Automatic doors

BS EN 16005 is where most existing doors fail

Almost every automatic door we survey on an older building fails at least one point of BS EN 16005. The usual ones are missing presence detection on the swing side, sensor blind spots at the leading edge, and finger-trap gaps at the closing stile.

The standard puts a duty on whoever operates the building, not on whoever installed the door. It also requires a competent safety check at least annually, with records. If an incident happens and there are no records, the position is very difficult to defend.

Escape routes change the specification entirely

A powered door on a designated escape route has to release under power failure and let people out without special knowledge. That is achieved with break-out leaves that swing through in the direction of escape, or a fail-safe unlock tied into the fire alarm.

This is decided at design stage with the fire strategy, not chosen from a price list. Retrofitting escape compliance onto the wrong operator usually means changing the operator.

Low energy operators for accessible doors

Where the requirement is accessibility rather than throughput — an accessible WC lobby, an internal cross-corridor door, a small entrance — a low-energy swing operator on a push pad is often the better answer. It opens slowly enough that presence sensors are not needed, costs a fraction of a sliding set, and can be fitted to a good existing door leaf.