In situ strength testing of temporary steel guardrails installed on existing Flat-roof parapets
Type de document
Études primaires
Année de publication
2021
Langue
Anglais
Titre de la revue
Practice Periodical on Structural Design and Construction
Résumé
The installation of guardrails around a roof perimeter is an efficient way to protect construction workers against falls from heights, provided the guardrails are strong enough to arrest a fall. A guardrail’s strength relies heavily on its fastening to the roof parapets, and an improper fastening could lead to unsafe guardrails. This article investigates the in situ strength of temporary steel guardrails installed on the flat roof parapets of two existing buildings, respectively built in 2008 and 2013. Thirty-six strength tests were conducted on three different guardrails and four different parapets, considering different methods of fastening the vertical posts to the parapets and varying the fastening hardware. The results show that some guardrails are not easily installed on smaller roof parapets, which could lead to improper installation on some work sites. Fastening using only one plane of the parapet often resulted in guardrails failing before reaching the regulatory strength requirement. Fastening using two planes of the parapets gave satisfactory results in comparison, and that should be the preferred fastening method to guarantee workers’ safety.
Mots-clés
Dispositif d'amarrage, Anchoring device, Travail en hauteur, Work at height, Garde-corps, Railing, Protection contre les chutes de hauteur, Protection against falls from heights, Travaux de construction, Construction work, Résistance des matériaux, Strength of materials, Essai du matériel, Equipment testing, Détermination expérimentale, Experimental determination, Analyse par comparaison, Comparative analysis, Réglementation, Regulation, Méthode de travail et sécurité, Safe working method, Québec
Numéro de projet IRSST
2016-0018
Citation recommandée
Galy, B. (2021). In situ strength testing of temporary steel guardrails installed on existing flat-roof parapets. Practice Periodical on Structural Design and Construction, 26(1), article 04020047. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)SC.1943-5576.0000535
