Newport Magistrates’ Court heard how Advanced Gate of Merthyr Tydfil was contracted to manufacture and install a gate system at PHS in Caerphilly.
The gate consisted of two leaves; one driven by a motor and connected to the second leaf by a chain and sprocket, which provided the drive motion for the second leaf.
There was a failure of the gate mechanism and, on 30 September 2014, an employee of PHS went to close the gate manually. The leaf he was pulling came out of the runners and it collapsed on him. A vertical rail struck his leg and resulted in severe trauma to his leg with muscle and nerves torn away. He was hospitalised for 10 days and off work for one year.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive into the incident found that the underlying failure of the gate mechanism was aa a result of inadequate design, assessment and control measures to ensure the gate was safe for use.
Advanced Gate, of Brecon Road, Merthyr Tydfil, Mid Glamorgan, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and was
HSE inspector Dean Baker said after the hearing: “Powered gates pose a risk to employees and members of the public. Those responsible for installing, maintaining and operating these gates need to make sure they are safe during installation and use. This accident could have been avoided if the clearly foreseeable risk of the gate falling had been identified and controlled.”
