Unsure how protective guarding works in real facilities? The Protective Guarding Manufacturers Association (ProGMA) has the answer. The group produces videos illustrating different types of protective guarding, key applications, and the standards that help in assessing equipment safety and reliability.
These short, clear animations and explainers serve both as training tools and decision aids for warehouse, distribution center, and manufacturing safety professionals, explained Haley Craig, Marketing Manager at SpaceGuard Products. The company is a ProGMA member; Craig currently serves as Chair of the group’s marketing committee.
“The videos offer visual explanations of common warehouse hazards, like falling materials, automated equipment, overhead conveyors, or robotic cells, and how guarding protects the personnel working near them,” she said. “In short, they show how different guarding solutions work in real-world contexts.”
ProGMA has been producing these videos for many years, Craig continued.
“Feedback from safety managers and procurement teams has been overwhelmingly positive,” she reported. “On average, each video runs for two minutes or less. That helps operations leaders to assess the functionality of different guarding options faster and more clearly than a spec sheet. Some operations even use the videos as part of their safety training programs.”
The videos incorporate demonstrations of how different types of guarding — protective mesh, barriers, partitions, railings, flexible netting — integrate with material handling equipment and workflows. They also strive to reinforce best practices, added Craig.
“Several animations depict how to select the optimal guard, proper anchoring, and how to verify it meets ANSI standard testing requirements,” she said. “Written standards can feel technical and abstract. The videos make their key points easier to visualize.”
Watch Protective Guarding Videos on ProGMA’s YouTube Channel
All of ProGMA’s videos are viewable on the group’s YouTube channel. Currently, 12 videos reside on the page, including the group’s 30-minute ProMAT 2025 Educational Session. Craig noted that the group aims to produce two to three animations annually.
“Our most recent video shone the spotlight on our group and its mission to promote the safety of people working in the vicinity of mechanical equipment and material storage,” she said. “It explains who ProGMA is and why protective guarding exists. Member interviews outline the risks warehouses face — from falling objects to forklift strikes — and explain why guarding is a critical line of defense. It’s a great introduction for anyone new to guarding standards or facility safety.”
The group is currently developing an animated video highlighting safety netting. Craig expects the video to debut by the summer.
ProGMA’s other videos include:
Guidance for Containment Panels Used in Storage Racks
This video explains the new standard guidance for steel mesh protective guards (also known as rack safety panels, rack guarding, or rack back). It emphasizes how containment panels help prevent stored materials from falling out of racks into aisles. This protects personnel, inventory, and warehouse infrastructure. The video also highlights how standard-tested panels provide a reliable, repeatable way to evaluate performance.
Vital Safety Components: Guardrails and Barrier Posts
This video demonstrates how installing guardrails and barrier posts can prevent injuries and damage from impacts. Examples include forklifts or pallet jacks striking storage racks, workstations, or pedestrian areas. It also illustrates the ANSI testing standard for evaluating protective guarding as a physical buffer between moving vehicles and vulnerable infrastructure.
Protecting Your Storage Racks
This video explains how rack protectors, mesh panels, or barriers shield storage racks from collisions and impact damage. It stresses how ordinary warehouse traffic, especially forklifts, can cause structural damage if racks remain unprotected. The video connects rack guarding to safety, cost-savings, and longer rack life.
How to Safely Guard Pallet Drop Areas on Pick Modules and Elevated Work Platforms
The video explores the hazards around pallet drop areas in pick modules and elevated work platforms. In these areas, workers pick orders and move products at heights. It shows how to use guarding to protect personnel and prevent dropped product from injuring people or damaging goods. The video emphasizes the importance of integrating guarding into pick module design and operation.
How to Properly Guard Vertical Reciprocating Conveyors (VRCs)
This video focuses on vertical reciprocating conveyors (VRCs), commonly used in multi-level warehouse structures. It illustrates the risks posed by unguarded VRC openings (fall hazards, dropped items, unauthorized access) and how proper guarding mitigates those risks. The video emphasizes compliance, safety, and clear separation between moving equipment and personnel.
Prevent Accidents & Injuries: Protecting Pedestrians in Industrial Facilities
The video highlights the need to safeguard pedestrian pathways inside warehouses where material handling and vehicle traffic occur. It shows how guardrails, bollards, and barriers create safe separation between people and moving equipment or storage areas. It also makes a strong case for dedicated safe pedestrian zones.
Prevent Industrial Accidents from Overhead Conveyor Systems
This video addresses safety risks tied to overhead conveyors and sortation systems. These include falling boxes or product, jammed loads, or mechanical failure. It demonstrates how protective nets, wire enclosures, or safety partitions can catch falling items to protect personnel or inventory below.
Protective Guarding for Dock Areas / Loading Zones
This video draws attention to the hazards inherent to loading docks and dock areas. Highlighted are moving trucks, forklifts, shifting loads, and pedestrian-vehicle interactions. It shows guarding options like guardrails, bollards, dock door protection, and perimeter barriers. The video details how each helps prevent accidents, tip-overs, or product/employee injury. Further, it explains how guarding makes loading/unloading zones safer and more efficient.
Proper Safeguarding for Elevated Work Platforms
This video shows how to safely guard elevated work platforms, such as mezzanines, pick-modules, or any raised area in a warehouse. It reviews common hazards — like falling materials or people — that come with working at height. Then it highlights railings, barriers, and panels that help reduce fall or drop risks.
Essential Safety Barriers for Automated/Robotic Workcells
This video explores how physical guarding can keep people, inventory, and equipment safe around robotic and automated workcells. It illustrates barrier placement and guarding strategies tailored to automated operations, making it highly relevant for warehouses moving toward automation.
Find More Protective Guarding Resources Online
Looking for more ways to protect people and assets in your facility? The members of ProGMA offer multiple resources and educational information about safety solutions. These include a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs), case studies, and more.
