Move to develop voluntary vehicle gate safety standards gets underway

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An industry coalition consisting of the American Fence Association, the National Ornamental & Miscellaneous Metals Association and the Door & Access Systems Manufacturers Association met April 24 in Dallas to begin work on a voluntary safety standard for vehicular gate systems.

After developing a broad outline of the standard at the meeting, coalition members said they will now begin soliciting input on specifics from gate fabricators, gate operator manufacturers and dealers, and others.

The proposed industry standard is intended to be used as a reference for vehicular gate manufacturers, purchasers and specifiers of vehicular gates and architects/engineers, among others. The standard, along with a companion voluntary standard addressing power operation of vehicular gate systems, may also serve as the basis for a possible certification program for gate systems designers and installers in the future.

The power operation provisions will be harmonized with the applicable provisions of UL 325, a safety standard for gate operators recently adopted by Underwriters Laboratories.

The AFA's Frank Hinds, who chairs the coalition, stated that, "All three of these associations recognize the need for the standards, and are wholly supportive of our efforts to complete these documents."

Coalition members have set an ambitious completion date of March 1, 2000, after which coalition members expect to obtain recognition of the standards as American National Standards.

Eventual inclusion in appropriate national code documents is also planned, Hinds said.

AFA, headquartered in Stone Mountain, Ga., is the world's largest trade association representing suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, contractors and retailers of all types of fence products and accessories.

NOMMA, with headquarters in Forest Park, Ga., is the trade association for the ornamental and miscellaneous metals industry. NOMMA members produce railings, driveway gates, fences, furniture, sculpture, security storm doors, grilles, and many other fabricated metal products.

DASMA is a non-profit trade association of manufacturers of gate operators, garage door operators, garage doors, rolling steel doors, and suppliers of materials and components.

For more information, contact Frank Hinds, CFP, at 803-359-9201; Buck Buchanan at 410-574-4121; or Jim Taylor at 606-254-6941.

This article is reprinted from the July 1999 issue of World Fence News