Did you know there are specific safety standards for automated gates? Understanding UL 325 and ASTM F2200 can help keep the users and owners of automated gate systems safe from accidental injury and limit exposure to liability to your firm.
UL 325, as it pertains to automated gates and operators, is a multifaceted standard that describes how to properly design and install an automated gate system. The intent of UL 325 is to remove or mitigate the hazards present when you move a gate with a machine. UL 325 details how to properly protect against accidental entrapment for the various styles and gate systems currently available on the market. The standard acknowledges that a slide, swing, vertical lift, and barrier arm gate system are much different and each system must be treated differently. The UL 325 standard approves certain monitored devices such as photo eyes and gate edge sensors as devices that can be used to help mitigate entrapment hazards within a gate system. It also regulates where you can place your access control device and how/where gate hardware should be installed.
ASTM F2200 is intended to help guide the design and installation of the physical automated gate panel. It describes how the gate panel can be designed to be safe and it defines what an entrapment zone is. An entrapment zone is any area near or on the gate and the area in which the gate travels where a person can get a body part or their entire body trapped between the gate and another solid object. It defines entrapment zones as any space that is greater than 2.25 inches and less than 16 inches where the gate is passing by or toward a solid object creating that gap. These two standards go hand in hand and work with each other to help ensure automated gates are installed and used safely.
For more information on UL 325 and ASTM F2200, visit:
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