Every year, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration—better known as OSHA—penalizes more than 50,000 U.S. businesses after finding safety violations in their facilities. Each of these violations cost companies more than $13,000.
Do you want to make sure that your business doesn’t face any fines from OSHA in the coming years? One of the many ways that you can avoid being penalized is by installing barrier gates on both the interior and exterior of your facility.
You can put barrier gates into place almost anywhere you want. From loading docks to access roads, companies have found all kinds of ways to work safety gates into the mix.
Here are seven reasons why your business facility should have barrier gates installed if you haven’t done it already.
1. Sets the Right Tone for Your Facility
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are almost 3 million workplace injuries and illnesses that take place each year. It’s why it’s so important for companies to emphasize the importance of safety to their employees.
What better way to do that than by installing barrier gates in your facility?
A bright-yellow barrier gate will do more than just protect your employees when they find themselves in a precarious position. It’ll also serve as a constant reminder for your employees to do whatever they can to stay safe in your facility.
2. Prevents Your Employees From Falling Off Loading Docks and Mezzanines
If your business operates out of a plant, a warehouse, or another kind of large industrial facility, you likely have quite a few loading docks and mezzanines scattered throughout it.
These loading docks and mezzanines are obviously essential to your business. But they can also put your employees at risk if you don’t put up the proper barrier gates to protect them.
These gates will prevent your employees from falling off loading docks and mezzanines and hurting themselves. At the same time, it’ll still give your employees easy access to loading docks and mezzanines and allow them to do their jobs.
3. Limits Access to Certain Areas in Your Facility
Are there certain areas in your business facility where your employees shouldn’t be?
You can, of course, put up walls around these areas and lock them up so that employees can’t get to them. But you can also put up barrier gates that will, at the very least, let your employees know that they’re not allowed in different parts of your facility.
4. Keeps Employees Away From Your Dangerous Equipment
There are many business facilities that are filled with lots of potentially dangerous equipment that could injure or even kill people if they get too close to it. This equipment often features parts like:
- Flywheels
- Pulleys
- Spindles
- Chains
- Belts
You can hang up signs informing your employees about the dangers of hanging out around your facility’s heavy-duty equipment. But if you really want to stress the point, putting up barrier gates is an excellent way to do it.
You can utilize these gates to keep your employees far away from any equipment that might cause them harm.
5. Stops Vehicles From Entering Specific Parts of Your Property
Depending on which industry you work in, you might have a bunch of vehicles driving around on your commercial property at any one time. Petroleum facilities, for example, will have a steady barrage of trucks coming and going throughout the course of a normal day.
Your company should have practices and procedures in place to limit the flow of traffic on your property. You should clearly mark where people can and cannot drive when they’re traveling around on your various paths and access roads.
Installing barrier gates is a very simple way to stop vehicles from going down roads they’re not supposed to be on. You can make your facility a lot more secure and keep tabs on who is moving around on your property with these gates.
6. Allows You to Safely Perform Renovations in Your Facility
Are you preparing to perform renovations in your business facility? This is going to take a huge toll on your facility and force your employees to be extra careful about where they walk.
During renovation projects, it’s not uncommon for there to be safety hazards all over the place. From holes in flooring to dangerous conditions overhead, your employees need to be on guard all the time.
You can keep them out of places that are being renovated through the use of barrier gates. These gates will let your employees know that they shouldn’t walk into an area that is under renovation.
7. Boosts Morale Among Your Employees
At the end of the day, the people who work in your business facility are some of your most valuable assets. It’s your job to protect them as best you can and to make them feel safe and secure.
When you do this, it’ll show your employees that you really care about their well-being. This will boost their morale and make them want to work harder for you. It’ll also make them feel good about coming in to work each and every day.
When you’re installing barrier gates, you should point out that you’re not doing it to make your employees’ jobs harder. Let them know that you’re doing it to keep them safe and sound.
They’ll appreciate you going above and beyond to make safety a bigger priority in your business facility.
Start Installing Barrier Gates in Your Facility Today
As you can see, there are so many reasons why you should strongly consider installing barrier gates in your business facility.
These gates will prevent you from racking up OSHA fines. They’ll also limit the access that people have to certain parts of your facility. And of course, they’ll ensure that your employees are safe when they’re going about their business inside and outside your facility.
It makes all the sense in the world to install safety gates. Why not get started today?
Check out our other posts for more tips on making your business facility safer than it is right now.
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