Safety Equipment — 4 Keys to Getting the Most ROI
Guest blog by Aaron Conway, President of Mezzanine Safeti-Gates Inc. (MHI member and ProGMA member)
Whether you are working to spend your safety budget for 2026 or planning for purchases in 2027, we all need to get the most return for our investment. Safety equipment, including safety gate systems, ranges in pricing, and any buyer must look at the ways they are spending money. With the pricing differences, how do you decide which equipment to purchase?
The numbers make a compelling case for investing wisely. Falls are the second leading cause of workplace fatalities, accounting for approximately 16% of all occupational deaths, and slips, trips, and falls caused over 240,000 nonfatal injuries requiring days away from work in 2024 alone. The financial exposure is just as sobering: workers’ compensation claims for falls or slips now average nearly $50,000 per incident. And that’s just what shows up on the insurance bill. For every dollar in direct costs, indirect costs — including workplace disruptions, lost productivity, worker replacement, and increased insurance premiums — can run as high as $2.12, according to the NSC.
The good news? Prevention pays. The NSC has compiled various studies showing that you stand to gain between $2 and $6 for every $1 invested in injury prevention — though it can take several years to see the full return.
The key word in all of this is prevention. Being proactive in safety and equipping each workplace environment to prevent falls and other accidents is always a smart decision, especially when you invest in the right equipment rather than a quick fix. Here are four keys to getting the most ROI out of your safety investment.
1. Choose the Right Equipment
To maximize the return on your investment, it’s important that you choose the right safety equipment for the application. In the case of safety gates, OSHA mandates that all elevated work platforms of 48 inches and higher be protected. ANSI recommends guarding platforms at heights of 36 inches or more. Dual-gate systems are the best way to ensure compliance with ANSI and OSHA standards, and there are many models to choose from. All dual-gate systems feature a gate acting as a barrier to the ledge at all times; when the ledge gate is open, the opposite gate is closed, and when the ledge gate is closed the opposite gate opens to provide employees access to the drop area. Ensuring you have the right design for your specific application will help to increase the ROI of your investment. We’ve created a quick guide to help select the right safety gate model and are always available to discuss specific needs.
2. Factor In Maintenance Costs
Not all safety gates are created equal, and the purchase price is only part of the story. Many gates on the market rely on hinges and mechanical components that wear down over time — especially in busy facilities where gates are cycled dozens of times a day by lift trucks, AGVs, and foot traffic. Parts wear out, hinges fatigue, and before long, a “budget-friendly” gate turns into a recurring maintenance expense that quietly eats into your ROI. When evaluating safety equipment, ask the supplier directly: what does ongoing maintenance look like, and what is the expected service life of the product? The answer will tell you a lot about the true cost of ownership.
3. Look for Added Efficiencies
Safety equipment like dual-gate systems can also help make other processes more efficient — and that equates to added ROI for each safety gate. With today’s technology, users can integrate the operation of the safety gate into their facility systems to track products to each pallet drop area. Safety gate power stations can be wired into a facility’s system so computers can record when gates were operated. Those operational cycles can determine what products have been delivered and processed, identify areas to be replenished, and capture the time to complete each task. For safety managers building a case for budget approval, this kind of operational data can be a powerful tool — it turns a line-item safety expense into a measurable contributor to throughput and efficiency.
4. Ensure It’s Built to Last
Longevity is something to keep in mind when looking for a safety gate for your facility. What may appear to be the cheapest design may end up being the most expensive if the device is always left open or falls apart after a love-tap from a lift truck or bump from an AGV. Look for something well constructed, and made from rugged material. Talk to people who have installed and used the gates themselves, and ask how long the gates have been in use. A gate that fails — or that workers learn to work around — provides no protection at all, and puts you right back into the cost exposure territory outlined above.
Investments in safety can offer further, often unmeasurable ROI as well. Safe facilities regularly equate to happy employees. Knowing there is proper safety equipment in the facility to keep them safe boosts morale and helps retain people for many years. Visible safety equipment can also be a genuine recruiting asset, especially when candidates are touring the facility. The hidden indirect costs of injuries — including absenteeism, temporary labor, slower workflows, and disengagement — can be 2 to 4 times higher than direct costs, which means retaining good employees through a strong safety culture is one of the most underappreciated line items in the HR budget.
The bottom line is that being proactive with safety is a good investment — and the data has never made that case more clearly.
