It is a requirement of BS6440:2011 that lifts with a total rise of over 500 mm be guarded at the top landing. We have the following 4 options:-
- The "rising barrier" sits flush with the upper landing level and out of sight when the lift is not in use, at a push of a button it automatically rises 1100 mm. This rising barrier can be found on Sesame systems such as the Whitehall DDA Lift. It is made from brushed finish stainless steel. It has our patent pending pressure sensors built into it which reverses the travel up or down when an obstruction is met. This rising barrier requires a pit depth of 1600 mm below the upper landing level.
- The "automatic gate" sits on one side of the Sesame system and the pivot swings closed to a distance of 100 mm from the top step riser. The gate does not require any more pit depth than what the retracting stairs need, which is a minimum of 100 mm below the lower landing level. The gate does need a space to the side of the retracting stairs to fit in its actuator, therefore the pit is slightly wider on one side. While the gate saves on pit depth, it is always on view. The automatic gate can be found on Sesame systems such as the Waterloo Lift. The standard Sesame gate is made from a free-standing 65 mm diameter solid stainless steel polished drive shaft with clear glass fixed elegantly to the side of the drive shaft. Clients can specify their own style of gate however this typically would require a pivot point on the top of the drive shaft for stability. The gate needs to stop on something when it closes. For example, the glass gate would be fitted with an extension stopper that would usually stop on the surrounding handrails. The mechanism has switches hidden in the lift pit to tell the system that the gate is open or closed. It also has pressure switches that detect an obstruction and reverse the movement.
- The "manual gate" has the same features and benefits as the automatic gate however it is to be manually controlled. For retracting stairlifts with a manual gate, the lift must be controlled by a member of staff as they have to close the gate at the upper landing before the stairs retract. For retracting stair lifts the manual gate default position is locked open so people can use the stairs. When a manual gate is used on a platform lift without retracting stairs the user can open and close it independently because the default position would always be sprung loaded to close. The manual gate is slightly cheaper than the automatic gate but the main benefit is its requirement for just a 125 mm pit depth below the upper landing level, therefore it is quite popular when using the Sesame Victoria Chair Lift because often there is no pit space available behind the top step riser. Again the standard Sesame gate is made from a 65 mm diameter solid stainless steel polished drive shaft with clear glass fixed elegantly to the side of the drive shaft. The manual gate drive shaft requires a pivot point on the top fixed to the surrounding wall/handrails for stability. The mechanism itself has a switch that detects that it is closed so it can fire its internal locking pins to hold it in place. Like the automatic gate, the glass needs to stop on something when it closes.
- In rare circumstances when a gate or barrier can not be installed some clients have approached building control successfully to install a manual barrier such as a pull rope to protect the void that is created when the stairs retract. However, this style of barrier requires a member of staff to control the lift at all times.
- The site's existing upper landing door can be used as the upper landing barrier in some cases. Many Sesame systems are installed on the front of grade one listed buildings with a set of stairs leading up to the building's front door for example. The Sesame wheelchair lift can be programmed to use this front door as the upper landing barrier either with a member of staff opening and closing the door or an actuator can be installed to automatically open and close this door. The door should be no more than 100 mm away from the top step riser or riser wall, if it is more than 100 mm then BS 6440:2011 will require a sensor to detect anyone standing in the gap between the closed door and the top step riser or riser wall. We can achieve this with a pressure pad below the stone tread, proximity sensors on either side of the door or proximity sensors fitted to the ceiling looking down at the gap.
- For our Retracting stair options when the rise of less than 500 mm the gate/barrier at the upper landing can be omitted as seen in our Kensington Stairlift 1086. If the stairs are left retracted then an alarm will alert the user or staff member to extend the stairs for pedestrian use.