Mezzanine Safeti-Gates, Inc., an innovator in the design and manufacturing of pallet drop safety gates that provide fall protection in distribution centers, warehouses and manufacturing, and material handling facilities, has announced a new safety gate design, the Roly® Total Control Access (TCA) safety gate. The new safety system improves upon the original dual-gate design by ensuring that at least one gate is fully closed at all times, even as the opposite gate moves into position. The operation ensures that an elevated ledge is never left unprotected, providing employees with failsafe fall protection in any material handling environment.

Originally custom designed in 2019 for a worldwide retailer, the TCA design has been adopted by many companies with high-volume fulfillment centers. The traditional Roly safety gate system uses two interconnected gates that work in tandem so that when one opens, the other closes at the same time. The new TCA design is also a dual-gate system, but if one gate is open, the opposite gate stays fully closed and is prevented from opening until the other is fully in the closed position. TCA gate operations are automatic and solely done through the technology within the system, so employees no longer are required to operate or touch the devices.

“Like most of our standard safety gate models, the TCA gate started out as a custom design,” said Aaron Conway, president of Mezzanine Safeti-Gates, Inc. “Our engineering team worked with our customer to address their concerns about safety around pallet drop areas and the speed for which consumer retail fulfillment centers operate to create a new design. Over the last few years, we’ve made changes and improvements as additional customers implemented TCA systems into their facilities. Because of the success of the design in many customer fulfillment centers across the country, we knew many other applications can benefit from the extra protection this model provides.”

Unlike other Roly safety gate models that use a chain system to connect the gates, the TCA design uses a proprietary connection and technology system that includes photo eyes and tension monitors that can detect and correct potential issues in the system, as well as products or debris on the floor that would block the gate from closing. If a gate were to get stuck or an error occurs, the system prevents the gate from dropping quickly and can automatically stop the gate movement. The TCA gate can include sensors to integrate it into the WMS and to communicate with AGVs or other robots used in the facility. Guarding to protect the technology is used throughout the design.

Roly safety gates can be purchased in a variety of formats: manual operation, power operated with push button stations or remote control, and TCA. All models fully comply with OSHA’s Walking-Working Surface Fall Protection Standard as well as ANSI fall protection guidelines.

Used in thousands of locations throughout the world, safety gate systems offered by Mezzanine Safeti-Gates are available in single and double-wide pallet widths, and can be customized to accommodate specific pallet widths, depths, and heights. All models, including safety gates for the loading dock and lifts, are available in powder-coated mild steel or electro-polished stainless steel.