Roller shutter doors are designed to be an extremely reliable, durable and dependable piece of equipment.
They are made to the very highest safety standards, and include a number of built-in safety features, to ensure that they protect the safety of users as much as possible.
But, despite all of the extensive precautions that manufacturers take, roller shutter doors still pose significant safety risks.
And the best way to minimise these risks – both in the immediate short term and the long term of the door’s full lifespan – is to include a detailed and regularly updated risk assessment for your roller shutter door.
Below, we have created a full guide to roller shutter door risk assessments, including what makes them so important, and the key points that you need to cover in yours.
Why do you need a Risk Assessment for a Roller Shutter Door?
So, firstly, yes you do need a risk assessment for a roller shutter door. In fact, the UK government has provided clear guidance regarding what your roller shutter door risk assessment needs to include.
This is because these doors present a significant health and safety risk, especially if they are not tested, maintained and used properly.
If used incorrectly, roller shutter doors can cause serious injuries to workers, or even fatalities. These are most commonly caused by roller doors closing unexpectedly, without warning.
In environments where children will have access to the roller shutter door, these risk assessments are especially important. As a result of the safety risks, the government’s HSE issued best practice guidance for the safe use of roller shutter doors, including their risk assessments.
Government guidelines state that the responsible party must ensure that a “suitable and sufficient risk assessment is in place” for all of the site’s roller shutter doors.
What should a Roller Shutter Door Risk Assessment include?
Firstly, guidance stipulates that if the door is strong enough to lift an adult or a small child, then a risk assessment needs to be undertaken. This should be completed by either the landlord or a responsible tenant (such as an Operations Manager).
In the risk assessment, the risks of using, passing through and possessing the roller door need to be noted. Then, the risk assessment should outline the best, specific precautions to minimise the likelihood of each risk occurring.
Below, we will outline the required points to include in roller shutter door risk assessment, split into key categories:
Key Questions to Ask:
- What type, size or make of roller shutter door will offer the best safety standards?
- Who will have access to the door?
- Will children be walking underneath the roller shutter door?
- How often will the door be used?
- What is being done to prevent the unexpected closure or malfunction of the door?
- What training are you providing for operatives?
- How are you ensuring the safety of operatives?
- How are you ensuring the safety of site visitors or other untrained users of the door?
- What will you do if a malfunction does occur?
- Will vehicles be able to pass through the door?
- How regular is your roller door maintenance schedule?
Construction and Design:
The roller shutters must be:
- UKCA and CE marked, in adherence to the latest BSI and EU standards
- Constructed to the required British Standard
- Mechanical protection needs to be installed, to prevent any unintentional or unplanned movement
- Safe to be operated manually (for instance, they must not require excessive force to operate, which could injure the operator)
- For shutters that are either controlled by gravity or feature a self-closing mechanism, they must close and open smoothly
Safe Usage and Training:
To ensure the safe day-to-day usage of your roller shutter door, your risk assessment must outline:
- Who is in charge of shutter operation
- How often the door is being used
- The speed at which the door will operate
- The safety measures that you have put in place to protect the operator
- An outline of your roller shutter door maintenance schedule
- A breakdown of the safety training that you will provide to operatives – including the content included, and how often this will take place
- The safety procedures that you have established
- The protocol for an emergency situation
- Training for operators and users, so that they know what to do in an emergency situation
Protecting your Workforce and Site Visitors:
To ensure that everyone present on your site (at any given time) is safe, your risk assessment must outline:
- How pedestrians can pass through safely
- How vehicles can pass through safely
- How you will protect anyone else on the premises, whilst the shutter is in operation
- A breakdown of the safety materials that you will position in the site – including the content included, and where this will be located
- Details of where the alternative access points are located, if the door is no longer usable
- Details of signage or hazardous area lines, so that people are protected when the roller shutters are in use
These points can act as a guideline for some of the factors that you need to cover in your roller garage door risk assessment.
If you would like to read through the government guidelines in more detail (and we strongly recommend that you do so) you can see this document in full here.
And, if you would like to find out more about the safe installation, maintenance and usage of roller shutter doors, the Safe & Secure Roller Shutters team is on hand to help.
During installation, our team of roller shutter door specialists will guarantee the highest possible safety standards for your new door. Then, you can enlist our maintenance services to ensure this exceptional level of safety is kept in place, throughout the entire lifespan of your roller shutter door.
So, to find out more about our services, don’t hesitate to get in touch.