How Do Flatbed Fall Protection Systems Work?

Safety is a crucial component of your company’s success. If your staff are transporting and operating industrial machines, it’s essential to connect them with powerful, personalized safety measures to minimize workplace risks. But the question remains: How can you ensure that your employees are always protected while on the job?

One solution to prevent employee injuries while transporting equipment is a flatbed fall protection system. These robust safety solutions are designed to help prevent falls from flatbed trailers. By implementing flatbed fall protection systems into your day-to-day operations, your organization can effectively minimize risk while maximizing transportation efficiency. 

Safety Challenges with Flatbeds

Like many aspects of machine operation, there are multiple safety challenges to consider when utilizing flatbeds to transport equipment. Let’s take a moment to review a few of the most common offenders:

• Oddly shaped loads. Flatbed trailers are used for items that will not typically fit into another type of vehicle. Items on a flatbed trailer come in various shapes and sizes—and can be difficult to secure to the bed for transportation. Having oddly shaped loads often results in shifting during transport, making the flatbed dangerous to step on or operate near. 

• Climbing on or off. Climbing on or off a flatbed trailer can be dangerous, especially if done in an unsafe manner (such as climbing on the tires). Fortunately, many flatbeds can be outfitted with ladders and other stepping platforms to mitigate these risks.

• Unsafe surfaces. Slick or uneven surfaces on the flatbed trailer can result in slips or falls while loading and unloading equipment.

• Small work areas. The surface area of a flatbed trailer is relatively small, especially when loaded fully with equipment. This limited space restricts movement while working, increasing chances of a harmful fall. 

OSHA Flatbed Operations

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is responsible for creating laws, rules, and regulations for multiple industries—as well as giving out citations or fines when companies do not adhere to those rules. Unfortunately, fall protection is continuously one of the most cited violations for organizations. 

According to OSHA standard 1926.501(b)(1), each employee on a walking/working surface (horizontal and vertical surface) with an unprotected side or edge which is 6 feet (1.8 m) or more above a lower level shall be protected from falling by the use of guardrail systems, safety net systems, or personal fall arrest systems. 

While this rule is intended to protect workers who might be exposed to such surfaces during their day-to-day jobs, it doesn’t clearly apply to the transportation industry or flatbed trailers. Even still, fall protection solutions for flatbed operation are invaluable for preventing employee injuries and downtime. Thankfully, there are dedicated fall protection systems your team can use to make transporting equipment on flatbeds safer and more productive. 

How to Protect Employees with Fall Protection Equipment

At Stronghold Safety Engineering, we take pride in our passion for safety. This includes helping to mitigate the risks and hazards associated with falls in the workplace. Our solution for flatbed falls and injuries? The Garlock SpeedGuard II Flatbed Fall Protection System. This system will help safeguard employees while loading, unloading, working, or walking on a flatbed trailer by preventing harmful falls.

After a quick set-up of the Garlock SpeedGuard II, you’ll have guardrails in place that provide full perimeter fall protection. With the ease of a ladder, you’ll also be allowing your employees to safely climb on or off the trailer bed. This flatbed side rail solution will fit in standard trailer pockets and is equipped with all components necessary to protect trailers up to 53 feet long. The result? Smarter, safer flatbed loading and unloading operations—even in the presence of uneven or unsafe surfaces.

Stronghold is Your Safety Partner

Prioritizing the safety of your employees should be your number one concern as an organization. The use of quality safety equipment, such as flatbed fall protection solution, will help ensure that your employees are always operating at their best. 

At Stronghold, we’re just as passionate about safety—and want to make sure that you and your employees are always protected. Through an in-depth fall hazard assessment, we can help you identify areas of risk in your workplace, and create a plan to implement safety solutions that combat these threats. Let Stronghold help you create a safer workplace! Contact us today to get started.