Here is another incident that reminds us of the potential dangers of automated gates and doors.
Such tragedies clearly demonstrate the importance of a sound risk assessment by an expert prior to the installation of potentially dangerous equipment.
I strongly support all efforts to produce guidance on safety for gates but I am wary of those who primarily seek to profit from the situation; Those who have a vested interest in selling lots of equipment that make installations more expensive, more complicated and more prone to maintenance issues.
There are many very good gate automation companies in this country and around the world. Including the incident above, I am aware of 5 fatalities caused by automated access in the last 5 years. Yet my estimate is that there are over 50,000 installations of automated access equipment in this country alone every year.
This suggests that the vast majority of gate automation installers are fully aware of the potential risks and generally design their systems to avoid danger to their clients. It is always the responsibility – be it legal or moral – for the expert to design the installation to operate in a safe manner. The level of expertise, experience and intelligence of the end user should not matter.
Now the people with vested interests have laid down guidelines which are putting up the cost of an installation forcing responsible companies to try their hardest to stick rigidly to those guidelines.
But there’s a problem. The people with vested interests are not prepared to pay for policing the situation. There is no certification procedure, no inspection procedure no benefit of discounted insurance and not even an agreed training standard. There is also no obligation on the part of anyone to have a safe installation – until someone gets hurt.
So good, conscientious companies and installers with the experience and knowledge to design a safe system are providing quotes that include even more safety equipment. But they are losing work because less experienced and less scrupulous companies are happily quoting for systems without these extras.
The net result is that the very people (cowboys?) who give the industry a bad name and put lives at risk are undercutting the safety-conscious professionals and getting the work. The reputable companies can’t compete as easily as they struggle to convince unaware customers that they should pay more to cover against the very small possibility that someone could get hurt on their automatic gates.
So, what’s the answer? Well, the burglar alarm industry has shown us a way that works. It includes approved membership of an organization achieved by meeting required standards in design, installation, safe working practices, insurance and proper record keeping.
Gate automation installations need to be certified with copies of those certificates held centrally at a small cost per installation. Companies should be inspected and rated on a regular basis with membership published so that end users can find a proper, legitimate installer to provide a safe and reliable automated gate system.
There have been attempts to get something similar established. But without sufficient financial support from those that benefit from the industry, the potential salvation of the professional industry could end up being just another nail in its coffin.
Automate My Gate 