Gates have been fundamental to perimeter security for centuries with the addition of motive power a relatively recent development. However, as the world has become more security conscious, the number of powered gate installations has risen markedly and now stands at an estimated 500,000 in the UK alone, writes Graeme Hazlewood, Business Development Director, at the NSI (National Security Inspectorate), pictured.
No longer confined to the high security installations, powered gates have become commonplace and now protect commercial premises, retail outlets, education establishments and private homes.
Such installations are not obviously dangerous but can be. A large, heavy object under power can cause a lot of damage. The issue isn’t the number of installations, but the proportion that are considered unsafe, which is estimated to be 70 per cent. It is imperative that something is done to deal with this legacy of unsafe gates, and to ensure the 12000 new gates being installed annually are safe. But why should this concern those that install and maintain these gates? Incidents that lead to either injury or death are thankfully quite rare, but when they do occur the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) takes them very seriously, and will prosecute.
Example cases illustrate the consequences for installers and maintainers caught up in an incident. In one, a child’s head trapped in a gate led to one installer being fined just over £4000. In another involving the death of a child, two companies responsible for the gate’s maintenance received combined fines and costs of nearly £200000, on top of the management time lost in the investigation, the reputational damage and personal stress of all involved.
Such incidents are infrequent, but can be catastrophic for the victims and very expensive for those found liable. There’s is a real need for awareness of the law and companies’ responsibilities.
The law
Evidence shows that installers that understand the rules, standards and law when installing high-tech security and fire products find those that apply to less sophisticated powered gates confusing, complex, and hard to find.
The Health and Safety at Work Act (the Act) demands that employers and the self-employed conduct their work in such a way that, as far as reasonably practicable, does not expose others, whether other workers or members of the public, to health or safety risks.
However, few installers realise that under the Supply of Machinery Regulations (the Regulations) they can become, in effect, manufacturers, and so “duty-holders” under the Act, if they add power equipment to existing manual gates.
Mark Gallagher, Technical Officer at the National Security Inspectorate (NSI), many of whose approved companies are in the powered gate business, makes a key point: “The Regulations only require a powered gate to be safe when new. They apply to the manufacturer, the installer who assembles on site, or an installer who later adds a motor to an unpowered gate.” It’s the last two “categories” that concern him the most as they don’t always realise their obligations.
But when it comes to maintaining a powered gate the law is definite. Installers’ responsibilities follow on from Section 3 of the Act. It states that the result of whatever work they do must be safe for anyone who is not an employee. This section is widely used by HSE when they prosecute.
So what? Well the Act says that that it’s the last person to touch a gate who will be held responsible if an accident occurs. In most cases this is the installer but those adding components to an existing gate have even greater responsibilities. Few installers and sub-contractors understand this, especially where they inherit a powered gate installation with no involvement with the original design or installation, or take over the maintenance contract for someone else’s work. The bottom line is: if you do any work on the gate it’s your responsibility to make sure it’s safe when you hand it over, and if it’s not to tell the owner so they can take action.
Skills, standards and certification
The NSI and Door and Hardware Federation (DHF), a trade association for the industry were concerned about the lack of oversight in the powered gate sector, with installers facing a mass of rules and regulations, and no code of practice or certification scheme for their activities.
In 2010, following the deaths of two children in accidents DHF formed its Powered Gate Group, with encouragement from HSE. The Group introduced its Powered Gate Safety Diploma to provide high grade training for installers. In 2012 NSI and DHF came together to develop a Code of Practice for the industry and a certification scheme to back it up. Both went live in June this year, with DHF TS 011: 2016: Code of Practice for the Design, Manufacture, Installation and Maintenance of Powered Gates and Traffic Barriers, and the NSI Gates Certification Scheme to check and maintain standards.
DHF TS 011:2016 has been written to cover installers’ responsibilities for gate design, new installations, risk assessment and commissioning. It details installer’s responsibility for the maintenance and modification of existing gates and covers risk assessment, safe isolation and documentation – all written in plain English in one document.
The NSI Gates Certification Scheme aims to reduce the safety risks associated with powered gates to as low a level as is reasonably practicable by checking the standards installers operate to. As Gallagher puts it, “product audit isn’t new, but it has been shown to improve standards.” He adds that it also increases competence and awareness of the risks: “better designs lead to lower risks.”
There are two parts to the scheme: Gates Gold and Gates Silver. Gold is for companies that install and maintain powered gates, barriers and gate automation equipment according to DHF TS 011: 2016. They must also operate an ISO 9001 Quality Management System. Gates Silver is for companies installing and maintaining powered gates to the Code that do not operate an ISO 9001 Quality Management System. The scheme could be seen as a stepping-stone to Gates Gold.
For installers, certification provides, for the first time, evidence of compliance to high standards policed through an audit regime that buyers, specifiers and users of powered gates can have confidence in. Demonstrating these high standards should give companies a competitive advantage in the market.
The gate safety issue is recognised and can be overcome if firms buy in to the new regime. With the first companies to achieve Gates Gold soon to be announced the initial steps to making the industry safer have been made.
If you would like more information on the DHF Code of Practice or NSI Gates Silver and Gates, contact Mark Gallagher, technical officer at the NSI, on 01628 764857 or [email protected].
Tremorfa’s point of view
Stephen Winter, physical security specialist at Tremorfa, a South Wales based NSI-approved company and DHF member, specialising in security and fire systems and powered gates, is well aware that the goalposts surrounding gate manufacture, installation and maintenance have moved to make them safer.
The problem, as Winter sees it, is that “people don’t realise how dangerous gates are – automated or manual.” He adds that because they can weigh anywhere from a few hundred kilograms to a couple of tonnes an automated gate becomes more dangerous as it’s often being operated by someone who cannot see it.
For Winter, the biggest issue is that prior to the launch of the Code of Practice and NSI certification, information on the law and principles of safe gate design and installation were not available in a digestible format. “The industry is full of comparatively small players who don’t have the resources to find out and analyse the detail. The new code has distilled the principles down into a usable and manageable 44-page document.”
Tremorfa is forging ahead with Gates Gold certification. Winter suggests that meeting the requirement can help as a marketing tool: “I’d like to think that it’ll drive the standards up; it’s better for customers to see that there are standards that are being independently audited.” Winter’s also hoping that a combination of the Code and NSI certification will push the cowboys out of the industry.
