The standard to which Vehicular Gate Operators are designed, manufactured, and tested is UL 325; Underwriters Laboratories Inc., Standard for Safety: Door, Drapery, Gate, Louver, and Window Operators and Systems. In addition to the 325 Standard, Vehicular Gate Operators must also be tested to UL 991; Tests for Safety-Related Controls Employing Solid-State Devices.

The UL 325 Standard has undergone significant revisions over the past several years. The purpose of the revisions is to create entrapment protection criteria for Vehicular Gate Operators and Systems and to increase the overall safety of the product. The standard also calls out for specific construction specifications for the vehicular gate itself (see ASTM F2200).

Keep in mind that this and other safety standards are written for YOUR protection. Your professional DKS System Installer will provide you with a safe Gate Operating System. To ensure this safety, and to comply with the manufacturer’s installation instructions and industry safety standards, your Installer will present you with different options of certain Entrapment Protection Devices that he or she feels are necessary to ensure a safe Gate System.  Some of these Entrapment Protection Devices are mandatory (the Automated Gate System will not operate without them being installed). We STRONGLY suggest that you discuss these options with your Installer and heed his or her recommendations regarding Entrapment Protection Devices and gate construction criteria. You should also refer to the manufacturer’s installation manual for more information on the safety provisions and requirements of your Vehicular Gate System. Some (but not all) of these safety devices and gate construction criteria are listed below.

Safety and Construction

• The UL 325 Safety Standard requires at least two Entrapment Protection Devices for each potential area of entrapment in each direction of travel. A Gate Operator typically uses an Inherent System as one device and the installer will provide External Devices to meet the requirement.  All DoorKing Gate Operators have a built-in Inherent Entrapment Protection System.  External Devices are required — otherwise, the Gate Operator will not run.
  
• Entrapment Protection Devices are installed in areas where an entrapment hazard exists. These Devices include Contact (Electric Edges) and Non-contact (Photo-electric) Sensors.  These devices are monitored by the Gate Operator.  Should the Gate Operator sense a fault in these devices, or if they are not connected, the Gate Operator will not run.
  
• Warning signs are placed in an area where they are visible from each side of the gate.
• Gate controls are installed in such a manner that a person operating the controls cannot come in contact with the gate or Gate Operator.  Safety standard requirements state that controls must be a minimum of six (6) feet away from the gate. Emergency Access Control Devices are exempt from this requirement.
• The Gate Operator is appropriate for the construction and class of the gate.
• Rollers are guarded.
• Pinch points are eliminated or guarded.
• All openings in Slide Gate Systems are guarded or screened from the bottom of the gate to a minimum of 72 inches above the ground to prevent a 2.25-inch diameter sphere from passing through the openings anywhere in the gate and in that portion of the adjacent fence that the gate covers in the open position.
  
• Refer to ASTM-F2200 for more information on the construction of the gate and associated hazards.
  
  

You should never install or have installed on your property, a Vehicular Gate Operator that does not carry the “MARK” of a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) such as ETL, MET, or UL. This assures you that the Gate Operator has been tested by an independent third-party testing laboratory and that it has met all the safety requirements of the UL 325 Safety Standard.

DoorKing Vehicular Gate Operators have been designed to not only meet the above requirements but have been designed to exceed these requirements so that we are providing our clients with the safest Vehicular Gate Operators on the market.