Guidance on powered gate safety is being given to local authority officials, building and construction professionals and architects in a series of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) seminars being delivered in the run up to Gate Safety Week (October 12 to 18).
The seminars are part of the Gate Safety Week campaign for raising awareness of the safety risks posed by incorrectly installed and poorly maintained automated gates. The week is being run by the Door & Hardware Federation (DHF) Powered Gate Group with a message that all those responsible for automated gates – owners, maintainers, installers – must ensure the gates are safe to use.
In recent years, three children and three adults have been killed in gate accidents in the UK. There are more than 500,000 automated gates in service in car parks, commercial buildings, schools, apartment blocks and public buildings around the country – yet it is estimated less than 30 per cent of these are safe to use.
The seminars are being presented by Neil Sampson, pictured, director of installer Green Gate Access Systems. He is chairman of the DHF Powered Gate Group, which represents manufacturers, suppliers, installers and maintainers of powered automatic gates and gate automation equipment.
More than 200 county council architectural liaison officers, construction professionals, surveyors and architects are attending the CPD-recognised seminars. Neil describes the large scale of the problem of unsafe gates, outlines the legislation and standards governing gate safety and shows who is responsible for ensuring both new and existing gate installations are compliant and safe.
He said: “Properly installed and maintained automated gates are perfectly safe to use – but the majority of them still do not comply with current legislation and are potentially dangerous. The proportion of unsafe gates is thankfully falling as installation standards in the industry continue to rise, due to responsible manufacturers and installers joining our gate safety campaign. But there is much more work to do.
“The seminars are designed to show that the standards governing gate safety are actually in place to help those responsible for powered gates. They explain what the risks are and how those risks can be identified by testing and then eliminated. Our industry will no longer tolerate unsafe automated gate installations being carried out by unskilled installers, or gates that are dangerous due to lack of testing and maintenance.”
The next seminars are at Gillingham (September 8); Waterloo, London (September 9); Salisbury ((September 17); and Dover (November 3). To book places contact the DHF (phone 01827 52337, [email protected]). Visit www.gatesafetyweek.org.uk.
