‘Standardised’ Industrial Gate Design

As part of our goal to increase performance, reliability and speed for our commercial customers we have been working in the background on the development of our ‘Standardised’ range of 4-10 metre wide industrial gates.

Our commercial customers require robust, reliable and cost effective entry system solutions which will stand the test of time, as such, our industrial gates are thoughtfully created to ensure just that.

A common sight across the UK is the unnecessary puncturing of industrial gates or thermal degradation as the result of welding, over the course of many years; as different automation companies add-on and alter the automation equipment. These inflictions create vulnerable spots as the galvanised finish which prevents corrosion is invariably damaged, resulting in premature rusting of the metalwork. To combat this, we have designed sacrificial steel flat plates to accommodate a range of FAAC automation equipment and BEA (Belgium) safety devices. Drilling and welding these flat plates, will never compromise the structural integrity of the gate and will not lead to corrosion affecting the main parts of each leaf.

We understand that regulations change year on year and that the technology we use will inevitably be superseded, as we have witnessed in recent years as customers opt for advanced laser based safety options as oppose to traditional rubber safety edges. With this in mind, we have designed cable tray supports on the outer face of both posts. This allows industry standard cable tray to be fixed to the post, further facilitating the easy installation of cables which serve the operators (motors) and any safety devices or locking mechanisms.

To ensure a quick and easy installation we have integrated Yoke weld-on lifting points that allow our installation engineers to smoothly and safely lift the posts and gates into position. Our installation vehicles are fully equipped with all the appropriately certified lifting shackles and slings.

Investing in these large, fully certified (by structural and foundation engineers) entry systems is a big decision and the design philosophy is that they should have at least a 30 year service life. During this time, it may be conceivable that the installation site is changed or road layouts are modified. To add value to our customers we have designed-in the ability to easily un-bolt the gates and posts and lift in to a new position. The posts are secured onto steel reinforced concrete foundations using M20 stainless steel threaded rods and nuts. Should the gate ever need to be repositioned, expose the base plates, remove the nuts and lift. Simple!

Safety is our number one priority on every installation and our first aim is to be ‘Safe by Design’ as far as is practicably possible. To eliminate crush hazards in the hinged area, all of our ‘Standardised’ gates benefit from corner mounted hinges which eliminates the hazard of a reducing hinge gap. A new concept in the industry is to use a ‘tether’ which physically chains each leaf to its post, whereby in the case of hinge failure, the leaf is still tethered to the post, limiting its ability to completely collapse. We make use of the Yoke lifting points as a tether point, which also means they are not a single use item used only during installation. Furthermore, our design observes the minima and maxima values for lower edge ground clearance and baluster spacings.

To complete the design, our gates are fully galvanised and then powder coated to ensure a long service life and aesthetic appeal.

We appreciate that great engineering and safety comes at a price, but non-compliance can ultimately be much more costly, whether through prosecution or downtime due to failure.