Clearview National October 2019 - Issue 215 | Page 8

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DHF implores for training and
compliance following death of six-
year-old crushed by unsafe gate
Tamworth-based trade association, DHF (Door & Hardware Federation), has called
on the industry to ‘do better’ with regards to training and compliance, following the
tragic death of a six-year-old boy who was crushed to death by an automated gate.
» » THE HORRIFIC INCIDENT TOOK
place in an underground carpark on Leylands
Road, Leeds, on 31 October 2015, and has
resulted in the prosecution, and subsequent
fining of, Bradford-based company, Bradfabs
Limited.
The hearing at Leeds Crown Court heard
that the boy was playing with friends on the
gate, pushing it open and closed. The gate was
pushed beyond the retaining mechanism as no
end stop had been fitted to the gate track. The
gate fell over, trapping and fatally crushing the
child.
Following an investigation by the Health
and Safety Executive (HSE), Bradfabs Limited
pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3 (1) of
the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974
and was fined £30,000 and ordered to pay
full costs of £12,411.46. HSE determined
that the company that had manufactured and
installed the electric gate failed to install an
end stop, and that no-one else involved in
commissioning or maintaining the gate over
the next six years noticed and rectified the
deficiency.
This tragic accident, and resulting
prosecution, follows numerous similar
incidents over recent years involving
derailments or hinge failures that have led to
a gate falling and causing serious injuries or
fatality. Common to all these incidents has
been the lack of effective travel stops.
DHF is keen to remind all those involved
in the supply, installation, maintenance
and management of gate systems that all
gate systems, regardless of design, must
include effective travel stops that will prevent
derailment and falling under all foreseeable
conditions:
• in normal use,
• when electrical/electronic travel limiting
systems suffer a fault, and
• when the gate is being used manually.
8 » OCT 2019 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M
“Many people have commented that it
seems strange that the original manufacturer
has been prosecuted in this case rather
than the more common outcome of the
maintenance company being prosecuted,”
explains DHF’s Senior Training and
Compliance Officer, Nick Perkins. “But
we would remind all companies involved in
manufacture, installation, maintenance and
repair of gates, doors and barriers, of the
advice given to our industry by HSE following
a high-profile prosecution in 2014, resulting
from the death of Karolina Golabek in 2010.
‘The gate was pushed
beyond the retaining
mechanism as no end
stop had been fitted
to the gate track’
“The prime function of identifying the
responsibilities of duty holders is not to hold
them accountable when things go wrong, but
to ensure things don’t go wrong in the first
place. Don’t think what do I need to do to
avoid prosecution? Rather, what do I need to
do to ensure the installation is safe?”
Nick continues:
“It must be understood that, in the event
of an incident with a system, the ensuing
investigation will assess the input and actions
of all parties associated and no guarantee of
the outcome can be given. The investigation
will ask who did what, what did those
involved know about the condition of the
offending system and then what action could
they have reasonably taken, or did they take,
to prevent the occurrence?
Whilst we do not have intimate details
from HSE as to why a particular company
has in fact been prosecuted in this instance,
we remind all concerned that legal
responsibilities exist in equal measure for
manufacturers, installers, owners, managers,
maintainers and repairers. The passage of
time does not negate those responsibilities;
although recent prosecutions have seemed
to place a higher responsibility on the last
person on site, this does not mean that
there is no liability to anyone with previous
involvement. The only way that anyone
in our industry can remain immune from
legal liabilities is to ensure that the systems
they manufacture/install are safe and that all
existing systems are left in a safe condition
following maintenance or repair. Safe and
compliant systems do not lead to injury,
death or prosecution.”
“We address all of these points in our
publication DHF TS 011:2019, a Technical
Specification for the design, manufacture,
installation and maintenance of automated
gates and traffic barriers, and which are fully
covered in the DHF gate training courses.
DHF offers training and guidance material
to all industry stakeholders in the pursuit of
safer systems and to prevent death, injury,
or prosecution. This is not exclusive to
automated gates. DHF also offers training
and a Technical Specification for Industrial
and Garage doors.”
Details of all DHF training can be
found here: https://www.dhfonline.
org.uk/training.htm and all Technical
Specifications can be found here: https://
www.dhfonline.org.uk/publications/
technical-specifications/1.htm