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Posted By RBW100
Hi all,
We have a fixed working platform which is used for the inspection of product passing next to the platform on a conveyor. Can anyone tell me the height of the hand rails that need to be provided around the platform.
Thanks
Rob
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Posted By Pete Sutton
I would presume 950mm top rail...plus middle rail with no gap larger than 470mm.
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Posted By RBW100
I'm unsure are to whether building regs part K of 1100mm on a landing is the correct course to follow or the 950mm from scaffolding advice?
Rob
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Posted By Dave Merchant
Legally there's no answer.
The 950mm minimum is "for construction" only (WAHR 8a.3) and for any other use the law requires the rails are "sufficient" but does not specify a dimension (WAHR 8a.2). Building regs don't figure in your case as the barrier isn't part of a building; it's in effect 'access to a machine'.
The EN standards for machine access [EN ISO 14122] would demand 1100mm, but these are standards rather than laws, so they're optional.
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Posted By RBW100
Thanks for all the info guys.
Rob
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Posted By CFT
Don't hesitate to do what your own investigation into the level of risk dictates; if you want 1200 then fine if that control measure works for you. I agree BR are not relevant in this case and 950 is generally for construction related; any will be minimum standards so don't hesitate to exceed minimum standards if that is what you really feel is required. Personally I feel that 470mm gap is overly wide so I decrease the distance between bars; it is therefore on this occasion up to you to assess the level of risk and implement what is right to do in the situation you describe..
CFT
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Posted By steve e ashton
Does the query relate to a 'handrail' to prevent falls from a height? (and if so - how high?)
Or a 'handrail' to stop someone overbalancing when reaching to manually pick items from a conveyor?
Or to a 'handrail' that must act to prevent anyone coming into contact with dangerous machinery (aka a machine guard)?
Without these basic bits of information, surely any answer is purely speculative?
Steve
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Posted By Dave Merchant
It doesn't matter all that much as the post is about a handrail on "a working platform". By definition that means it's a FFH system first and foremost, and if it also protects against entanglement etc. that's a case-specific issue but nothing that the Regs give a general set of dimensions for.
(falling down, falling into and falling against are all treated as the same problem in H&S laws. If you're injured; you're injured.)
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Posted By steve e ashton
Dave:
Remember that not every post here is from a chartered H&S professional, and the poster's choice of words may not always follow the specialist 'jargon' that we in the H&S field are accustomed to. Whilst you may have read the query to be asking about handrails to protect against a fall from work platform at a height, there are other possible interpretations.
The poster may actually be asking after requirements for a machine guard on the edge of the working platform to protect against contact with the conveyor (otherwise why mention the conveyor?)... The poster doesn't specify a handrail to protect against falls from height, and several conveyor / guard layouts that I have seen could easily be described as 'handrails'. The dimensions (height, distance from danger, gaps between rails etc) are very different from those required on a handrail simply to prevent a fall from height.
I believe that the best response to almost any query is to ask (in the nicest possible way) 'why do you want to know?'. The answer to that question can be very illuminating.
Steve
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