Safe access from ladders: the Safesite solution

For many years, chains, bars and sliding link tubes have been used to provide safe access to the roof from ladders and roof hatches. These might be a simple safety solution, but they are also reliant on correct usage, which is unreliable at best.

Workers might forget to replace the bar or chain, leaving a gap behind them, which immediately puts them or others at risk of a fall; this can lead to a horrible injury or even death.

This is why Safesite provides a more reliable solution in the form of our self-closing KeeGate safety gates.

Self Closing KeeGate

The main benefit provided by self-closing gates is, of course, that they don’t rely on correct usage. They are spring loaded and will close automatically behind the user, removing the risk of user error and preventing the creation of voids and gaps after accessing or egressing the roof from a ladder.

Our KeeGates go up against a series of stringent performance tests to ensure total reliability.   These include salt spray testing to ASTM B117-11 Neutral solutions over 200 hours, life cycle testing to BS 6375-2:2009 Clause 6.5 – Opening and closing of Gate through 90 degrees 50,000 cycles, and Abuse Testing where nine 25kg weights are suspended from the gate to test what happens if pressure is applied.

The gates have been designed for ease of installation and can be retro-fitted to existing structures where reliable protection is required. All our gates are compliant to EN 14122-3:2016 and are supplied as a standard 1m width which can be easily cut to size when required.

The KeeGate range is available galvanised or colour coated in safety yellow, making them not only ideal for protecting access and egress via ladders, but also for use with edge protection and walkways, and in industrial applications such as around electrical equipment or as part of a demarcated area in a warehouse.

Open and shut case

Safe access and egress is vital, especially when it comes to ladders, and self-closing safety gates such as the KeeGate provide a simple and effective solution ensuring safety not reliant on correct usage.

For more information about our range of self-closing safety gates, get in touch via our online contact form or call us on 01293 529977.