Automatic bollard repairs

What is it?

What are automatic bollard repairs?

Automatic bollard repair is the diagnosis and correction of faults in powered rising bollards, from hydraulic leaks and motor failures to controller faults, failed detection loops, flooded cassettes and heads damaged by vehicles. Repairs start with finding the cause, then making the bollard safe and replacing or adjusting the failed part. Each repair visit is paid and priced in writing before work begins.

When an automatic bollard fails, the entrance it controls usually fails with it. A bollard stuck up locks out staff and deliveries; one stuck down leaves a secure entrance open; one that rises unexpectedly is a danger to vehicles. The first priority is to make the entrance safe and usable, and the second is to find out why it failed, because the visible fault is often not the cause.

We repair hydraulic and electro-mechanical bollards, controllers, loops and associated access equipment, using installation crews working under our management and a qualified electrician for electrical work. Repair visits are paid. We ask what the bollard is doing and for photographs, give you the cost of the visit in writing, and quote any parts and further work in writing before carrying them out.

Common automatic bollard faults

• Bollards stuck in the raised or lowered position
• Slow, jerky or noisy rising and lowering
• Hydraulic oil leaks around the head or pit
• Bollards that rise or fall on their own
• Loops cut or damaged during resurfacing
• Flooded pits after heavy rain
• Heads and covers damaged by a vehicle strike

How it works

Faults fall into a few families. Drive faults include hydraulic pump or valve failure, leaking seals and hoses, low fluid, and on electro-mechanical units motor, gearbox or coupling wear. Control faults include failed power supplies, controller boards, contactors, limit or position sensors and battery backup. Detection faults are usually loops, which break when the road surface cracks or is cut, and photocells knocked out of alignment. Then there is water: a blocked drain fills the pit and causes almost every kind of fault at once.

Diagnosis works through these in order. The controller's fault log and indicator lights show what the system thinks is wrong; loop detectors can be tested for frequency and fault status; the drive is checked under load; and the pit is inspected. A bollard that rises or falls on its own is often a loop or detector fault rather than a bollard fault, and an access device sending repeated signals can look like a controller failure.

Vehicle damage needs its own care. If a bollard rose under a vehicle, the safety settings are checked and the cause established before the bollard returns to service. Damaged heads, covers and light rings can often be replaced without lifting the whole unit, but a bent post or cracked cassette may mean replacement of the bollard or its foundation.

Options and finishes

Typical specification

How we do it

Ground, foundations and buried services

Many automatic bollard faults start in the ground. Pits flood when drains silt up, soakaways fail or pipes collapse, and the repair may involve jetting or relaying a drain as well as replacing water-damaged parts. Loops fail when surfaces crack, sink or are patched; replacing a loop in a broken surface without repairing the surface first just leads to another failure. Resurfacing contractors often cut through loops and ducts without realising they are there, so it is worth pointing them out before any roadworks. Where a vehicle impact has cracked the cassette's foundation, the concrete may need breaking out and recasting before the bollard can safely return to use.

Rules and checks before you order

• Do not keep a bollard in service with faulty or bypassed safety devices; make it safe and lock it down or out of use until repaired.
• Collect and clean up hydraulic fluid leaks properly to avoid contaminating drains and ground.
• Have electrical repairs carried out by a qualified electrician to BS 7671.
• For crash-rated automatic bollards, involve the manufacturer where repairs could affect tested performance.
• After an incident where a bollard struck a vehicle or person, revisit the risk assessment and safety settings before returning it to use.

See rules and standards by nation for highway consent, accessibility and security standards.

Maintenance

Many repairs could be avoided by regular servicing, which catches blocked drains, weeping seals and failing loops early. Between visits, keep the bollard head clear, report changes in speed or sound promptly and keep a simple log of faults with times and dates, which speeds diagnosis. Tell anyone resurfacing or digging nearby where loops, ducts and drains run. After a repair, consider a planned maintenance arrangement if the bollard has no service history.

What affects the price

• Nature of the fault and time needed to diagnose it
• Parts required and their availability
• Hydraulic or electro-mechanical drive
• Drainage repairs or pit pumping
• Loop replacement and surface repairs
• Impact damage to heads, cassettes or foundations