IOSH is to partner with a national safety campaign to raise awareness of the importance of automated-gate safety among health and safety professionals.
Gate Safe – which was set up at the beginning of this year in the wake of the deaths of two children in separate incidents involving electric gates – wants to see the issue move higher up the safety agenda and, in particular, achieve broader recognition from the architect, construction and surveying communities.
The campaign has already been commended by the HSE for its efforts to date, which include: the first ever Gate Safety Summit; taking a petition to Downing Street; undertaking surveys to underpin the high level of risk of an automated-gate accident reoccurring; and launching the Gate Safe website.
Together with IOSH, Gate Safe will be participating in a number of industry networking events, with the aim of educating a cross section of professionals on standards of best practice in relation to a safe automated-gate installation. Upcoming events include a RIBA CPD roadshow in London on 8 September, and a retail and construction networking event in Daventry on 22 September.
The announcement of the partnership came just before another serious incident involving a child being trapped in electronic gates made the headlines. The incident happened on a residential housing development in Gorton, near Manchester. A seven-year-old girl narrowly escaped serious injury following the activation of an electric gate as she tried to squeeze through a gap between the gates and post. The girl was cut free by fire-fighters and suffered no major injuries.
According to Gate Safe, it appears that the necessary safety precautions to prevent this type of incident were not in place – had they been, the gate automation would have gone into reverse, instantly freeing the child.
Commenting on the incident, Richard Jackson, CEO of Jacksons Fencing, the company behind the inception of the Gate Safe campaign, said: “We are urging all professionals involved in the automatic gate installation and gate maintenance process – from specifiers through to installers – to ensure that any gate automation project they are involved in meets with the safety criteria listed on the Gate Safe website.”
www.gate-safe.co.uk also features information on the upcoming events, as well as details of the comprehensive CPD programme developed by the campaign.
