18 | SEPTEMBER 2019
News
Installer News is
sponsored by FENSA
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 under-
ground carpark on Ley-
lands 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 deter-
mined 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 deficien-
cy.
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 inci-
dents has been the lack of
effective travel stops.
DHF is keen to remind
all those involved in the
supply, installation, mainte-
nance and management of
gate systems that all gate
systems, regardless of de-
sign, must include effective
travel stops that will prevent
derailment and falling under
all foreseeable conditions:
• in normal use,
• when electrical/elec-
tronic travel limiting
systems suffer a fault,
and
• when the gate is being
used manually.
“Many people have com-
mented that it seems strange
that the original manufac-
turer 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 re-
mind 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 prime function of
identifying the responsibil-
ities 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 offend-
ing 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 compa-
ny has in fact been prose-
cuted in this instance, we
remind all concerned that
legal responsibilities exist in
equal measure for manu-
facturers, 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 liabil-
ity to anyone with previous
involvement. The only way
that anyone in our industry
can remain immune from
legal liabilities is to en-
sure 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 inju-
ry, death or prosecution.”
“We address all of these
points in our publication
DHF TS 011:2019, a Tech-
nical Specification for the
design, manufacture, instal-
lation and maintenance of
automated gates and traffic
barriers, and which are
fully covered in the DHF
gate training courses. DHF
offers training and guid-
ance material to all industry
stakeholders in the pursuit
of safer systems and to pre-
vent death, injury, or prose-
cution. 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