Gate Safety Tips for an Accident-free Festive Season

The holidays are fast approaching and, if you have kids, your life’s soundtrack for the next couple of weeks will be the sound of cartoons being played at full volume intermingled with woops of sheer, unadulterated joy at whatever hilarious hijinks is currently being played out on the TV screen. There might also be the occasional howl of pain as you step on a toy, but that’s just par for the course.

Yes, the holiday season is a joyful time, and you certainly wouldn’t want it marred by an accident that could have been avoided, especially now that the pitter patter of little feet fills the house…

…which is why we’ve put together this list of crucial gate safety tips to help you keep kids, pets and vehicles out of harm’s way.

Safety beams

CENTURION Photon infrared safety beams with a wireless transmitter

When it comes to automated gate safety, the installation of gate safety beams is a non-negotiable. They’re inexpensive, easy to install and could potentially save you or a loved one from serious injury. CENTURION even manufactures wireless beams which greatly simplify installation and reduce installation costs. 

Safety beams consist of two modules – a receiver and a transmitter – that “talk” to each other via a modulated infrared beam. As long as the receiver can “see” the beam, it knows that the gate’s area of travel is clear and it can give the all-clear to the gate motor that it is safe to move. But when the beam is broken – for example by someone standing in the path of the gate – there’s a break in the circuit and the gate won’t move. The beam acts as sort of a crossing guard, telling the gate when it is safe to move, and when it needs to remain stationary.

Check your gate’s collision sensitivity and adjust it if necessary

If chick flicks have taught us anything, it’s that being sensitive is a good thing, and nowhere is this truer than in the case of gate automation. While many users are tempted to set their motor’s sensitivity to minimum to compensate for some deviation in the rack or rail (for example a missing tooth or poor welding), this is merely treating the symptom and not the cause and may, in fact, make the installation more dangerous.

Courtesy lights

Copyright: squirrel77 / 123RF Stock Photo

This is especially important if you have a pedestrian gate setup that necessitates the person putting his or her hand through the gate in order to activate a key-switch. The courtesy light interfaces directly with the gate motor and will provide a warning flash sequence (called a pre-delay) prior to moving the gate, giving the user enough time to remove their hand and move clear of the gate. 

Slow things down

One of the great things about CENTURION gate motors is that the opening and closing speeds can be individually adjusted according to your personal requirements and preferences, so you can have the gate opening super-fast but with a more tempered closing. This is generally preferably where kids are involved, but do take note that this may compromise the security of the installation. We recommend enabling PIRAC mode, so that the gate closes immediately once the safety beams have been cleared.

Give your gate the edge

A P34 passive sensitive edge

No, we’re not talking about that guy from U2, we’re talking about the foam buffer that can be bolted to the leading edge of your gate in order to make it more sensitive to collisions. The sensitive edge is a passive component, so no additional wiring is necessary.

Dispose of packaging material properly

If you happen to find a gate motor in your stocking this festive season, avoid leaving packing materials such as plastic and polystyrene lying around where children will be tempted to ingest it.

Secure all easily-accessed gate motor controls

Fact: kids are inherently inquisitive and will want to play with anything that looks remotely stimulating, and that includes remote controls. Be careful not to let your key fob out of your site when little ones are around and, if you have a keypad or other access device at the actual gate, be sure to mount it high enough so that kids can’t reach it and inadvertently activate the gate. 

The Importance of Specifying Additional Safety Equipment

The Merriam-Webster English dictionary defines “automation” as the “automatically controlled operation of an apparatus, process, or system by mechanical or electronic devices that take the place of human labour”.  That apt description perfectly voices what is so wonderful about automation: the fact that there is one less thing for us as humans to worry about; one less hoop to jump through, for an automated system has already taken care of it.

Just think of that most famous of automated systems, the motor vehicle (or auto mobile in its more archaic form); the mechanised beast that safely transports us daily from one location to the next, its metallic skeleton working tirelessly and without protest to ensure that we reach our destination.  But it must be remembered that – singularly wonderful as it is - a car is still a mechanical system travelling at generally high speeds, and as such there is always the inherent risk of injury or mishap.

The same applies to automated gates.

The vast majority of us will attest to the fact that the invention of gate motors – particularly ultra-fast ones like the CENTURION D10 Turbo – has made life that much more convenient.  But, as with motor cars, there are certain precautions that need to be taken in order to ensure that the automatic system fulfils its purpose as safely as possible.

