Gate & Gate Operators What Should You Know? Are Automated Gates Safe?
Top 6 Things you should know when hiring a gate automation company.
#1) Government rules. UL325 & ASTM F2200
ASTM 2200
#2) Safety Safety Safety. Since the turn of the century, the UL325 standard has undergone significant revisions aimed at protecting people from accidents involving automated gates; however, despite theses important changes, most gate operator installers are still not fully compliant with the requirements outlined in the standard.
The oversite becomes even more critical when you consider the vast majority of the public is unaware of the serious threats posed by automated gates. Children and adults can be severely injured and or killed if the become entrapped in gates as they are automated open or closed.
According to the Consumer Products Safety Commission there are approximately 2,000 injuries involving automated gates systems annually with one-third being children.
Gates and Gate operators have many different safety devices but not installed property makes no since. This can come back onto the home owner and the installer.
All Gate operators should have a minimum of 2 safety devices that comes with the operator but is that enough? More then likely not. This is where a good company comes into play. They can walk you threw your application and explain what will work and what will not. This can provide you with a peace of mind knowing your automated gate in in compliance.
#3) How do I choose a gate automation company?
Do your research. Find a company that knows UL325 & ASTM2200. Make sure they are a certified.
Years in business. Recent jobs they have installed. Look at their history with the BBB and Google.
Make sure you choose safety over price.
#4) Why do I need so many different safety devices and what do they do? This is known as Entrapment Protection .
Safety should be the sales team #1 reason for walking you threw all the different safety devices and how they work and why you need them. The basic safety devices are Retro-Reflective Photo Eye and Gate Edge. You can get Thru-Beam photo Eyes, Safety Loops, Shadow Loops, Adjustable clutches, Strobe Lights, Audio alarm and so on.
#5) What brand of operator do I need?
Their are so many different gate operators on the market and it makes it hard for a customers to find what will work for their application. Again this is where research comes in handy. Trust in a good qualified company this will help. At CBS Fence Company our go to brands are LiftMaster and HySecurity.
That does not make other brands bad. We have had success with LiftMaster & HySecurity for over 20 years. Their customer service is always great to work with. Both LiftMaster & HySecuritys technology is always advancing to keep up with times.
#6) How does my gate open incase of an emergency? or does it?
So many companies over look this huge safety concern.
Your gate will not open for Emergency Services if the company you hired did not install a Knox Box. Also called a fire box.
Knox Rapid Access System provides non-destructive emergency access to commercial and residential properties. More than 14,000 fire departments and government agencies use Knox key boxes (keybox, keyboxes), vaults, cabinets, key switches, padlocks, narcotics or drug lockers, locking FDC caps or plugs and electronic key retention units for safe and secure rapid entry.
Feel free to reach out to us for you new gate operator installation . CBS Fence Company
We at CBS Fence Company hope this blog helps you when choosing a gate automation company.
Please feel free to reach out to us for more information on gate operators. 513-767-6400