Mezzanine Safeti-Gates: Standards and Codes

Mezzanine Safeti-Gates, Inc. 174 WESTERN AVENUE · ESSEX, MA 01929-1110 (978) 768-7593 · FAX (978) 768-1101

Please Note: The following are only excerpts from the OSHA and BOCA codes. For a complete listing of codes and specifications please refer to the appropriate manuals.

	Department of Labor - Occupational Safety and Health Administration Occupational Safety and Health Standards 1910.23 Guarding floor and wall openings and holes. ( C ) Protection of open-sided floors, platforms, and runways. Every open-sided floor or platform 4 feet or more above adjacent floor or ground level shall be guarded by a standard railing (or the equivalent as specified in paragraph (e) (3) of this section) on all open sides, except where there is entrance to a ramp, stairway, or fixed ladder. The railing shall be provided with a toeboard wherever, beneath the open sides, Persons can pass, There is moving machinery, or There is equipment with which falling materials could create a hazard. (E) Railing, toe boards, and cover specifications. (1) A standards railing shall consist of top rail, intermediate rail, and posts, and shall have a vertical height of 42 inches nominal from upper surface of top rail to floor, platform, runway, or ramp level. The top rail shall be smooth-surfaced throughout the length of the railing. The intermediate rail shall be approximately halfway between the top rail and the floor, platform, runway, or ramp. The ends of the rails shall not overhang the terminal posts except where such overhang does not constitute a projection hazard.

BOCA National Building Code
	Section 1021.0 Guards 1021.2 Height: The guards shall be at least 42 inches (1067 mm) in height measured vertically above the leading edge of the tread or adjacent walking surface. Height: The guards shall be at least 42 inches (1067 mm) in height measured vertically above the leading edge of the tread or adjacent walking surface. 1021.3 Opening limitations: In occupancies in Use Groups A, B, E, H-4, I-1, I-2, M and R and in public garages and open parking structures, open guards shall have balusters or be of solid material such that a sphere with a diameter of 4 inches (102 mm) cannot pass through any opening. Guards shall not have an ornamental pattern that would provide a ladder effect.: In occupancies in Use Groups A, B, E, H-4, I-1, I-2, M and R and in public garages and open parking structures, open guards shall have balusters or be of solid material such that a sphere with a diameter of 4 inches (102 mm) cannot pass through any opening. Guards shall not have an ornamental pattern that would provide a ladder effect. Exceptions In occupancies in Use Groups: I-3 - Institutional, restrained F-1- Factory and Industrial, moderate H-1-High hazard, detonation hazards H-2-High hazard, deflagration hazards H-3-High hazard, physical hazards S-1-Storage, moderate S-2-Storage, low (other than public garages and open parking structures) and along open-sided floor areas located less than 30 inches (762 mm) above the floor or grade below, balusters, horizontal intermediate rails or other construction shall not permit a sphere with a diameter of 21 inches (533 mm) to pass through any opening.

Mezzanine Safeti-Gates, Inc.
an open and shut case for plant mezzanine safety