Commercial

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When specifying an automated gate or traffic barrier it is important to make sure that the product you receive is both safe and compliant with the applicable legislation. The Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations also referred to as the Machinery Directive require that the provider must make sure that the system is safe, taking into account the current state of the art, accompanied with instructions for use and maintenance, a Declaration of Conformity and be CE marked.

The term “state of the art” as required by the Machinery Directive means that the manufacturer of the system must achieve and, in some cases (where standards are proved to be deficient), exceed the levels of safety set out in current product specific standards. These standards come from a package of European standards that have been in place since 2001 although, since then, some have been deemed insufficient. The HSE website may help you with your obligations for the workplace.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/work-equipment-machinery/powered-gates/safety.htm

Once a system is installed it becomes the owner, manager or landlord’s responsibility under various pieces of health and safety legislation to ensure that their system is regularly maintained to keep it safe. HSE has some excellent and comprehensive information on ownership of automated gates

http://www.hse.gov.uk/work-equipment-machinery/powered-gates/responsibilities.htm

Existing systems that do not match current safety standards must be upgraded to protect the interests of the owner, manager or landlord and the safety of users. Safety in use is defined as taking “reasonable and practicable” steps; in practice this will mean achieving the state of the art.

dhf members have been through a rigorous training program that teaches all the legislative and standards-related information to protect both your legal interests and the safety of those who may encounter your gates.

If your gate were to cause injury you could be held liable.