Should guardrails be installed along the boundaries of the equipment area?
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A netizen asked: Should guardrails be installed along the boundaries of the equipment area? Are there any regulatory requirements? @Unstoppable
Large petrochemical plants generally have grid barriers, while integrated plants usually use road barriers without grids. I’m not very familiar with small and medium-sized chemical plants.
I think it depends on the characteristics of the device. In the large-scale chemical plants designed these days, since the space utilization is more efficient, partition barriers between units are now rarely seen. In the past, I has been on business trips to Daqing Petrochemical and Jihua, as well as various oil-related factories in Fushun; the separation between some of those facilities involved not only guardrails but also walls, drainage ditches, and wide pathways. Back then, land wasn’t valuable; people would take as much land as they could and enclose it with walls or fences.
If a “leading expert” demands it, then one has to install it. The equipment areas vary, and so do the requirements. Specifically, one needs to find the relevant standards; it’s best to turn to a design institute. For reference.
In our plant, each processing area is enclosed by stainless steel railings, with one electronic access gate and several emergency exit doors (which are sealed with lead seals and open outward). This is mainly to prevent theft and keep unauthorized personnel out. However, it makes inspections difficult; running around in case of an emergency becomes even more troublesome. Checking the cleanliness daily and wiping the railings as well: L
Isn’t there a cofferdam already? Isn’t putting up guardrails a waste?