Also online at: www.dijonline.co.uk THE door industry journal spring 2023 Industrial Doors & Shutters Experts in the Repair, Service and Maintenance of all Industrial Doors Door Maintenance Company Limited is a part of the wider Door Maintenance Group and is the repair, service and maintenance division within the organisation, managed by experienced and highly respected individuals who have over 40 years’ experience operating in the industrial door sector. Door Maintenance Ltd – Repair, Maintain and Service all types of industrial doors nationally including but not limited to roller shutter doors, fire doors, sectional doors and steel hinged doors across all sectors. As the group manufacture almost all of our products this enables Door Maintenance to respond to repairs and breakdowns rapidly. The importance of regular servicing to all doors and shutters is both a legislative requirement and can also save time and money when issues are reported before a breakdown occurs. Door Maintenance also installs and maintains automatic doors (sliding and swing), gates, traffic barriers and auto bollards across all sectors. Door Maintenance prides itself on delivering a professional service and strives to achieve a good working relationship with all of its customers, looking after their best interests. Their aim is not that of short-term gain; but establishing trust, which is reflected in the various long-standing relationships they have with customers, some of which stretch back over 30 years. Being a progressive organization, they have adapted and developed the services provided to meet their clients’ ever-changing project requirements whilst maintaining the loyalty and commitment of their workforce. Contact Door Maintenance for further information at +44 2920 665 539 or visit www.doormaintenance.co.uk 72 Safety Brakes or Fall-back Protection Devices With regards to safety brakes and the law, we asked Door & Hardware Federation’s (dhf) Training and Compliance Officer, Nick Perkins, to provide clarity on this common theme. And in particular, is it a legal requirement for a vertically acting door to have a safety brake? “This is the most common question asked of the dhf technical team and the answer might surprise you,” explains Nick. The truth is that there has never been a legal requirement, law or standard requiring the use of a safety brake or any other fall-back protection device, and this remains the case. Notwithstanding, this is far from ‘black and white’ as a very real legal requirement exists to prevent falling back (guillotining shut) when a vertically acting door’s hold-open system suffers a failure. “It has always been necessary to prevent such devastating and potentially fatal incidents,” says Nick. The legislation does exist that has had a significant impact on this requirement. This includes, for example, the GB Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, the NI Health and Safety at Work Order 1978 and the ROI Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, all of which cover a general requirement to ensure safety at work, whilst working, and as a result of work. They place a criminal responsibility on manufacturing, installation, maintenance, and owner/manager operations and are most commonly used to prosecute when fall-back incidents occur. In addition, the UK Workplace (Health Safety & Welfare) Regulations 1992, the NI Workplace (Health Safety & Welfare) Regulations 1993 and the ROI Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Applications) Act 2007 all place a criminal responsibility on owners and managers of workplaces to ensure that vertically acting doors are protected from falling back. And the UK Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations and the EU Machinery Directive have also been in force since 1995, requiring powered door manufacturers to ensure that potentially harmful uncontrolled movements are prevented.
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