Opening the Door to Independence
The primary feature that makes automatic swing doors so popular in schools is the ease of use in ADA applications. Children, particularly those using walkers or wheelchairs, are confronted daily with the challenges around every corner and at every doorway. Preforming a swing door AAADM inspections in your school helps mitigate risk associated with doors that are out of compliance.
Struggling with heavy manual doors can throw kids off balance and result in falls and injuries. Because of their decreased mobility and difficulty preforming some physical tasks, those identified groups may benefit greatly from the use of automatic doors. They allow the children to pass through the door without having to wait for a teacher or other staff member to hold it open.
The decision to use automatic doors carries the responsibility to make sure they are maintained properly to reduce the risk of someone being injured by a low energy swing door operator. Above all, maintaining doors so they they don’t open too fast, or not staying open the proper amount of time is of grave concern .
The American Association of Automatic Door Manufacturers (AAADM) has put together important safety guidelines
- The automatic door should be properly specified to suit the intended use and the proper ANSI standard (ANSI A156.10 Standard for Power Operated Doors or ANSI A156.19 Standard for Power Assist and Low Energy Power Operated Doors) should be followed.
- Automatic and power-assisted doors should be installed by a qualified technician and inspected by an AAADM certified inspector.
- Preventative maintenance and a daily inspection are strongly recommended. Daily safety procedures are outlined on a label affixed to the frame.
- Doors should be properly marked as automatic.
- Door closing speed and force should be adjusted for the intended user. Time delay should be set and activating devices properly positioned and adjusted.
Children with disabilities are often challenged by their physical surroundings. For those walker and wheelchair dependent students, opening manual doors is sometimes an impossible task. Therefore, the presence of well chosen automatic door can promote independent mobility and a better educational experience for every student.
In conclusion, it is up to those administrators in charge of the facilities departments in their respective school districts to make sure that the automatic doors comply with the requirements set in the standards. Properly maintained doors reduce the risk of a child being injured due to a door that has not been maintained.
Contact us, we can set up a time to perform a swing door AAADM inspections to address your pain points. Our AAADM inspection process identifies noncompliant automatic sliding and swing doors. When noncompliant doors are identified we can preform the services to bring them back into standard. Let us be your strategic partner and help minimize your risk with your doors.
