ISO 5480:2020

Ships and marine technology - Guardrails for cargo ships

This document specifies dimensions, materials, quality of manufacture and finish for guardrails and stanchions fitted on exposed freeboard and superstructure decks of cargo ships to prevent personnel falling overboard or to lower decks. It is not applicable to guardrails fitted near compasses.

Navires et technologie maritime — Garde-corps pour navire de charge

General Information

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 23-Feb-2020
• ICS: 47.020.10 - Hulls and their structure elements
• Technical Committee: ISO/TC 8/SC 8 - Ship design
• Drafting Committee: ISO/TC 8/SC 8 - Ship design
• Current Stage: 9060 - Close of review
• Completion Date: 02-Sep-2030

Relations

• Consolidated By: ISO 19115-3:2023 - Geographic information - Metadata - Part 3: XML schema implementation for fundamental concepts
• Effective Date: 06-Jun-2022
• Revises: ISO 5480:1979 - Shipbuilding - Guardrails for cargo ships
• Effective Date: 30-Sep-2017

Overview

ISO 5480:2020 - Ships and marine technology - Guardrails for cargo ships - specifies the dimensions, materials, manufacture and finish requirements for guardrails and stanchions fitted on exposed freeboard and superstructure decks of cargo ships. Its purpose is to reduce the risk of personnel falling overboard or to lower decks. The standard applies to cargo ships (excluding guardrails fitted near compasses) and aligns cargo-ship design with the International Convention on Loadlines (Annex 1, Ch. II, Reg. 25).

Key topics and technical requirements

• Principal dimensions
  • Toprail height: minimum 1 000 mm measured from toprail to deck/waterway plank.
  • Opening below lowest rail: max 230 mm.
  • Opening between upper courses: max 380 mm.
  • Maximum stanchion spacing: 1 500 mm.
• Materials
  • Stanchions and stays: weldable steel (stanchion flat bar 60 × 15 mm or equivalent section modulus; stays 60 × 9 mm or equivalent).
  • Steel toprails: tube min 34 mm OD, wall ≥ 2.6 mm, or wooden toprails 125 × 60 mm (teak or equivalent hardwood).
  • Lower rails: solid round bar ≥ 19 mm or tube 26.9 mm OD, wall ≥ 2.3 mm.
  • Fasteners and finishes: conform to ISO 65, ISO 887, ISO 898-1 and galvanizing per ISO 1461.
• Design & installation
  • Rails welded to inside edge of stanchions or passed through holes and welded.
  • Stays welded to stanchions at mid‑height at approximately 30°.
  • Fairlead and special arrangements illustrated; stays may be omitted where calculations permit.
• Structural calculation
  • Annex A provides a method for summation of section modulus for combined stanchion + stay, allowing optimized sizing when appropriate.
• Quality & finish
  • Components must be free from defects likely to cause injury and receive protective finishes suitable for shipboard environment.

Applications and users

ISO 5480:2020 is used by:

• Shipbuilders, shipyards and manufacturers for guardrail design and fabrication.
• Naval architects and marine engineers specifying deck safety features.
• Classification societies and flag state surveyors assessing compliance with loadline and safety requirements.
• Ship owners and operators for procurement, retrofit and maintenance specifications.
• Safety and offshore personnel implementing fall-prevention measures on cargo ships.

Practical applications include design drawings, production tolerances, on-board inspections, and specification of materials, welding and protective coatings.

Related standards

• IMO International Convention on Load Lines, 1966 (referred to in the Introduction)
• ISO 1461 - Hot‑dip galvanizing
• ISO 80000-4 - Quantities and units: mechanics (section modulus reference)
• ISO 65, ISO 887, ISO 898-1 - referenced for tubes and fasteners

Keywords: ISO 5480:2020, guardrails, cargo ships, stanchions, toprails, marine safety, ship design, guardrail dimensions, shipboard fall prevention.

Standards Content (Sample)

INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 5480
Second edition
2020-02
Ships and marine technology —
Guardrails for cargo ships
Navires et technologie maritime — Garde-corps pour navire de charge
Reference number
©
ISO 2020
© ISO 2020
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part of this publication may
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below or ISO’s member body in the country of the requester.
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ii © ISO 2020 – All rights reserved

Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Materials . 2
5 Design, construction and installation. 2
5.1 Principal dimensions . 2
5.2 Stanchions . 2
5.3 Rails . 2
5.4 Stays . 3
5.5 Fairlead positions . 3
6 Quality of manufacture and finish. 3
Annex A (informative) Summation of section modulus .11
Bibliography .13
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out
through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical
committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International
organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work.
ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of
electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www .iso .org/ directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of
any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction and/or
on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www .iso .org/ patents).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and
expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the
World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), see www .iso .org/
iso/ foreword .html.
This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 8, Ships and marine technology,
Subcommittee SC 8, Ship design.
This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition (ISO 5480:1979), which has been technically
revised.
The main changes compared to the previous edition are as follows:
— the normative references have been updated;
— the diameter of the lower rails and the toprails have been changed;
— the size of the stays has been changed;
— technical advice has been added as the second paragraph in 5.4.1;
— the guardrails from Figure 1 to Figure 4 have been editorially amended, and guardrails at
multipurpose fairlead in Figure 4 have been updated;
— the summation of section modulus has been added as Annex A.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www .iso .org/ members .html.
iv © ISO 2020 – All rights reserved

Introduction
Cargo ships meeting the requirements of this document are deemed to comply with the regulations of
the International Convention on Loadlines, 1966 Annex 1, Chapter II, Regulation 25, Paragraphs 2 and
3, as amended by the Protocol of 1988.
NOTE Users of this document are understood to be aware of any other statutory requirements, rules and
regulations that can be applicable to the individual ships concerned.
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 5480:2020(E)
Ships and marine technology — Guardrails for cargo ships
1 Scope
This document specifies dimensions, materials, quality of manufacture and finish for guardrails and
stanchions fitted on exposed freeboard and superstructure decks of cargo ships to prevent personnel
falling overboard or to lower decks. It is not applicable to guardrails fitted near compasses.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 65, Carbon steel tubes suitable for screwing in accordance with ISO 7-1
ISO 887, Plain washers for metric bolts, screws and nuts for general purposes — General plan
ISO 898-1, Mechanical properties of fasteners made of carbon steel and alloy steel — Part 1: Bolts, screws
and studs with specified property classes — Coarse thread and fine
...