Worker crushed by falling sliding gate

Background

A worker has received serious crush injuries that required surgery in the final days of 2022. The worker was leaving work and manually closed a sliding gate when the heavy nine metre wide gate fell, pinning the worker to the driveway. Fortunately the worker was not the last to leave, and a co-worker who witnessed the incident called for help.

The image shows shows the sliding gate on the ground after the incident.

NT WorkSafe’s preliminary enquiries indicate component failures may have contributed to the incident. The gate motor wasn’t powered due to an issue with the solar panel, requiring the gate to be manually operated. The guide block which held the sliding gate upright as it opens and closes, was also found broken at the scene.

This is a composite of two images. The left hand image is a side view of the broken guide block component from the sliding gate. The right hand image is a top down image of the broken guide block.

Disclaimer

The above information is based on preliminary findings from NT WorkSafe’s initial enquiries. Enquiries are ongoing to determine the cause of the incident and the appropriate regulatory response.

Safety Information

Incidents involving sliding gates have resulted in a number of serious injuries and fatalities across Australia. The last serious incident reported to NT WorkSafe occurred in March 2020 when an Aged Care Worker received crush injuries that required surgery after manually closing a motorised sliding gate, which fell. The most recent death involving a sliding gate occurred in Victoria in April 2022.

NT WorkSafe reminds everybody that a motorised sliding gate, at a workplace, is considered an item of plant under the work health and safety laws. All Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking primary duty of care requires ensuring, so far as is reasonably practicable:

  • the provision and maintenance of safe plant, and
  • the safe use, handling, storage and transport of plant.

There is also a requirement under the laws to have a safe means of entering and exiting a workplace.

All workplaces that have a motorised sliding gate should:

  • Check maintenance schedules and ensure that motorised gate(s) have been added to the schedule, and that all plant and machinery on that schedule is maintained and repaired according to the manufacturer’s specifications
    • In particular, due to the harsh weather conditions in the Northern Territory, ensure any plastic components have a higher frequency of maintenance checks, especially if they are potentially load bearing
  • If a motorised gate is required to be manually operated while waiting for repairs, undertake Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment and Control (HIRAC) beginning by identifying hazards related to this type of use using the Hazard Checklist, which is Appendix C of the Managing the risks of plant in the workplace Code of Practice
  • Consider available control measures and implement the control measures that most effectively eliminate or minimise the risks so far as is reasonably practicable
    • This could include engaging a competent person to engineer a failsafe that prevents the gate from falling if a critical component, such as the guide block fails
  • Follow the Northern Territory’s Work health and safety consultation, cooperation and coordination Code of Practice, and consult your workers and their health and safety representatives when deciding how to manage any risk identified with manually operating a motorised gate, including when reviewing and making changes to existing processes
  • Discuss the hazards identified and the control measures you have implemented at your next toolbox talk or team meeting
  • Consider not operating a motorised gate manually for any continuous period of time, as the unregulated force could potentially lead to increase wear and tear on components.

Further Information

For further information, please refer to the following.

Safety Alerts

Codes of Practice

Contact:
Communications Unit
Phone:
0401 114 569
Email:
ntworksafe@nt.gov.au