An automatic gate is a great deterrent, but it is also a heavy, powered piece of equipment that can injure someone or damage itself if it is misused or poorly maintained. Most gate incidents are preventable with the right safety devices, sensible operation and regular upkeep. Here are nine tips that keep an electric gate safe for your family, staff and visitors.
1. Keep the area clear before it moves
The first habit: check the gate's path before operating it, no person, vehicle or object in the way. Back this up with safety devices like loop detectors or safety beams that detect an obstruction and stop the gate until the area is clear. On automatic gates, entrapment is the main risk, and these sensors are the main defence. Product Safety Australia has published warnings about automatic gate entrapment, so treat these devices as essential, not optional.
2. Have a qualified electrician on the install
A licensed electrician should be part of installing any gate operation system. They check the battery terminals and electrical components, make sure nothing will be damaged, and flag any additional requirements. Powered gate hardware is not a job to improvise.
3. Set the sensitivity correctly
Swing gates in particular need a lower sensitivity setting to cope with wind loading, but remember a gate on a lower setting is harder to stop. Getting the balance right is a job for someone who knows the system, so have it set by an expert rather than guessing.
4. Let it run its full cycle
Do not force a gate to open or close faster than its normal pace, and do not stop it halfway or shove it in the opposite direction. It feels slow, but forcing an electric gate risks injury and stresses the operator, which wears it out and can cost a lot to repair. Patience is genuinely a safety measure here.
5. Have the safety talk with children
Gates and their keypads look like giant toys to kids, and children may try to squeeze through the bars or play with the controls. Explain the risks clearly, set firm boundaries about playing near the gate, and keep an eye on them around it. This is worth repeating regularly, not just once.
6. Keep the gate on its track
Two things stop a sliding gate coming off the rail and causing harm:
- End stops at both the open and closed positions, in a robust material like steel, so the gate cannot run past where it should stop.
- Guide rollers to keep the gate steady, without them a gate wobbles as it opens and closes and can eventually come off and crash down.
Both are cheap insurance against an expensive, dangerous failure.
7. Fit the right safety features for the gate type
- Swing gates: a stopper on a hinge so the axle cannot pull out, a reversed hinge, and bolt-type hinges all add safety.
- Sliding gates: rubber on the slide-stopper to soften the impact, and a backup slide-stopper above the gate so an over-pulled gate cannot collapse.
- General: "puppy bars" close gaps so pets cannot wriggle through, and unique keypad codes stop unwanted access. Importantly, do not padlock or chain an automated gate, it fights the operator, stresses the mechanism and shortens its life; use a maglock designed to work with the operator instead.
8. Keep up the maintenance
Safety devices are only half of it, regular upkeep does the rest:
- Lubricate hinges to reduce wear
- Swap iron axles for stainless steel to fight corrosion
- Keep the floor track clean and level
- Check the guide rollers suit the gate's width and position
9. Train anyone who operates it
If this is a workplace, you are responsible for a risk assessment of the area, and staff who use the gate should be trained on the operation risks, safe operating methods, work procedures and precautions. SafeWork NSW sets out those duties for powered equipment in a workplace.
The practical takeaway: fit the safety sensors, set the gate up correctly, keep children clear, and maintain it, that short list prevents almost every gate incident. We install and fabricate automatic gates with the safety hardware built in, and we manage the whole process, motor, footings and power, across Newcastle, the Hunter and the Central Coast.