Luis Rubio (AEPA): Each group of industrial and garage doors has its own specific risks

What are the main risks to be considered when installing and using automatic doors?

The first thing to emphasise is that automatic doors are machines which, if properly designed and manufactured according to product standards, are totally safe pieces of equipment. Product standards assess the risks of this equipment and establish the preventive measures to be applied, and are therefore a very helpful tool for the industry.     

If we refer to the risks that must be taken into account by the door manufacturer in order to avoid accidents during operation or handling of the door, these are defined in the product standard "UNE-EN 13241:2004+A2:2017 Industrial, commercial and garage doors and gates. Product standard, performance characteristics'; in standard 'UNE-EN 16361:2014+A1:2017 Automatic pedestrian doors. Product standard, performance characteristics'; and in 'UNE-EN 16005:2013/AC:2015 Automatic pedestrian doors. Safety in use. Requirements and test methods'.

Industrial and garage doors are intended to be installed in areas accessible to people and whose main purpose is to provide secure access to goods and vehicles accompanied or driven by people in industrial, commercial or residential garages. Within this group of doors there is a wide variety of types, each with its own specific risks.

Could you summarise each of these risks for us?

Firstly, there are the risks of impact and crushing. Such hazards usually occur sequentially, i.e. the impact usually occurs first and, if unchecked, crushing usually follows. In manually operated doors, these risks are mainly due to the door itself falling, mainly because of the absence of mechanical elements to prevent it from sliding out of its guides and overturning. For sliding doors; the risk stems from a lack of safety devices to prevent the door's suspension systems (cables, springs) from falling in the event of breakage. For vertically moving doors; the absence of cables or other safety devices to prevent doors with two pivot points from falling if one of them breaks may pose a risk, as in the case of hinged or up-and-over doors (ple-leva).

In addition, with power-operated doors these risks are caused by excessive impact forces that first hit and then, if there is nothing to limit them, can drag and crush the person against another rigid element that may be in the path of the door leaf.

Secondly, there are shearing hazards, which occur mainly in motorised doors and are basically the result of the lack of protection between moving parts (sprocket-chain, pulley-cable) or the absence of safety clearances between door leaves or moving parts of the door.

Thirdly, there are the risks arising from the incorporation of a pedestrian door in the garage door. Many garage doors are mainly fitted with a wicket door, which has a number of risks of its own, such as tripping over the bottom frame of the door leaf, or being dragged through the wicket door when the garage door is opened and the garage door is in operation. It must therefore be fitted with a device such as an electrical contact so that the garage door is prevented from operating when the wicket door is opened.

Fourthly, there is the risk of people becoming trapped in areas where the garage or industrial door is the only possible exit from the premises, e.g. due to a failure of the motor or power supply, in which case it must be fitted with manual operating devices that are accessible to people without additional means.

Fifthly, electrical hazards. Obviously, these are specific to motorised doors and occur when a person can come into contact with the electric current that supplies the door for its operation, either directly by touching live parts of the equipment or indirectly by touching metal parts of the door that have been energised as a result of an insulation fault. In this case, the doors must be properly protected by enclosures or casings, as well as by proper earthing and earth leakage protection.

What additional hazards are there for wicket doors?

For wicket doors, the risks are similar to those listed for industrial or garage doors except for the one indicated in the third point, but in addition they may have other specific risks such as the following.

Firstly, risks depending on their location, e.g. whether or not they are located on escape routes. If they are, the doors shall be designed to allow evacuation of the building in case of emergency, either by means of devices which open automatically and remain open in an emergency situation or in the absence of power supply, or by means of panic doors which can be opened manually in the direction of evacuation.

Secondly, risks arising from the majority population of the centre in which they are installed. If a large proportion of the users are elderly people, people with reduced mobility, people with disabilities or children, the door must not come into contact with these people and must therefore be fitted with devices to prevent impact with them.

Thirdly, there are the risks arising from impacts against leaves. Automatic pedestrian doors tend to have a large proportion of glass leaves, and many of them are also located in shopping centres, supermarkets, etc., where users move around with metal trolleys that can impact against the leaves. In this case, they must be designed to hold the glazing in place to prevent it from breaking and falling, which could result in cuts to users                         

        

What additional factors need to be taken into account for industrial doors?

Industrial doors have basically the same risks as the garage doors listed in the previous point. However, these are aggravated by the large dimensions and weights they often have, in which case preventive measures must be adapted to them. Moreover, with this type of door, the risks and their consequences are not only increased for the users but also for the installation, maintenance and repair technicians, as the latter have to use special procedures and working tools according to these dimensions and weights. For example, working at heights using MEWPs, scaffolding, etc., with the risks that this entails, for which technicians must have received specific training and appropriate PPE such as safety harnesses, etc.     

Could you summarise the main measures to be taken to prevent all these risks?

The preventive measures have been described in detail, and we have also identified the risks, and basically we could list the following. To prevent impact and crushing in the fall of the door, anti-fall devices would be necessary in case of broken suspension cables or balancing springs; end stops to prevent overtravel of the door and the door leaf from sliding out of the supporting bridge on sliding doors; and safety cables on hinged doors with two pivot points. To avoid impact and crushing as a result of the forces generated by their operation, the forces must be controlled and limited, and one of the most effective means of achieving this are safety edges, infrared curtains, etc.

   

To prevent shearing, guards and clearances between moving parts are necessary. In order to prevent impacts with wicket gates, it is necessary to provide them with electrical contacts that prevent the operation of the gate while they remain open. To prevent entrapment in places where the door is the only exit from the area, they must be fitted with accessible manual manoeuvring devices. To prevent electrical risks, the electrical installation of the door must be carried out according to REBT (earth connection, differential, circuit breaker). To enable the proper evacuation of the centres, batteries and panic doors are necessary. To prevent the risks of door contact with elderly people and children, dual-technology presence sensors are required. And to prevent the risks arising from the impact of objects on the glass panes, laminated glass must be installed and tested in accordance with UNE-EN 13049.