Door Industry Journal - Summer 2016

Also online at: www.dijonline.co.uk powered gates • Must not be easy to bypass or render non-operational There will need to be some form of verification of their performance as fitted to ensure that they remain effective under all foreseeable conditions. For instance, when someone falls against the guard. This does not mean that they should not be used, just that a machinery directive compliance assessment must be made on-site as installed. This is a simple low cost and quick-to-install solution. This solution is not, however, considered the most aesthetically pleasing of the three, as they are very visible at the gate pillars. Pressure Sensitive Safety Edges These are available in a variety of sizes from 8mm upwards – the most commonly used being resistive edges, which are monitored by either a separate CAT 2 or CAT 3 safety controller, or more increasingly, available 8K2 Ohm safety input directly on the control panel of the gate. The safety edges are made from a durable rubber and are part of a fully monitored safety system which, should they be damaged or removed, would stop the operation of the gate until rectified. The installation of this solution is typically more involved than the previous method and it is important that the correct profile size is selected and positioned correctly when fitting to the gate, or gate piers. Optical Solutions This tends to be the least cost effective solution of the three, but will generally replace other required safety devices on an automatic swing gate. Typically, a laser scanner is used with time of flight technology offering alternatives to using rubber safety edge systems on the remainder of the gate hazards and is sometimes chosen for more ornate or prestige gates. Mounted on both sides of the gate, these devices detect any object entering the protected area and would typically stop the gate until the obstruction has been cleared. Typically, these devices can be less reliable than previous solutions due to the method of detection and would require general housekeeping (i.e. cleaning, removal of leaf litter etc.) to ensure reliable operation is maintained. For further impartial guidance on gate safety, you can find comprehensive information by downloading the “DHF TS 011:2016, Code of Practice for the Design, Manufacture, Installation & Maintenance of Powered Gates and Traffic Barriers”, from the DHF website. 83 THE door industry journal summer 2016 IN2 ACCESS & CONTROL LTD DEVELOP VEHICLE LOOP TEST MAT IN2 Access & Control Ltd have developed an inductive loop test mat to help quickly identify issues with existing loops cut into the ground and work with most loop controllers in the market. This innovative product complements Bircher Reglomat’s highly functional ‘Proloop2’ loop controller, with last 5 error log, a loop impedance reader plus quick and easy start up and calibration. This new 95mm x 60mm x 7mm loop test mat allows the engineer to connect it directly to the installed loop controller and activate it by simply using any small metal object to hand such as pliers, hammers etc. It allows quick identification of any ground loop issue and also eliminates the need to use a vehicle or large metallic object to activate an automatic gate or barrier during diagnosis or repair. “Many engineers have mentioned they carry around large wire loops in their vans for this purpose, which are prone to damage and take up a large amount of space” said Derek Foreman, Director, “We have come up with a compact solution which will fit into any engineer’s tool kit and will do the same thing”. The surface of the test mat can be fully customised with a company logo and contact details to suit. For further information and pricing, please contact IN2 Access & Control’s sales department on 01691 655150 or email us at sales@in2access.co.uk