John Deere Rooftop Safety Case Study
OSHA Compliance With Over a Mile of Guardrail
John Deere is a global leader in agricultural, construction, forestry, and turf care equipment, known for its high-quality tractors, harvesters, mowers, and industrial machinery. With a strong emphasis on innovation and precision agriculture, the company serves customers in over 100 countries, supporting both small-scale operations and large commercial enterprises.
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John Deere’s 5 million square foot facility was protected with over a mile of guardrail on the rooftop.
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Self-closing gates were installed near all the ladder access points to allow for safe transitions from ladder to roof and vice versa.
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Because the majority of the project was guardrail, the site is protected without the need for additional user training or regular system inspection and testing.
The Challenge
The 5-million-square-foot John Deere campus in Moline, IL, has many roof levels accessible only by ladders affixed to the outside of the building. This roof access required workers to approach an unprotected roof edge every time they went up or down the ladder. Diversified Fall Protection was contracted to create fall-protected areas on the rooftop surrounding the ladder access points. John Deere wanted their site to be fully OSHA compliant, providing a safe workplace for daily maintenance.
The Solution
Diversified sent out a team of three, including a project manager, the company President, and a senior engineer, to do a complimentary site walk and analysis. They then developed a comprehensive plan to help bring John Deere into safety and OSHA compliance by designing a full perimeter guardrail system, with some smaller guardrail sections in more remote areas of the roof. Diversified also installed self-closing gates to protect employees from falls that might occur when accessing the roof by ladder.
In total, over a mile of guardrail was installed, and John Deere has continued to work with Diversified Fall Protection on additional projects to keep their workers safe. Diversified has also provided guardrail for several other John Deere buildings, as well as a horizontal lifeline system in Greenville, TN, which will allow for safe worker access on the low-slope roof.

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