Though the T&T Bureau of Standards (TTBS) is moving to develop effective guidelines for the construction of safer sliding gates, jurisdictional issues may yet stand in the way of their mandatory application.
Last year, defective sliding gates were responsible for the deaths of both young and old.
In February, 2-year-old Adam Rampaul was crushed by a gate at his Bamboo Village home and in July, 85-year-old Sookoo Rama, of the same area, was killed when a similar metal gate fell on him.
By June, the TTBS had established a specification committee to work on what it describes as a National Standard for Driveway Gates. The committee comprises representatives of a variety of state and quasi-state agencies and is focusing on the scope of the proposed standards, common reasons for gate failure and the main safety measures to prevent accidents.
Errol Rampaul, who heads the TTBS's Standardisation Division, told T&T Guardian he was impressed with public responses to bulletins put out by the committee but was concerned about the challenge of enforcement.
"If we are talking about (mandatory) regulations, the question arises as to who will be responsible for their enforcement," Rampaul said.
He said the TTBS usually works with regulators on a wide variety of other standards, but responsibility for fences and gates, should there be regulations, was one area in which the matter of jurisdiction was unclear.
Local government corporations are typically responsible for regulating the construction of buildings, but driveway gates are not currently considered to be included in this area of activity.
Responding online to the second of the committee's two public advisories, Kuarlal Rampersad, general secretary of the International Code Council (ICC), proposed that "accidents and deaths caused by falling sliding gates should be reported to the police" and investigations conducted.
"I'm of the opinion that the technical and engineering backgrounds of those who build these gates don't provide them with the knowledge and skills to construct those gates," he said. "There should be a standard to be adhered to."
The ICC is described on its website as "a member-focused association... dedicated to developing model codes and standards used in the design, build and compliance process to construct safe, sustainable, affordable and resilient structures."
Rampaul said while the ideal situation was for enforcement of standards to be routinely observed by the respective industries, in some instances they could be made compulsory.
He said if this were to occur, it would become an issue of which agency should regulate the standards. Rampaul said the TTBS had been conducting its own investigations into the design and construction of metal gates in the country and had found that many fabricators were not applying basic construction guidelines to minimise risk.
A public consultation on the matter is due to be held during the first quarter of 2016. In the meantime, the TTBS has publicised a number of tips for fabricators which can be found online at gottbs.com/?p=3478.