Automatic doors enable pedestrian’s unimpeded entry and exit through a doorway without having to push or pull the door open. Automatic doors also ensure a safe, convenient and efficient method of opening and closing a door and have become part of our every day lives.

Automatic doors provide the following benefits to users and building owners:

• Improved accessibility and convenience for customers to enter your shop, office or business
• Increased safety
• Increased security
• Reduced noise, dust and dirt entering your building
• Reduced climate control and air conditioning costs
• Improved aesthetics
• Interfacing with access control, intercom, fire alarm or building management systems
• Compliance to the Australian Standards and Building Code of Australia

Typically, automatic doors are sliding, swing, folding or revolving. The doors are moved by a door operator, which has a drive motor and an electronic logic controller and is connected to motion detection devices and safety devices. The detection devices identify movement within a defined area of the door and when activated, the door opens to enable a person or object to pass through the doorway. The safety devices are used to detect a person within the doorway threshold that prevents doors from closing. While these devices are very reliable, for safety a person should continue to move through the doorway without stopping.

AADIF promotes industry best practice, and compliance to NCC-BCA and Australian Standards are essential to ensure the safety of all pedestrians and protection of industry stakeholders.

• Australian Standard AS: 5007 – 2007 ‘Powered doors for pedestrian access and egress’ is endorsed by AADIF as an Australian Standard promoting industry best practice and sets out new performance, safety, maintenance and testing requirements for all automatic pedestrian doors including sliding doors, swing doors, folding doors and revolving doors
• Australian Standard AS1428 “Design for access and mobility, Part 1’.
• The National Code of Compliance – Building Code of Australia (BCA), clauses D2.19 and D.2.21.
• The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), which directly references the BCA and AS1428

Doers your automatic door provider actively engage in best practice?
To purchase Australian Standards, please visit the http://infostore.saiglobal.com/store/.

AS5007 requires inspection and maintenance of the equipment at intervals not exceeding a time period of 4 months and the building owner or agent is responsible for the safe operation and maintenance of each individual automatic door in the building and adopt safety checking and planned maintenance procedures.
Failure to properly service and maintain powered pedestrian doors may cause an electrical and/or mechanical failure. This could result in a possible personal injury and related liability claim by the aggrieved party against the building’s owner and facilities manager citing that the service and maintenance procedures contained in AS5007 were not adhered to.

Regular inspection and maintenance of the automatic door entrance in accordance with AS5007 is important to ensure safe operation, long term reliability and working efficiency of the automatic door entrance, including safety devices and safety systems.

For further information contact your AADIF member company by clicking on ‘MEMBER DIRECTORY’ and follow the links or consult your IFA Industry Directory publication.