Polybar Group

Impact protection systems are physical barriers and guardrails installed in a facility to prevent vehicles (mostly forklifts and other industrial trucks) from striking structures, equipment, racking systems and people. In Ireland, the HSA’s 2025 Code of Practice for Safe Use of Industrial Trucks sets a clear expectation that facilities operating forklifts must have appropriate physical barriers and pedestrian segregation measures in place.

If you manage a warehouse, manufacturing facility or distribution centre in Ireland or the UK, the question of which impact protection material to specify is one of the most consequential decisions you will make for your facility. It affects your people’s safety, your operational costs, and your compliance position.

A regular mistake in impact protection planning is treating it as a general purchase rather than including it in a targeted safety strategy. Facilities that order a set of barriers and place them based on gut instinct, rather than a proper assessment of how their operation actually moves, often find that the areas that get hit are not the areas they protected. The seven zones included below are common areas where we consistently identify unprotected risks during site assessm

When a forklift strikes a steel barrier, the force does not stop at the barrier. It transfers directly into the floor fixings, the concrete slab and anything else in its path. The barrier deforms. The floor takes damage. And in a clean room or food production environment, paint chips and metal particles become a contamination hazard before anyone has even assessed the structural damage.

Ensuring a safe working environment is not just about complying with regulations, it's about protecting your people, your equipment...

Elevating safety standards with Polybar Group's innovative impact protection systems.