Automatic doors are everywhere, from elevator doors to motion-sensitive store doors, or doors on streetcars and buses. In fact, according to the American Association of Automatic Door Manufacturers, automatic doors open and close safely more than 50 billion times every year. This is generally a very good thing because it brings businesses into compliance with aspects of legislation associated with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
In spite of all the safe instances of automated door operation, however, 3,500 people are injured each year in automatic doors. They close too fast, too hard, or don’t open at all. They can pinch fingers, bruise bodies, and in some cases, knock people down, sending them to the emergency room.
Automatic doors, of course, are never built with bruises in mind, so chances are good that an automatic door that causes injuries is malfunctioning. The American Association of Automatic Door Manufacturers suggests testing automatic doors regularly to check for malfunctions. A push force gauge is a necessary component of checking the force with which automatic doors close.
Strong force, especially if it’s sudden, isn’t necessary to close most doors. A sudden, strong movement can, however, knock someone down. If your business has an automatic door, you owe it to your customers and your own peace of mind to make sure your door won’t cause injuries. Injured customers are not only likely to be lost as valuable clients, but some of them might file personal injury claims against your business for negligence.
A force gauge can help you not only check the safety of your automatic doors, but by creating a record and regularly measuring the force, you ensure two very important things. You guarantee that there’s a record of the force of your automatic doors so if someone does try to claim an injury from it, you can quantify exactly how much force they encountered, and even more importantly, you can monitor if the door begins to malfunction by closing with too much force. If you regularly test the automatic doors on your business property and monitor the force it uses that’s within a normal range, you’ll be the first to detect a malfunction and can prevent injured customers in the first place.
For more help determining the best force gauge for your business needs, whether that’s for a motion-sensitive automatic door or a closing elevator door, please contact us. We’re here to help.
today.