Infrared gate safety beams can be compared to safety belts or airbags as used in cars; providing a degree of protection to users should they find themselves in the path of a moving gate.   The beams work by casting an infrared beam (as the name implies) between an electronic transmitter and receiver which, when interrupted, changes the state of an internal relay which in turn halts the operation of the connected device.  When connected to a gate motor, breaking the beam will result in the gate either immediately stopping, or stopping and reversing direction depending on whether opening beams, closing beams or (most favourably) both have been connected.

Beams have been proven to be highly effective in reducing the risks associated with a moving gate such as crushing, dragging and shearing and are remarkably cost-effective and easy to install.  It is therefore important that when quoting on the installation and commissioning of an automated system, infrared beams are specified as a standard.  Should the user decline the fitment of additional safety equipment, the risks must be thoroughly explained and it is highly recommended that the installer gets the client to sign proof that he/she has declined them.  It is also worth noting that in certain legislations it is a mandate of law to fit safety beams as a minimum safety requirement.  This serves as a means for the installer of indemnifying himself in the event that injury or damage does occur subsequent to the installation.

A fully comprehensive site handover should comprise the following:

·         Inspecting and testing the safety of the system

·         Explaining the operation of the system to the end-user

·         Demonstrating to the end-user how to test the safety of the system

·         Testing and explaining the manual override facility

·         Handing over all documentation (especially everything that covers safety)

There might be those users who choose to decline safety beams on the basis that they are trying to cut costs (although, as mentioned earlier, beams are extremely affordable and when incorporated into the total cost of the installation will most probably not be noticeable), and they must perhaps be reminded of the old French proverb: Bon marché tire agent de bourse – “What is cheap is most costly”.

Automated Gate Safety

In an era not too long ago, siblings were engaged in fiery arguments in the backseat – arguments that bordered on full-on combat – about a very important issue of the day:  Who was going to open the gate when they arrived home?  The hapless father would grip the steering wheel tighter, his knuckles whitening around it and beads of perspiration already forming on his forehead in anticipation of the skirmish that would no-doubt erupt when they eventually pulled up to the driveway.

Gate automation changed all that.  Nowadays, opening your entrance gate is as simple as pressing a button on a remote - and brothers and sisters once again live in harmony.  Modern access control has put at our disposal a world of convenience, an exciting universe where everything around us can be set in motion at the press of a button.  We are firmly in control of our surroundings.

However, as with any automated system, safety is paramount when it comes to automating your entrance gate.  As a leading South African manufacturer of gate automation and access control equipment, it is our distinct privilege to be able to share some guidelines for a safe installation.     

1.       Endstops

Many modern gate operators make use of a current spike to stop the gate in the correct opening and closing positions.  In other words, when the operator is commencing the limit setup procedure, encountering an obstruction will induce a current spike which tells the controller that this is where it must henceforth stop the gate.  If no mechanical endstops are installed, no spike will be read and the gate will just keep on running and could potentially come off its rail – with disastrous consequences.

Endstops should be fitted in both the opening and closing positions, should be constructed from a robust material such as steel, and must remain fixed even when considerable force is applied to them.  It is therefore advisable to weld them in place.

2.       Guide-rollers

Guide-rollers are at least as important as endstops, as these devices are what quite literally keep your gate on the straight and narrow.  Without guide-rollers, your gate would wobble drunkenly from side to side and eventually come crashing down like a felled animal.  It doesn’t take a giant stretch of the imagination to envisage the damage to property or injury to person that would result from such an incident.

3.       Electrical Safety

Always have a qualified electrician attend to any high-voltage (higher than 50V) electrical needs that may arise from installing a gate operator.  Depending on where you live, you may also be required to fit an isolator within arm’s reach of the operator.

Take care not to short out battery terminals, and ensure that all electrical equipment is sufficiently earthed, as this will help prevent damage to the devices as well as electrical shock.

4.       Sensitivity Settings

Any gate motor worth its salt will have adjustable sensitivity settings.  While it is at times desirable to have a lower setting to compensate for environmental changes such as wind loading (applies more to swing gates) or variations in the track, it is important to remember that the lower the setting, the harder it will be to stop the gate.

5.       Prevent Unauthorised Access

Kids (and some adults) are curious.  That is a simple fact of life.  But curiosity can quickly turn to tragedy if proper care isn’t exercised when it comes to securing gate motor controls.  Ensure that only authorised adults have access to the controls.  Operator covers should at all times be locked in place and the keys kept in a safe location. 

6.       Keep the Area of Travel Clear!

This is arguably the most important guideline of all. 

No matter how cautious one purports to be, no matter how vigilant, accidents do happen.  Therefore the best course of action is, before attempting to operate an automated gate, to first ensure that no children or pets are in the vicinity.  A Courtesy Light can also be installed to provide visual indication prior to and during gate travel.