How Do Boom Gates Work?

As a driver these days, you’d be hard pressed to go anywhere without going though a boom gate as a first point of security.  Their implementation is commonplace in almost every modern infrastructure project and setting and continues to grow.

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We see boom gates at:

• Shopping centers
• Private and public car parks
• Government buildings
• Businesses, and
• A wide range of other locations, including beaches and parks.

Boom gates have come a long way over the years with technology expanding their efficiency and providing an affordable and convenient alternative to traditional gates and fences.

The right boom gate can also be integrated with other systems, such as automatic number plate recognition (Parkezi) and paperless ticketing, providing an all-inclusive parking access solution making entry and exit from car parks and driveways so much faster and smoother for vehicular traffic.

There’s no doubt that boom gates have changed our lives, but have you ever considered how they work?

A boom gate, often also called a boom barrier, is operated by a geared motor which controls the gradual movement up and down of the pole or arm.  The pole is counter weighted to support the distribution of weight.

For safe operation, most automatic boom barriers have incorporated inductive loops.  The control system safety circuits are linked to ground loops which are located within the road surface.

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What does this mean?

Simply, it prevents boom arms suddenly lowering when vehicles are in the passage area.

Quality boom gates are also designed with the odd accidental knock in mind and feature a wide variety of enhancements and safety built-ins to suit location and traffic.  When designed as a complete solution, many people are surprised of the many ways the system pays for itself and can make a big different to overall performance and profitability of organisations and sites.

To be properly matched to a boom gate or boom gate system does require specialised knowledge and experience.  If you are looking for a new boom gate system or upgrade and are wanting help selecting the best boom gate for your business or premises, get in touch here.

We are Sydney-based boom gate experts, with a project team also assists with car park projects Australia-wide.

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