Door & Hardware Federation (DHF) has announced that its automated gate safety campaign, Gate Safety Week, has become Gate Safety Month. The Tamworth-based trade association launched the initiative in 2014; since then, the campaign has received increasing national attention and the support of some of the most influential organisations in the security, enforcement, inspection, education and safety sectors, such as HSE and The British Safety Council.
“Such is the profile of Gate Safety Week, that despite already having a year-round presence, it seemed entirely natural to extend the focused campaign from just one week in October, to the entire month,” explain DHF’s Commercial Manager, Patricia Sowsbery-Stevens. “In support of this, DHF is offering a £35 discount on the one-day Level Two Award in Automated Gate & Traffic Barrier Safety training courses (both accredited and non-accredited), taking place during the safety awareness month. These fall on 17th October in Barnsley, and 22nd October in Tamworth.”
Ideal for installers
The course is to educate public on the dangers of poorly installed powered gates
The courses, ideal for installers and maintenance engineers of automated gates and traffic barriers, will provide delegates with knowledge on the safety standards and legal practices in their industry. DHF’s continuing commitment to tackling the thorny issue of gate safety has shone a much-needed spotlight on unsafe automated gates and raised awareness of what proper installation and maintenance should look like, in addition to how to prevent accidents.
In 2019, its objectives remain unchanged: to educate and inform professional installers, industry contacts and the general public on the dangers centred around poorly installed and maintained powered gates, in addition to how to report an unsafe gate and what to look for.
Reducing safety risks associated with automated gates
“When Gate Safety Week started in 2014, it was estimated that more than 70% of the 500,000 automated gates in service in the UK were deemed unfit for use, but as a result of our efforts, significant progress has been made, such as the launch of the industry code of practice, DHF TS 011:2016.” says Patricia. The code, which was updated in 2019, was created to reduce the safety risks associated with automated gates and traffic barriers to as low as is reasonably practicable and was created after discussions with HSE (Health and Safety Executive).
DHF’s Gate Safety Week campaign has continued to gain real traction since 2014 and we’re delighted to extend this to Gate Safety Month; through our training programmes, technical specifications, and collaborative working, we have seen an encouraging improvement in the quality of gate installations as well as the knowledge of installers in the UK," concludes Patricia. "We will continue to work extremely hard to ensure that the risk of injury, or death, caused by automated gates is eliminated.”
