Most people who know Unistrut think of channel, fittings, and hardware. It's what the system is built around and what shows up in most conversations about metal framing. What's less commonly known is that the same Unistrut framing system that supports your conduit runs and equipment frames also provides the structural backbone for platforms, catwalks, mezzanines, and rooftop walkways, and that the walking surface those structures require deserves as much specification attention as the framing beneath it.
For years, United Interlock Grating was the walking surface that paired with Unistrut framing in those applications. It was a well-designed system with a lot going for it, including a mechanical interlock design that eliminated welding, an open-air construction that drained water and debris, and direct compatibility with Unistrut channel and hardware. Unistrut discontinued the product line a few years ago. The sales volume didn't justify the manufacturing complexity, and it wasn't considered a core product. For customers who specified it, the discontinuation created a gap.
USC fills that gap with Grip Strut Safety Grating, and in several practical respects it's a better product for the applications most customers actually need it for.
What Grip Strut Is and How It Works
Grip Strut Safety Grating is a one-piece formed steel plank with a distinctive diamond-shaped surface pattern. The die-formed diamonds create a slip-resistant surface that works in all directions, not just perpendicular to the direction of travel. That omnidirectional traction matters in real-world applications where workers are turning, carrying materials, or moving in variable directions across the surface.
The surface geometry is specifically designed for conditions that create slip hazards: mud, ice, snow, grease, oil, and cleaning detergents. For rooftop walkways where ice and standing water are seasonal realities, or for industrial catwalks where process fluids may be present, Grip Strut's surface profile provides meaningful protection against the slip-and-fall incidents that cost facilities both workers and liability exposure.
USC stocks Grip Strut in two standard plank sizes: 4-Diamond planks at 9-1/2 inches wide in 12-gauge steel, and 5-Diamond planks at 11-3/4 inches wide in 12-gauge steel. Aluminum is available by special request for applications where corrosion resistance or weight reduction are priorities. An optional integrated toe plate is available, which saves installation time on platforms and catwalks where toe boards are required by OSHA for personnel protection below.
Why Grip Strut Replaced United Interlock Grating in Practice
When both products were available, USC found Grip Strut to be more cost effective and better stocked than the Unistrut interlock product. Lead time and availability are practical considerations that affect real projects, and a grating product that's consistently in stock is more useful than one that periodically creates sourcing delays.
The cost advantage means that for most rooftop walkway, catwalk, and platform applications, Grip Strut delivers comparable or better performance at a lower price point than United Interlock Grating carried. That's a combination that's hard to argue with when you're specifying for a project with a defined budget and a real installation timeline.
The form, fit, and function for the core applications are similar. Grip Strut attaches to Unistrut framing using standard channel nuts and hardware, integrates cleanly into Unistrut-framed platform structures, and provides the slip-resistant walking surface that OSHA and common sense require for elevated platforms and walkways.
Where Grip Strut Gets Specified
The application range mirrors what United Interlock Grating covered, with Grip Strut now being the product USC recommends and supplies for these uses.
Rooftop walkways are the most common application. Facilities with rooftop HVAC equipment, solar arrays, communications infrastructure, or any other equipment requiring periodic service access need a defined, protected pathway for technicians. A Unistrut-framed walkway system with Grip Strut grating as the walking surface protects both the workers using it and the roof membrane beneath it. The non-penetrating base attachment approach that works with Unistrut rooftop systems avoids roof membrane penetrations that create leak risk.
Industrial catwalks and access platforms are the second major application. Facilities with overhead equipment, elevated process machinery, or mezzanine-level storage need compliant personnel access. Grip Strut-surfaced Unistrut platforms provide OSHA-compliant walking surfaces with the structural performance required for personnel loads, and the open-air design allows drainage and prevents the accumulation of debris, oil, or process fluids on the surface.
Crossover platforms address a specific hazard that's common in facilities with dense equipment layouts or rooftops with multiple pipe runs, conduit trays, and mechanical systems. Workers navigating between systems across those obstacles face a tripping hazard at elevation. A Unistrut-framed crossover with Grip Strut walking surface converts that trip hazard into a defined, safe crossing point.
Stairway systems using Grip Strut treads complete the access system for elevated platforms and mezzanines. The same slip-resistant surface characteristics that make Grip Strut appropriate for flat walking surfaces apply to stair treads, where the consequences of a slip are compounded by the elevation change.
Specifying for the Application
A few specification considerations consistently affect how well grating performs in service.
Surface selection matters. Grip Strut's diamond pattern provides slip resistance in all directions by design, which addresses the primary surface safety concern for most applications. For applications with particularly aggressive contamination, the toe plate option should be evaluated. OSHA requires toe boards on open-sided elevated platforms where there's a risk of objects rolling off the edge onto people below. Specifying the integrated toe plate option during grating procurement is simpler than sourcing and installing separate toe board material after the fact.
Material selection matters for corrosive environments. Standard carbon steel Grip Strut with appropriate coating handles the vast majority of applications. For environments with significant chemical exposure, coastal installations with persistent salt air, or applications where aluminum's natural corrosion resistance is preferable to a coated steel surface, USC can discuss aluminum Grip Strut availability for your specific project.
Sizing for the span between supports affects structural performance. As with any grating, the plank size and the span between framing members need to be matched to the load requirements of the application. Personnel-only access platforms have different load requirements than platforms that also need to support equipment, material carts, or occasional concentrated loads. The Grip Strut data sheet available through USC provides the load and deflection information needed to make that determination correctly.
Where USC Fits In
USC supplies Grip Strut Safety Grating alongside the Unistrut framing components that support it, which means your walkway or platform project comes from one supplier relationship rather than multiple sources. For projects where the framing and the walking surface arrive together, coordinated to the same layout, the installation goes together more cleanly than when grating and framing are procured separately and reconciled on site.
Grip Strut can be cut to length by USC before it ships, which means installation crews receive panels sized for your specific platform layout rather than full-length stock they need to cut in the field. That pre-cut approach is the same efficiency that USC's OEM customers get on channel and hardware, applied to the walking surface itself.
For facilities or contractors developing rooftop walkway or platform designs, USC can help work through the framing configuration, grating sizing, and hardware selection. Getting the design right before procurement is simpler than discovering a sizing or compatibility issue when material is already on site.
The Most Important Part is Your Custom Part. When that part includes a platform or walkway where people need to work safely, the walking surface deserves as much specification attention as the structure beneath it. Contact the USC team to discuss your grating and walkway requirements, or view the Grip Strut Safety Grating product page for specifications and to request a quote.