‘Five year old girl crushed to death by an automatic gate that did not meet British safety standards’
‘The ‘haphazard’ design of a set of electronic gates led to a boy of nine being crushed’
‘Director charged with gross negligence manslaughter after little girl was crushed to death’
These headlines are, unfortunately, becoming increasingly common as poorly installed and badly maintained gates continue to endanger the lives of those who use them.
Gate and barrier safety should be of the upmost importance to any business to protect all those who require access to a premises through the use of a gate or barrier. Here at Newgate, we work tirelessly to ensure that all of our products are installed correctly and meet the necessary safety regulations.
The Legislation
Automated gates and barriers are now classified as machinery under the EU Machinery Directive and the Supply of machinery Regulations which bought the EU Machinery Directive into UK law.
This law requires the person responsible for the gate/barrier to ensure that essential health & safety requirements are met, which includes ensuring a conformity assessment is carried out and the gate is correctly CE marked. Once the gate/barrier is in use, should it fail in any way or cause harm or injury to an individual, the responsible person can be prosecuted under UK criminal law.
The law also states that employers have a responsibility under section 2 of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 to ensure, as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of employees and other persons who may be affected by work activities. The Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999 further imposes a specific duty on employers to carry out suitable risk assessments of all potential health and safety risks to employees and visitors alike.
This legislation includes any security installations such as gates or barriers and is particularly important in today’s society as more and more gates and barriers are entirely automated and require no manual input. It is essential to ensure that these types of products are installed and maintained correctly as the lack of human input can, in some cases, make them more dangerous should faults occur.
Maintenance
Poorly maintained components and parts can wear and fail, sometimes catastrophically. Ensuring security products are safely installed and well maintained is essential in any environment where these are used regularly on a daily basis.
Regular and thorough checks are imperative to ensure that any security installations are functioning as intended and can often prevent any injuries as compromised and faulty components can be caught sooner, allowing them to be repaired quicker.
You may be thinking, how do I know what to look for when checking my gates/barriers?
Well, here at Newgate we offer extensive aftercare packages to ensure that all of our gates and barriers are maintained correctly. These packages range from product servicing and repair to general maintenance packages to always ensure that your security installations are functioning as they should. Customers can also request for a qualified engineer to visit your premises to carry out a full service and check that everything is functioning as normal.
If you are unsure about the safety of your gates or barriers or you require any product servicing or maintenance, please contact the Newgate team today on 01636 700172 or email lee.sargisson@newagte.uk.com
