Roller Shutter Safety Notice

We're writing to highlight an important point around roller shutter safety that affects many commercial and public-facing premises.

Powered and manually operated roller shutters are legally classed as machinery when installed in commercial or industrial environments. As a result, there are clear and enforceable duties on duty-holders to ensure they are safe to use and do not present a risk to anyone who may operate them or pass beneath them.

Relevant UK legislation

• Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 – places a general duty on employers and building operators to ensure that equipment is safe and does not pose a risk to employees, customers or members of the public.
• Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 – Regulation 18 requires doors and gates to be constructed, installed and maintained so they are safe, including the provision of suitable protective devices. This explicitly includes upward-opening doors being fitted with a device to prevent them falling.
• Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER) – requires work equipment to be suitable for its purpose, properly maintained and inspected, and fitted with appropriate safety measures to control foreseeable risks.
• Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008 – applies to powered shutters when first installed or significantly modified, requiring risk assessment and suitable protective measures to prevent mechanical failure causing harm.

Taken together, these regulations place a clear obligation on duty-holders to control the risk of a roller shutter falling or dropping unexpectedly. Where staff, customers or contractors may walk or work underneath a shutter, this risk must be mitigated. In practical terms, this means shutters should be fitted with an appropriate safety brake or anti-fall protection system to prevent uncontrolled descent in the event of motor, spring or cable failure.

A shutter that can free-fall represents a serious risk of injury or fatality. In the absence of adequate safety protection, businesses may be exposed to prosecution, civil claims and reputational damage, in addition to the risk to people on site.

At 1st Choice Security, we assess each shutter installation based on its use, environment and risk profile. We can advise whether existing shutters are compliant or whether upgrades, such as safety brakes, are required to meet current legal expectations.