New Code of Practice for Powered Gates

Two national trade bodies are behind the launch of a new code of practice that aims to improve the safety of powered gates. This will help to reduce the risk of death and serious injuries where the use of these gates is concerned.

Reduce the Number of Accidents

The code of practice has been developed by the National Security Inspectorate (NSI) and the Door and Hardware Federation (DHF). They have been working together for two years to develop a workable code that can be implemented and will make a real difference to the safety record of powered barrier gates and other types of security gates. They want to make the risks of using powered gates as low as they possibly can. In the past decade seven people have been killed in the UK and Ireland by these gates, with another nine seriously injured.

Provide Safer Powered Gates

Statistics announced by the DHF at the launch of the code of practice show that out of the 500,000 powered gates in use in this country, just 30% of them are currently considered safe. The code of practice uses European standards, industry best practice and safety legislation to provide help to those within the industry concerning the complete life cycle of these barrier gates, from their initial design and manufacture through to their installation and maintenance.

The DHF Code of Practice for the Design, Manufacture, Installation and Maintenance of Powered Gates will be used by the NSI to audit those organisations which want approval on the use of these gates. This will show which companies are compliant with the code, and those that are will be entitled to provide renewable DHF/NSI certificates to their customers to show that their powered gates comply. This will offer peace of mind to both customers and their users concerning the safety aspects of the gates.

A pilot scheme will run to March 2016 involving selected NSI-approved companies and DHF members. The full NSI approval scheme should be ready to launch within the second quarter of next year.

The organisations' aim is to eliminate accidents relating to powered gates, and they want professional installers to achieve NSI approval to demonstrate the safety of the gates. With everyone involved in the industry working together to implement this new code, accident numbers will be substantially reduced and more gates in existence will be considered safe to use.