What we do in Dumfries and Galloway
- Access control and activation. Card readers, keypads, timers, push pads and touch-free switches tied into the door operator, so the entrance opens for the right people at the right times. See access control.
- Automating existing doors. Where a door and frame in Dumfries and Galloway are sound, adding a sliding or swing operator can cost far less than replacing the entrance. The free survey checks whether it will work. See automating an existing door.
- Door openers at home. Automatic openers for front, back and internal doors in homes across Dumfries and Galloway, arranged around the person using them and their carers. The survey is free and the quote is fixed. See home door openers.
- New automatic entrances. Sliding, telescopic, curved, folding and revolving doors for shops, offices and public buildings in Dumfries and Galloway, each starting with a free site survey and a fixed, itemised written quote. See new automatic doors.
Towns we list in Dumfries and Galloway
Automatic doors and the law in Scotland
Under the Equality Act 2010, service providers and employers in Scotland must make reasonable adjustments for disabled people, which can include altering a physical feature such as a heavy entrance door.
Scottish building standards guidance (the non-domestic Technical Handbook) expects an accessible entrance door to give a clear opening of at least 800 mm, says powered doors improve accessibility as long as they add no new hazard, and expects signage, sensors that hold the door open long enough, and guarding against collision or entrapment.
In Great Britain a new or converted powered door must meet the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008 before it is first used, and can carry the UKCA or the CE marking. Workplace law (the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992) expects powered doors to have suitable and effective features to stop them trapping anyone and, where needed for safety, to open by hand unless they open automatically if the power fails. Doors at work must also be kept in efficient working order under a suitable system of maintenance.
Doors on escape routes and fire doors are covered by the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006. In Scotland, fire safety regulations say sliding or revolving doors must not be used for exits specifically intended as emergency exits, and Scottish guidance allows automatic and revolving doors on an escape route only where they fail safely to outward opening, or have a monitored fail-safe system that opens them on power failure, sensor failure and fire alarm.
Questions from Dumfries and Galloway
Can an existing door in Dumfries and Galloway be made automatic?
Often, yes. If the door, frame and hinges are sound, a swing or sliding operator can be added rather than replacing the whole entrance. The free survey checks the weight and condition of the door, the fixings, the space for the operator and the power supply. See automating an existing door for what is involved.
Can you work with schools, hospitals and care homes in Dumfries and Galloway?
We can. Healthcare, care and education buildings need doors that are gentle, reliable and safe for vulnerable users, with work planned around patients, residents or the school timetable. We provide written prices and records suited to organisations that buy through procurement. See sectors for more on each type of building.
Do automatic doors in Dumfries and Galloway open when the fire alarm sounds?
They can, if they are linked to the fire alarm. Doors on escape routes are set up to open, break out or be openable by hand, as the fire strategy for the building requires, and fire doors that are held open must close automatically when the alarm operates. We set doors up to match the strategy you give us.
Who actually carries out the work in Dumfries and Galloway?
Specialist automatic door engineers working under our management. We are the contracting party: we arrange the survey or diagnosis, provide the written price, book the work and deal with any follow-up, so you deal with us throughout. We do not have premises in Dumfries and Galloway; engineers travel to each address.
Can you repair an automatic door in Dumfries and Galloway that you did not install?
Yes. Engineers working under our management repair most makes of automatic door, whoever fitted them. Tell us what the door is doing and send a photo of any label on the operator. We agree the visit price in writing before anyone attends, and quote any parts before fitting them.
Who is responsible for automatic doors on escape routes in Dumfries and Galloway?
The person responsible for fire safety under the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 for those premises. Scottish guidance allows automatic doors on escape routes only where they fail safely to outward opening or have a monitored fail-safe system that opens them on power failure, sensor failure and fire alarm.