Plastic caps for steel fence posts are inexpensive and widely used on construction sites, but Anthony Burr, founder of Safety Pickets, Inc., warns that their low upfront price obscures far greater costs that can arise when they fail or go missing. Burr, a former concreter who worked around exposed steel star pickets—known as steel T-posts in the US—invented a reusable steel cap to address the problem. He argues that contractors often overlook the full financial impact of uncovered posts until an incident occurs.
Burr’s comparison begins with a basic order: covering 100 posts with his company’s steel caps costs roughly $250 to $300, and the caps can be reused indefinitely. In contrast, he cited an Australian case where uncovered posts led to a fall and a fine of $115,000. “That’s just a fine,” Burr said, noting that the figure excludes site shutdowns, medical bills, or legal claims. For contractors weighing a few hundred dollars against a six-figure penalty, the gap is stark.
Even minor injuries carry significant costs. If a worker cuts a shin on an exposed post and needs stitches, the contractor faces medical bills and must pay the worker for the day of injury plus recovery days. “It can go into the tens of thousands easily,” Burr said. Beyond liability, plastic caps incur ongoing replacement costs because they break, blow away, and become brittle in sun and rain. According to Burr, covering 1,000 posts over five years with reusable steel caps yields a 60 percent saving compared with continually rebuying plastic ones. He adds that steel caps do not rust and will likely outlast the posts themselves. The company details how reusable steel caps cut replacement and waste on its sustainability page.
Labor is another hidden expense. Plastic caps must be put on and taken off every time posts are used, a task Burr describes as the job no one wants. “Every time you put them on, there’s probably half an hour. Every time you take them off, there’s another half an hour,” he said. “So it adds up quite quickly that the plastic caps aren’t actually cheaper.”
Burr also highlights liability from unauthorized individuals. If someone wanders onto a site after hours, even while drinking, and gets hurt on an exposed post, the owner can still face legal action. “They shouldn’t have, but they have every right to be able to sue,” he said. For US contractors and property owners, where such claims are common, this exposure is a critical factor.
For contractors still using plastic caps because nothing has gone wrong yet, Burr’s advice is blunt: “If something can go wrong, then it will. So just the labor costs, the liability, the headaches, and the stress are all hidden costs. Hidden costs that will add up over time. You may not have to outlay it. But it catches up very quickly.” He suggests pricing out replacement caps over several years, labor hours, and the realistic cost of a single injury against the one-time cost of a reusable option. Safety Pickets, Inc. designs and manufactures a patented, reusable steel safety cap for star pickets and t-posts, currently sold across Australia and expanding into the US market. Learn more at safetypickets.com.
