Gate Safe founder Richard Jackson awarded OBE

Jackson, who kick-started Gate Safe back in 2010 following the tragic deaths of two young girls in separate electric gate-related accidents, will be invited to an investiture to formally receive his award later on this year.

This prestigious accolade comes as the charity celebrates over 4,000 installers being listed on the Gate Safe Register, all of whom have undergone the specialist ‘plain English’ IOSH-approved training to enable them to understand the protocols required to install or otherwise maintain a safe and legally compliant automated gate or barrier.

Jackson’s efforts as an Expert Witness working closely the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Trading Standards were cited within the award nomination, with his substantial industry knowledge and expertise gleaned over a 40-year period regularly being accessed by both organisations.

Philip White, director of building safety for the Building Safety Regulator at the HSE, commented: “The HSE supports the work which Gate Safe began in 2010 to improve the safety of automated and manual gates and barriers in the UK. We commend the charity’s commitment to providing clear, practical and easy-to-understand information on what constitutes a safe and legally compliant gate.”

Pioneering force

As the only registered charity – and the pioneering force within the industry as the first to address the need for action – Gate Safe works tirelessly to put a stop to any further automated gate and barrier accidents. The current key priority for Gate Safe involves a dedicated focus on the safety of school gates, with the Safe School Gates campaign designed to provide tailored guidance and advice to schools with automated gates on-site.

Following the OBE announcement, Jackson said: “I am incredibly humbled to have been nominated, let alone confirmed as a recipient of this distinguished honour, which I view as an accolade for the whole Gate Safe team.”

Jackson continued: “Setting up Gate Safe has been one of the most rewarding,  but also one of the most challenging undertakings in my professional career given the complexities associated with extending our messaging to such a wide and varied audience. Our mission has always remained constant: to prevent any further accidents and to deliver the essential guidance needed to ensure a safe gate in a highly practical and simple-to-follow format. The team derives huge satisfaction from knowing that the work that we do can help to save lives.”

Gate Safety Summit

Gate Safe hosted the first Gate Safety Summit in September 2010 at the Institute of Directors’ headquarters in central London. The charity delivered a petition to Downing Street one month later regarding the need to address the safety of automated gates in the UK.

In 2012, Gate Safe launched the first dedicated automated gate training course with external accreditation from IOSH, the same year in which the charity launched the first independent site survey service.

Gate Safe has also rolled out a series of sector-specific guides in order to provide advice to various industry sectors on the actions required to ensure a safe automated gate.

Further, Gate Safe launched the Gate Safe MOT (an easily identifiable visual prompt to advise gate users that the device in use has been through the requisite safety checks or is due a service/maintenance visit).

*Further information is available online at www.gate-safe.org