised anchor bolt until it causes an incident
These issues are also firmly in the purview of safety managers, giving them, building managers, and roof technicians alike strong reason to prefer non-penetrating systems. A robust portable baseplate can meet or surpass almost all regulatory standards for guardrails in general industry and construction, without minimal installation work and maximum versatility.
For good measure, portable baseplates can include anchor bolt recesses to support fixed installation options. In this case, the portable baseplate's weight reduces mechanical stress on the anchor bolt, making portable guardrails superior to fully fixed alternatives in both capacities.
Weighted portable baseplates eliminate the dangers involved in counterbalancing arm systems; a noble, but dangerous and outdated attempt at freestanding roof guardrails. Counterbalanced guardrails rely on long horizontal posts along the roof's surface, usually with a flat, widened weight positioned mere feet from the leading edge.
This creates a series of tripping hazards, and at the worst possible location. Even if the weighted arms are positioned away from the roof's interior and towards the leading edge, it creates much more risk than it solves during specialized construction work (e.g., masonry and concrete forming at the leading edge).
It's also a regulatory gray area, at best. While OSHA 1926.501(b)(12) does allot a fair amount of leeway in protecting rooftop masonry and concrete workers, the same paragraph exerts equally broad limits:
"When the employer can demonstrate that it is infeasible or creates a greater hazard to use [guardrail systems, safety net systems, or personal fall arrest] systems, the employer shall develop and implement a fall protection plan which meets the requirements of paragraph (k) of § 1926.502." (emphasis added)
OSHA 1926.502(k) is a long list of criteria for developing a custom rooftop fall safety plan. It's a difficult cost to bear in the interest of guardrail portability; and it's totally unnecessary if you use freestanding roof guardrails without counterbalanced arms to begin with.
A compact and weighted portable guardrail base is much safer than outdated counterbalance systems. With no drawback, portable baseplates provide a true universal solution for standard and complex rooftop fall protection scenarios, for instance:
Guarding temporary roof openings, such as during ladder hatch or skylight maintenance that requires the removal of other safety devices
Specialty rooftop construction that requires temporary controlled access zones (as in 1926.502[g])
When mobile machinery must alternate between running parallel and perpendicular to the nearest leading edge (see 1926.502[f][1][ii]), portable guardrails can more easily adapt to changing leading edge distance requirements
Building additions that change the size of the roof, or any other need to quickly expand an existing guardrail system
Virtually any workflow changes that require new guardrail configurations
For companies with limited budgets or that only rarely perform rooftop work, portable guardrails can fulfill multiple other functions throughout a facility. As facility-wide safety needs grow, companies can invest in more task-specific safety equipment. They can do so rapidly, given portable non-penetrating guardrails are built for on-demand expansion.
The most trusted and capable guardrail manufacturers always aim to fulfill the broadest possible range of compliance requirements – but they cannot fulfill every requirement for every use case. Check and double-check your specific OSHA, state, or CCOHS regulatory standards, and ensure any given fall safety measure conforms to your specific requirements.
By eliminating counterbalancing members, you also eliminate difficult cost-benefit considerations for the most critical aspect of a flat rooftop fall safety system. Portable guardrail baseplates achieve all stabilizing functions on their own. They're also much easier to move, due again to its more compact design.
Integrated handles on the baseplates improve mobility (especially with a wheeled carrying device), and the secure slot and pin mechanism is easy to unlock. The result is total guardrail portability, without compromising on safety or versatility during even the most unexpected rooftop safety challenges.
A portable guardrail base is one of the most versatile and innovative methods to secure roof guardrails. Achieving an optimal solution means finding the most adaptable solution, as only a compact portable guardrail design can accomplish.
BlueWater engineers have studied non-penetrating portable guardrail designs for decades, and our solution eliminates the drawbacks associated with less self-contained systems while supporting system scalability. Contact us today and speak with our dedicated fall protection experts to learn how portable rooftop railing can fulfill your specific requirements.
