Brunswick, Maine
Wally J. Staples values the people on his team. His company, Wally J. Staples Builders in Brunswick, Maine, has been building custom homes since 1993, and during that time, he has worked hard to keep his longtime employees safe and satisfied with their jobs. To deal with the current shortage of tradespeople, Staples took the unique step of constructing a wood shop so that his carpenters could do more of their work indoors before installing custom cabinetry, etc., on site. It was the design of this new facility that led Staples to PS Safety Access™ and its EdgeSafe® Smart Gate.
Over the years, Wally J. Staples Builders had installed cargo lifts for several of its customers who needed to move heavy objects from one floor to another. As he planned his new wood shop, Staples recognized the benefits of including one in his own facility, albeit on a larger scale. It would be the perfect way to make moving heavy cabinets and materials easier on his crew, but it also created a fall hazard when the lift was on a different floor. He needed to protect the area around the cargo lift shaft to prevent anyone from falling 16 feet to the concrete floor below.
“I did some research, and it looked like the EdgeSafe Smart Gate from PS Safety Access was going to be a perfect solution,” Staples recalls, “and I was right.”
He and his team installed EdgeSafe Safety Railings around the perimeter of the cargo lift and an EdgeSafe Safety Gate at its entrance. “Installation was pretty straightforward,” Staples says, “and it has the exact look I was going for – very industrial. I’m happy with the finished product, and the support we got from PS Safety Access was outstanding.”
The EdgeSafe Smart Gate is designed to provide fall protection for guardrail openings, exposed edges or even ground-level applications. It lifts vertically 90 degrees with just one hand and doesn’t have any pinch points, making it ideal for busy workplaces. In addition, the EdgeSafe Smart Gate’s unique Slam- Proof™ technology controls closing speed and reduces noise.
Staples notes that he also installed the optional toeboard on his rails and safety gate in order to provide extra peace of mind. “I was concerned about someone accidentally sweeping materials over the edge and dropping them onto someone below. The toeboards prevent that from happening.”
The EdgeSafe Smart Gate is an important part of Wally J. Staples Builder’s new wood shop, which was created not only to improve the home building experience for the company’s customers, but also to keep workers safe and appeal to prospects who are considering joining the team. “It checks all of the boxes,” Staples says. “I would definitely buy one again.”
To learn more about PS Safety Access, visit www.pssafetyaccess.com or call 877-446-1519.