Accessible Automatic Doors

What are the requirements for accessible automatic doors?

Accessible Automatic doors give easy access to those who wish to enter into and around buildings or houses.

They also help comply with the Equality Act and Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) regulations necessary for most company and public buildings or landmarks.

Providing easy access and security to all those who are within in the building.

“The Importance is to provide access to people with disabilities, regardless of their abilities, everyone must receive the same services and access all the same places”

The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995

Many organisations, local authorities, shops, schools and employers must take numerous steps to remove all barriers and difficulties that current or future disabled customers, employees, or students may experience.

Everyone should receive the same standard of service, and all public spaces should be easy to access and safe for each person, regardless of ability.

Change a physical feature?

Sometimes a physical feature of a building or other premises may make it more difficult for you to access or use it.

Here are examples of physical features which it might be possible to change:

steps and stairs
passageways and paths
entrances and exits
internal and external doors
toilets
signs
lighting and ventilation
the size of premises

The Equality Act of 2010

The Act states the several changes or adjustments that company buildings, schools or shops should make to their property to ensure that anyone can access them:

Places of employment (Office and business buildings, etc.)
Housing and Apartment Blocks
Educational Facilities (Schools, Colleges, University Buildings)
Associations, Organisations and Private Clubs
Goods and Hospitality Services (Shops, banks, hospitals, council offices, cinemas, leisure centres, etc.)

Make a reasonable adjustment?

The kind of adjustments which could be made includes removing, changing or providing a way of avoiding the physical feature, where it’s reasonable to do so.

Here are examples of reasonable adjustments:

providing ramps and stairway lifts
making doorways wider
installing automatic doors
providing more lighting and clearer signs

The best solution is an entrance that allows all of your customers, students and employees through the door with ease, whether they are non-disabled or not.

Automatic doors are great as they allow access without additional assistance from any carers or passers-by. There are numerous benefits of automatic doors for disabled people to access. They’re perfect in assisting them through with no physical effort used to open them. Entries like such also provide the correct dimensions to suit wheelchair access.

It has been long established that when any disabled entrance or DDA accessible automatic door is installed, the access provides a safe, easy and cost-effective solution for all businesses wishing to comply.

BH Doors provide installations of these easy-access door systems that will enable your building to be accessible to everyone with the functionality and security you require.

Speak to us today

For all installations, repairs, service & maintenance of commercial doors and roller shutters by a local engineer on 0808 120 0911 or email info@bhdoors.co.uk

Dynamic risk assessments and industry standards

For automatic doors one of the key factors is risk, there are 4, impact, crushing, shearing and drawing in.

During a service we carry out a dynamic risk assessment which will take into account the door type, operational use, the users and carry out the necessary safety checks.

At any point that a risk has been identified, we will either try to eliminate it or reduce the risk to a safe level.

It may result in the automatic door system being adjusted, repaired or even switched off, but generally we will provide a quotation which will detail how to overcome the risk.

The customer will be informed via our risk assessment checklist document per door for their records.

The most common found risks are within the opening and closing cycles of automatic doors which result in pocket doors, barriers or fingerguards being recommended.

You can download our guides for everything you need to know here: