You may have seen a trend among successful businesses to plate the bottom of their doors and the edges of their walkways with a sleek metal edging, sometimes in attractive polished or patterned metal and sometimes in textured treadplate or sturdy, solid stainless steel.
While perhaps not responsible for the success of these businesses on their own, these kick plates are indicative of a successful mindset – careful, considerate, and willing to invest to protect important business assets.
With a kick plate, your doors are protected from unnecessary wear and tear, and remain aesthetically pleasing and highly functional for much longer than when unclad and unprotected. Your walkways and railings, when equipped with kickplates, become much more effective in guaranteeing the safety of users and materiel, preventing things from rolling off and falling to strike people or objects below. While it may seem a superficial addition to safety, it is not to be taken lightly – falling objects account for a considerable proportion of workplace injuries, and the addition of the kickplate also stops staff from misplacing their foot outside of the boundaries of the railing, as the plate would soon stop it.
What is a Kick Plate?
A kick plate is a metal plate which serves as a barrier or armour component on a door, a railing, or any other situation where the impact from a kick must be dissipated. They can help your business by preventing wear and tear on your doors, preventing falling items from a high area, and creating a pleasant aesthetic where applied – a brass kick plate, for example, is a classic component of a classy, elegant door.
A kick plate is usually secured to a door by the use of fixing screws, and is ordinarily bolted, riveted or made integral to a safety railing system, so as to guarantee optimum performance and superior durability. As strength and durability are vital to a kick plate’s proper function, attachment type is vital – but luckily, Guardrail Engineering, as some of the most established providers of safety installations and kick plates, are able to provide this service at an industry-leading standard.
What are the Applications for Kickplates?
Kick plates have two primary applications: attachment to doors to reduce or eliminate wear and tear, or attachment to safety guard rail systems to prevent items from rolling off and falling, and prevent users from placing their feet outside the bounds of the railing.
Doors
When attached to a door, a kick plate serves the same function that an armour plate would, protecting the door from impacts, abrasion, scuffing and other damage. With a kick plate installed, your door will be much more resistant to damage caused by everyday wear and tear, prolonging its lifespan and improving the effectiveness of your investment, reducing maintenance and preventing the need to repair or replace the door during its normal life cycle.
This is especially crucial in environments where trolleys are commonly used to carry items, like warehouses, industrial settings, restaurants, hotels, schools and hospitals, as impacts from trolleys, or the effect of being pushed open by a trolley, will very quickly wear a door down. In these settings, a hardy kick plate is absolutely invaluable.
Railings
When attached to a railing, a kick plate (or “toe plate”) serves a dual function: it stops items from rolling off and falling, which poses a hazard both to people or materiel below, and to the item itself, which may be damaged or destroyed by a fall, plus it also prevents people on the walkway from misplacing a step outside of its bounds. When it fulfils this purpose, it will normally be “kicked” – hence the name.
Can A Kickplate Be Attached to a Walkway?
A kickplate can be attached to a walkway, offering a great defence against falling items and misplaced steps – Guardrail Engineering offers kick plate attachment as one of our standard services for guardrails, so ask us today to see what we can do for you!
Contact Guardrail Engineering Today!
For more information on our kick plates and other services, or to talk to us about what our expert team can do for you, you can get in touch with us on our telephone number, 01902 871208, or click through to our website, accessible by following any of the links in this blog post!
The engineering experts and safety technicians at our head office will be happy to answer any questions you may have about kick plates or other guard rail technology, its applications and how it can help you, and they’ll be more than happy to provide a quotation if you ask for one.
Just get in touch today to find out what we can do for you – from high-performance guardrails to sturdy, reliable kick plates, Guardrail Engineering can help you!