Updates to the industry standards for automatic doors will mean all suppliers and fitters must familiarise themselves with new legislation. In addition, they will also have to advise customers who have older installations of the changes, if applicable, following the announcement by the Automatic Door Suppliers’ Association.
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Industry governing body ADSA is the primary contributor in assisting with the development of British and European automatic door standards. Working with a number of countries and organisations to achieve this, ADSA was founded in 1985 to establish quality and safety standards for the powered pedestrian door industry.
Here at Automatic Access, we pride ourselves on many things, including being an ADSA member. We stay up to date with the latest regulations to supply and fit automatic doors.
Why is ADSA important?
ADSA created the first code of practice for the “safety of doors for pedestrian use”. Known as BS 7036: 1988, this became the benchmark for the provision of automatic doors. This has since evolved, but the older standard is still applicable for automatic doors installed between 1988 and 2013.
Automatic door technicians must be accredited to the current regulations before they can install and service automatic doors. Our technician training is completed and certified with ADSA, making the organisation very important to our company and industry. The standard is so important, we go the extra mile, ensuring our other employees, including the sales team and project manager, are accredited too.
Current regulations
The current regulation governing automatic door safety standards, BS EN 16005, will soon be updated. Automatic door companies will have to apply the latest standards to all new installations. We will also advise customers with older installations of the possible risks identified.
We’ve already been busy getting up to speed with what will change and applying this to our current customers, so there will be no nasty bills or surprises with the update.
This means updates in the following areas:
Risk Assessments
It’s paramount that a risk assessment to BS 7036-0 is completed to ensure optimum safety procedures are observed. This will consider the building’s usage and users. It will also take into account safety devices; the approach; risks of using the automatic door; entrapment; minimising drawing in hazards and recognising any other potential hazards.
This high level of risk assessment is completed as standard when you choose an Automatic Access installation. It may even be why you see an extra part included in our installations when compared with our competitors.
Prevention of contact
The new standard highlights the need for the doors to have a “non-contact preferred route”. This is a big change for the industry and one that’s very welcome. It means the standard is trying to remove any hazards for people who may be unsteady on their feet, having the potential to result in a fall, for example.
In the first instance, we would always try to “design out” potential risks with a physical barrier, such as a pocket screen. This is always the preferred advice, as this design option greatly reduces the potential for an accident to occur.
If designing out the hazard isn’t possible, the next solution is to install a safety device, such as a sensor. While these options aren’t always going to be the cheapest quotation you’ll receive, we’re pretty sure they will be the most compliant quote.
Automatic door companies will now be required to protect the width of the door to ensure this practice is applied.
Finger guard protection changes to swing doors
The new standard shows a change to drawings, with the minimum protected height having now been reduced to 1,900mm.
Protective devices should cover the bottom half of the door, as this area is the biggest risk when it comes to accidents or injuries.
Barriers to swing doors
A further change impacts the barriers fitted to automatic doors. Barriers to direct traffic should be 900mm in height and must be fitted to an angle of 90 degrees.
A 100mm diameter sphere shouldn’t be able to fit through any gaps and an 8mm sphere shouldn’t be able to fit through any opening or space underneath the barrier.
The good news is our barriers, fabricated in-house, currently comply with this standard already – those installed within the past year shouldn’t require any advisory warnings.
Test Body used for servicing automatic doors
Finally, when our technicians install and service your automatic doors, the CB Test Body should now be used to test all side windows and the drum wall.
We will be required to install additional electric sensors wherever the Test Body detects this is necessary.
How will these changes affect you?
Now you know about the main changes, will they affect you and your existing installation?
The good news is the new standard can be applied retrospectively to older/existing installations. Automatic Access will advise you on the new standard and any issues with compliance. We’ll inform you of the potential hazard and if we would class this as a high priority repair. This will help our customers to assess if they feel the work required is reasonable and practicable to complete.
Please be aware that any advice that Automatic Access gives is always for the safety of the site and its users to help remove any potential risks and hazards. The new standard is available to purchase from ADSA.
If you would like to find out more, please don’t hesitate to contact our Sales team or the Service Department.