History of Fencing

In the 80s, Heras introduced the concept of temporary fencing from Holland into the UK market and since then, it has grown exponentially. A strange fact is that despite being the name everyone uses, Heras has never manufactured fencing in the UK and some people wrongly use the term Harris fencing when searching for the product!

Originally square top standard panels (wide mesh) were the only ones available & are still being used today in rural areas where there are no members of the general public. Once the product increased in popularity for use on sites in the UK, there were security incidents as the fencing was too easy to climb over. This prompted the HSE to get involved which led to GS7 to be introduced, stipulating that the mesh aperture was to be no more 30mm wide hence the term anti-climb panel was born and must be used when members of the general public are present. The GS7 term has now been superseded by HSG151 which details an aperture to be narrow enough so as not to allow a child’s hand or foot, amongst other recommendations.

The original temporary fencing was manufactured using heavy materials & required 2 men to lift. However, over the years this product has become lighter due to manual handling regulations, changes in specification, logistics pressure & market forces. Temporary fencing used to be only square top but this has evolved with there now being a round top panel. The most popular because it only has 2 points of weakness on the frame instead of 4.

Fence feet have changed from heavy concrete blocks to recycled plastic feet, which despite their lightweight nature, last a lot longer than their concrete predecessors.

Furthermore, when these “Heras type” panels were first introduced stability options were minimal compared to what is seen on sites today, now we have a wide range of products to cope with even the most challenging of requests, whether this is due to wind loading requests, site restrictions, ground conditions, location or site budgets.   

HSG 151 – ‘Protecting the Public – Your Next Move’

The HSG 151 is a construction health and safety legislation guidance note that was first published by HSE in 1997 and superseded Guidance Note No. ‘GS7’ – that has become a generic name for the Anti-Climb Temporary Fence Panel. The note has been written to provide advice and guidance to prevent construction accidents and ill health to the public who may visit or be within the vicinity of a construction site. The advice given is a recommendation & is not compulsory.

HSG 151 is a 38-page document and section 2 is titled ‘The Site Perimeter and Other Boundaries’. This section describes how most risk assessments conclude that the site perimeter should be defined by a physical barrier to separate the public from construction work, and within this section page, 11 makes the following suggestions that can be related to all makes of temporary anti-climb security fencing panels.

A 2m high fence is an effective site barrier for most sites, exceptions to this may be city-centre sites and residential areas where there have been previous attempts by children to gain access to the site.

Perimeter fences can be constructed from a range of materials, including metal mesh, which prevents children from getting their hands and feet through thus preventing anyone to gain handholds or footholds.

Sectional fencing should be locked together and not easily separated without using a tool from the inside of the site.

Keep gaps underneath the fence or gate as small as possible to stop anyone from gaining access under the fence. On uneven ground, gaps can be quite considerable if steps are not taken to level the surface.

Where the feet of sectional fencing points into pedestrian areas, they should be highlighted to avoid tripping hazards.

Altrad Generation provides a full range of temporary fencing solutions that meet with and often exceed, the suggestions contained within the Health & Safety Guidance Note HSG 151.

Get in touch to find out more about our temporary fencing.