Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to safety rail systems.
Safety rail systems are used to prevent workers or other people from falling off of elevated surfaces or to prevent people from entering dangerous or restricted areas. Conventional safety rail systems may be permanent or temporary. Permanent rail systems are installed on site and are typically integrally mounted or constructed to the surface or area to be protected, which presents a number of drawbacks. For example, these rail systems must be designed and specified by a safety expert and a structural expert, who must coordinate with the building's architect for aesthetic considerations. This tremendously increases the building cost. Permanent railing systems also cannot be removed, which may reduce the building's aesthetic appeal. Temporary railing systems may be used instead of permanent rail systems, but they have drawbacks as well. For example, temporary rail systems must be installed before the protected area can be used or worked on. This is time consuming and costly. In addition, the workers installing the temporary railing system either do not have fall protection or must use alternative fall protection, which further increases time and cost. Also, temporary railing systems may be installed incorrectly by unskilled non-safety oriented workers.