At Elmwood Protection Services, safety is always our priority. We recently attended a reactive fault call at an operations depot and discovered that the existing roller shutter didn’t meet current safety standards. After a thorough inspection, our team recommended a full replacement—and the results speak for themselves.
Why Shutter Safety Should Be on Every Building Manager’s Radar
Roller shutters are more than just barriers—they’re machines. Once a motor is attached to a shutter, gate, or door, it falls under the Machinery Directive, which sets out strict safety standards for all types of mechanical equipment.
One of the key risks with older shutters is the lack of anti-fallback protection. In this case, the shutter was driven by a motor via a chain drive, but without a safety brake. If the chain were to fail, the shutter could free-fall—posing a serious hazard to anyone nearby. Due to space limitations, a safety brake couldn’t be retrofitted, so a full replacement was the safest and most compliant solution.
What Building Managers Need to Know
✅ Annual Maintenance Is Essential
Roller shutters should be maintained at least once per year, or more frequently if recommended by the manufacturer. This maintenance must be carried out by trained and experienced personnel.
✅ DHF Accreditation Matters
Elmwood engineers are trained under the Door & Hardware Federation (DHF), ensuring they’re equipped to assess shutter safety during both reactive callouts and planned preventative maintenance (PPM) visits.
✅ Safety First, Always
Our team doesn’t just fix faults—we assess the entire system for compliance and safety, recommending upgrades or replacements where necessary.
