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Kattsafe

FIXFAST USA is now Kattsafe

We’ve been delivering high-quality products and innovation for over 40 years and we’ve partnered closely with Sayfa in Australia for over 10 years. It was a natural evolution for us to join forces as a single global brand for height access and fall protection systems.

Bringing everything we do under one new name makes it even simpler to work with us and use our products. And behind it all, we’re still the same team, quality products, and customer service that you’ve come to expect.

KATTGUARD™ GR36 Surface-Mount Guardrails

Derek Tokarz • Certified in Safety Management Group's Training in Fall Protection

Categories: Work Safety • Industry Product Education

With falls, trips and slips leading to 11% of all fatal work injuries in 2019, you must protect your staff when they work on roofs. Since roof safety is paramount when working at heights, you might be interested in Kattsafe's GR36 Surface-Mount Aluminum Guardrails. At Kattsafe, we specifically designed our Kattsafe GR36 to protect workers from typical dangers while working on sloped roofs. 

When your team regularly works on roofs, you may want to learn more about some of the most prevalent roof dangers and how the Kattsafe surface-mount guardrails can help.

Common Rooftop Hazards

When you don’t have any roof guardrails for your team’s work site, you open up your team to multiple common rooftop hazards. Dangers such as poor lighting, extreme weather conditions and disorganized tools or debris can cause workers to injure themselves and increase their chances of falling from a roof. Take a moment to review some of the most typical hazards.

  • Extreme weather conditions: When workers must complete tasks on roofs in extreme weather conditions like ice, snow and wind, they put themselves at higher risk. Icy and windy conditions can lead to workers slipping and losing their balance. Additionally, rain and snow can reduce a worker’s visibility and raise the chances of a fall occurring.

  • Uneven or damaged walking surfaces: A roof with damaged or uneven surfaces can cause workers to trip and fall. If a worker trips on an uneven surface near the roof’s edge, they could fall from the roof and severely injure themselves.

  • Poor lighting: Workers need to see where they’re going when working at heightened elevations. If a roof isn’t well-lit, especially at night, workers might not see the roof’s edges or various hazards that lead to falls. 

  • Disorganized debris or tools: When a team leaves their tools and debris scattered around a roof, someone could trip on them and end up hurting themselves, especially if they fall from the roof. Tools, nails and loose cords can all lead to missteps resulting in trips and falls. Environmental debris like leaves can create a slippery surface, causing workers to slip and hurt themselves.

  • Lack of edge awareness: When staff members don’t have thorough training, they may not take the time to register where the roof’s edges and any skylights are. This lack of awareness can lead to injuries, as staff may not be as careful around edges as they should.

  • Inadequate grips: Another significant danger comes from walkways and stairs not having sufficient grip to prevent workers from slipping. If you don’t have grip tapes or other specialized floorings near walkways by the edge of the roof, workers have a higher chance of slipping or losing their balance and falling as a result. 

How Sloped Roofs Are Even More Dangerous

Alongside the general dangers of working on a roof, sloped roofs are even more dangerous than more standard flat roofs. Since these roofs come at an angle, slipping and tripping become highly likely, as workers can tumble down the side, gaining speed and losing control before they fall entirely off the roof. Sloped roofs are also more challenging to work on, as they don’t provide a flat surface for people to stand on while they go about their tasks.

Due to a sloped roof’s angle, dropped tools and larger materials can be hazardous to those below, as they could slide off the side and harm anyone underneath. On sloped roofs, workers also have to concentrate on keeping their balance more while going from one section or another and completing difficult tasks. Since working on a sloped roof tends to be more challenging, workers are more likely to fall and injure themselves. 

Keep Your Team Safer With the Kattsafe GR36

With all the dangers of workings on sloped roofs, you might wish to invest in Kattsafe GR36 Surface-Mount Aluminum Guardrails to protect your team from falls and injuries.

At Kattsafe, we specifically design these roof guardrails to provide maximum protection for workers. Our Kattsafe GR36 Surface Mounts are also perfect for sloped roof applications and projects where you can expect higher snow loads, wind loads and ice buildup.

To learn more about our aluminum roof guardrails for wind, snow and sloped roofs, check out more of the primary benefits of Kattsafe surface mounts.

  • Customizable modular systems: We fabricate all our Kattsafe guardrail system components in modular sections. Due to this fabrication process, we can create virtually limitless guardrail configurations, crafting them perfectly for your project site’s particular requirements. We also robotically weld our components to ensure they have an incredibly precise finish.

  • Attractive appearance: All our Kattsafe  surface-mount roof guardrails feature continuous mid and top rail designs with clean aesthetics. You can also receive them in a custom color to better blend in with whatever building your team’s working on. 

  • Reduced lead time: We keep all your modular components in stock, so we can ship them as fast as possible to you. Since we package the parts for your guardrail kits together, we can usually ship our Kattsafe guardrail systems in one or two days. 

  • OSHA compliance: When you purchase our roof guardrails for snow and wind, you can feel confident that they are OSHA-compliant. We manufacture and design all our products to meet or exceed OSHA regulations. We also create our products to meet or exceed American National Standards Institute specifications. Since we engineer our products to follow these guidelines, you can expect our roof guardrails to provide your team with the ultimate in safety.

Choose FIXFAST USA for Your Roof Guardrail Needs

Due to the many benefits of FIXFAST USA’s products, you may want to purchase KATTGUARD™ surface-mount guardrails for peace of mind. As a family-owned business, we’re proud of how our roof guardrails keep our clients’ teams safe. If you partner with us, we’ll also provide your team with product guidance, system inspection, certifications, installation and layout support. 

Take a moment to learn more about our Kattsafe GR36 Surface-Mount Guardrails and request a quote today. You’re also welcome to browse our other surface-mount roof guardrails. 

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.