How do automatic doors improve disabled access?

What this means for business owners

As a business owner, and as part of the Disability Discrimination Act, it’s your legal responsibility to ensure your work premises, whether it’s an office, a shop, factory or warehouse etc., has facilities that provide disabled access.

Accessible facilities could include wheelchair ramps, disabled toilets, accessible lifts, or modified workspaces, and, for the purpose of this blog, an internal and external automatic door system.

Modern automatic door systems offer a wide range of benefits to people with various mobility issues, which include:

• Increased door width – Sliding automatic doors or telescopic automatic doors are designed to provide the maximum door width available. These types of door can also be manufactured and fitted to allow unrestricted access to a number of different sizes and designs of mobility aids used by people requiring regular access to your property.
• Contact-free access – People with disabilities can sometimes lack the strength or ability required to open manually operated doors. Automatic doors, however, are fitted with various mechanisms that allow contact-free access – mechanisms include:
  • Approach sensors – These sensors work by analysing light, weight or sound around the entrance to the door. Once it detects movement, the sensor activates the doors opening mechanism to allow access.
  • Pressure mats – Pressure mats are designed so that when pressure is applied an electrical circuit is completed, allowing opening mechanisms to activate and provide access.
  • Key fob – A key fob allows the user to simply hold or wave a key fob or card over a reader, allowing them contact-free access to the property or adjoining room.
• Better emergency access – In the event of an emergency, such as a fire or flood, people with mobility issues may struggle to evacuate a premises due to having to operate heavy or poorly designed manual doors. With automatic doors, however, all people, including people with disabilities have equal opportunity to evacuate safely and with less chance of facing overcrowding at doorways.

Which type of automatic door is best for disabled access?

With a range of different types of automatic doors available, how do you choose which one is the best solution to disabled access in your workplace?

To help make your decision, it’s best to talk to a reputable automatic door provider, such as Reactive Doors, who offer a free site visit from an ADIA registered, automatic door engineer, who’ll be happy to go over the various options.

The types of automatic doors your engineer will discuss may include:

• Automatic sliding doors – These are among the most popular automatic doors, as they provide easy access and are a great space saver in areas too small for a swing door.
• Telescopic automatic doors – Telescopic doors are usually installed at large doorways, such as at airports and retail centres, and like automatic sliding doors, provide hassle-free access whilst taking up minimal space.
• Automatic swing doors – Automatic swing doors are a popular choice for many businesses due to the ease at which they can be installed, the classic look, and the accessibility benefits they provide.

Automatic doors, Milton Keynes

Reactive Doors is a Milton Keynes based automatic door specialist, helping businesses in all sectors improve accessibility throughout their premises with high-quality automatic door systems. Get in touch to speak to one of our experienced team today.