Child becomes trapped in gate
Last year Worksafe issued a Safety Alert stressing the severe health and safety risks posed by Automated Gates following an incident in which a child was seriously injured.
At Hampden, we believe with the right design and equipment such incidents are completely avoidable.
What happened?
A child became trapped in an automated gate as it opened to let a car through. The gate wedged the child between it and the wall. Luckily, a group of adults close by were able to free the child, who has since made a full recovery. If the adults had not been there to intervene, the child could have been crushed to death.
How did it happen?
The child was playing in a public park in front of an automated gate that retracts to ‘open’ after a car has activated it via sensor under the driveway. The child was standing at the end of the gate by the gate housing into which the gate retracts.
As the gate opened, and the child was dragged into the gate bars and pinned against the wall of the gate housing.
The gate had no safety devices to protect people from injury as it was opening. Such devices are designed to detect obstructions including objects and people then stop the gate and force it to move in the opposite direction, so the object or person is released.
What can be learnt from this incident?
Automated gates without safety devices are hazardous when opening and closing. The gate in this incident did have a photo-electric beam that would stop the gate if the beam was broken while the gate was closing. However, if the gate was opening (as it was on this occasion) and the beam was broken, the gate would not stop. This led to the child becoming trapped and crushed.
While it is common for gates to have these photo-electric beams, organisations that control the grounds on which such gates are installed may not be aware of the safety issue when the gate is opening.
What is Hampden doing?
Taking on-board Worksafe Recommendations raised by this incident to reduce the health and safety risk for our clients, the following items are standard for all Hampden automation installations:
Photocell (photo beams) sensors a minimum of two sets for better coverage
Signage warning people to keep clear of automated gates
During commissioning, torque on the gear-motor will be limited while matching the specific needs of site, automatic reversal when an obstruction is detected.
The following items are available as an optional upgrade:
Flashing beacon and buzzer devices to warn persons of gate movement
Safety rubber edges (pressure sensor) for a gate’s leading edge
Clearly labelled and accessible Emergency Stop Button, programmed with reverse
Hampden is happy to answer any questions and can recommend a gate design, together with an automation package, that will best suit your needs.
