Case Study: AstraZeneca Rolling Parapet Railing and Non-Penetrating Roof Railing
Location: Tarzana, CA
Date: May 2026
Problem Statement: Alex Vivas, Director of Safety, Health, and Environment (SHE) & Sustainability at AstraZeneca in Los Angeles, California, contacted Safety Rail Source® to resolve two primary rooftop safety challenges at the facility in Tarzana, CA. First, the site required a compliant method to routinely hoist approximately 200 pounds of materials onto the roof, which necessitated creating a temporary gap in the perimeter guardrail at the material landing area.
Second, significant sections of the roof perimeter remained unprotected, including a critical high-risk zone where an existing roof access hatch was located just two feet from the roof edge near the crane landing area. Under OSHA regulation 29 CFR 1910.28, any unguarded roof edge within six feet of a walking-working surface requires dedicated fall protection, as personnel accessing or exiting the hatch work directly within the drop zone.
Problem Resolution: Hal Swindell of Safety Rail Source® engineered a multi-faceted solution tailored to the facility's operational requirements. SRS performed the turn-key installation is less than 2 weeks.
To facilitate safe material transport, an electric crane was mounted onto the parapet near the roof edge, enclosed by a parapet-mounted D-shaped railing to provide crane operators with a secure barrier while maneuvering loads.
To address the open perimeter gap at the material landing area, SRS custom-designed an OSHA-compliant, 8-foot rolling parapet railing section. This system slides open to allow seamless material loading and rolls securely back into place once transfer operations are complete, maintaining continuous perimeter security.
To safeguard the remaining exposed perimeter, SRS supplied 429 linear feet of OSHA-compliant, galvanized, freestanding weighted-base guardrail. The system configuration spans 95' x 32' x 31' x 60' x 88' x 63' x 25' x 33' and integrates a specialized ladder attachment kit with a self-closing safety gate along the 31-foot segment. Utilizing NextGen Continuous Railing™, which features weighted bases supporting continuous top and mid-rails, the installation provides a streamlined, architecturally cohesive aesthetic look superior to standard panelized railing systems.
About Safety Rail Source®: For more than 20 years we’ve been manufacturing state-of-the-art, OSHA-compliant safety products including railings, skylight screens, hatch railings and ladder safety devices. All products are made in the USA. We offer a Turn-Key Service which includes a site visit, safety assessment, solution design, product delivery and installation.
Contact Us: Call our experts at (877) 723-3766 today to discuss your specific needs. We’ll review and assess your safety concerns, design a customized solution for your facility and determine if our Turn-Key Service is right for you.