H & S, Quality
Health, safety and quality are at the heart of Procter Sliding Gates
Sliding gate safety is the main focus for Procter sliding gate manufacturing team. The very nature of a sliding gate means there are potential health and safety risks - as there are with any large mechanical device or piece of machinery. Reducing these risks to an absolute minimum to ensure the operation of any of our sliding gates is extremely safe, is central to how we think and work at Procter Sliding Gates.
Sliding Gates Safety
what architects and specifiers need to know
Providing any sliding gate is manufactured and installed correctly and fully adheres to all current sliding gate safety regulations, there is no reason why it shouldn't be very safe in operation. The current regulations mean that automatic sliding gate must be CE marked in accordance with the Europe Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC. This position was strengthened with a new Directive which came into force in December 2009 which is more explicit about the duties of national governments regarding enforcement.
Hazards
At Procter Sliding Gates we fully understand all the potential hazards a sliding gate could present. Whilst we're entirely confident about our sliding gate safety, we've only got to this position by recognising what the potential mechanical hazards are: Crushing, cutting, shearing, entanglement, drawing-in and trapping. There could also be electrical, hydraulic and other hazards, depending on the design of the gate and its operating mechanism. When we address such hazards, our aim is to design them out as much as possible, then provide guards, then finally use detection and warning devices to reduce any remaining hazards to an acceptable level.
 Sliding Gate Safety Fence to Guard the run-back |
 Lightbeams to detect a person or vehicle |
Installation and Maintenance
As the manufacturer, we also install the sliding gate as it is only after installation that it can be CE marked and a Declaration of Conformity provided. We fully ensure all our gates are installed correctly in order that they perform as intended and with the required level of safety.
We recommended that powered sliding gates should also be serviced annually or, if heavily used, every six months. Servicing maintains the ooperating mechanism and guides in good condition and also ensures the safety features are functionin correctly.
For more detailed information about the safety requirements for powered gates dowload "The Guide to Gate Safety Legislation and Standards" or read online.
