Door Industry Journal - Spring 2018

Also online at: www.dijonline.co.uk 96 THE door industry journal spring 2018 Automated Gates & Barriers EN 12453:2017 – Update of the European Standards for Automatic Gates and Doors The 21st of September 2018 has been officially designated for launching the new standard EN12453:2017 “Industrial, commercial and garage doors and gates – Safety in use of power operated doors – Requirements and test methods”. The former standard, EN12445 has been incorporated into the current EN 12453; this important “union” has eliminated potentially ambiguous concepts and integrated some fundamental aspects related to safety. Through this incorporation some specific shortfalls that prevented harmonisation have been solved, for example the hazard points of the doors, the safety of the drive, the extra run of the leaf, as well as the necessary actions for prevention/elimination of hazards and ensuring the minimum level of protection. How does the new Standard affect Force Measurement Devices? The new Standard precisely concerns Microtronics’ sector: the measurement of operating forces with a specific instrument such as BlueForce Smart. All of annex C in EN12453:2017 “Force measuring method” reiterates the utilisation of a specific force measurement device and its minimum technical requirements (better defined in the point C.2.2 “Reference Measuring Equipment”, that corresponds to the old paragraph 5.1.1). Another important point of the Standard that has completely changed is 5.1.2 “Measurement equipment for in- situ tests”, that says that only instruments with technical characteristics considered “of reference” are compliant: • Measurement range from 25 to 2000N; • Ability to save the force/time graph of the test; • Two contact areas with a diameter of 80mm+/-1mm; • Elastic constant of 500N/mm; • Ascent/descent time of the amplifier of the load cell not >5ms; • Need for periodical calibration; Consequently, it won’t be possible to certify the automatic doors or gates with equipment compliant only with the former EN12445:2000. In this regard, Microtronics’ customers do not have to worry, because all instruments produced from 2002 onwards, complied with EN12445:2000, and now comply with EN12453:2017. Moreover, for installers who have other instruments that are not compliant, it is possible to benefit from the trade-in promotional campaign being run by Microtronics which allows them to part-exchange their old instrument for a new BlueForce Smart. On Microtronics’ website there are several updated handbooks with the specific descriptions covering the measurements required according to the new EN12453; additionally, in the download area, updated software and firmware is available. Microtronics would also like to assure their customers in the UK and Ireland, that the BlueForce software, already compliant to DHF TS 011 , will be soon updated to comply with the new DHF TS 012 . Editor’s note: Our advisory partner, The Door and Hardware Federation requested that we point out the following: “The new standard makes it clear that an x,y plotter or similar is necessary for type testing. This does not affect on site force testing which, in dhf ’s opinion, can be adequately performed using an instrument compliant with clause 5.1.2 of EN 12453:2000”.