Door Industry Journal - Spring 2019

21 THE door industry journal spring 2019 Also online at: www.dijonline.co.uk industry news SALUTARY TALES FUN AND GAMES WITH DOOR CONTROLS This account relates to a period several decades ago when control systems were all hard-wired, dependent on such things as latching relays, mechanical limit switches, pneumatic safety edges, send-and-receive and reflector sensor kits. All of this may seem ‘old hat’ nowadays, but as many of these systems are still in use, it is as well to be aware of a couple of basic pitfalls. The first case goes back over 30 years and relates to a major car building plant which had converted its new assembly line to a JIT (Just-in-Time) materials and components delivery system, whereby all incoming goods were timed to the minute and streamed into an internal one-way road for programmed unloading. The trucks, mostly 6-axle units with long trailers, passed through an outer automatic sectional overhead door into an ‘airlock’ type atrium about 20 metres long towards the closed inner door. The outer door then closed and the inner one, into the assembly area, opened, and the vehicle moved forward into the plant for unloading. The inner door then closed and so on. The control system was basic and worked 100% on test; there were upper and lower limits, pneumatic safety edge, timed return and two sets of send-and-receive beams across the opening. This all usually worked well, but at intervals there were incidents when the truck moved forward and paused for some reason, then moved off again, taking with it the lower few panels of the door which had descended, following a signal from the timer, between the cab and trailer body. What was happening was that, when the vehicle had paused, the beams happened to pass both under the cab unit and between the back of the cab and the front of the trailer body! The problem was rectified by siting additional sensors in other locations to obviate the possibility of this happening. The second, not uncommon, event relates to the use of send-and-receive units with reflecting mirrors on the opposite side to the sender. Again, doors were inexplicably descending, usually, onto Fire Service appliances. This was simply due to the reflective tape on the side of the vehicle reflecting the beam back to the receiver and giving a ‘Go’ signal. In many cases a ‘belt-and-braces’ solution was a simple green ‘Go’ traffic light which only illuminated when the door had fully opened. I hope these snippets are thought-provoking. John M. Boydell Email: jmbgpc@tiscali.co.uk Phone: 01952 432429 A regular column, which concisely outlines Door and Gate related incidents, some of which became court cases, brought to you by John Boydell, a Door Industry Consultant and Forensic Engineer since 1984. J Boydell Somfy Welcomes new Technical Customer Service Agent Andrew Dine joined Somfy in the position of Technical Support Engineer and Sales Administrator in January 2019. Andrew has a background of customer service and recently graduated with an HND in Electrical and Electronic Engineering. One of the key lessons he has come away from University with, is to try his best and to never shy away from a challenge or a problem that may need solving. In his spare time, Andrew plays for the Bradford Sabres University Ice Hockey team. For more information about the company and its products visit www.somfy.co.uk Industry Veteran Ian Hetherington Joins Birkdale Birkdale Manufacturing Group - the Scunthorpe company that manufacture garage doors/commercial doors/awnings and many other products - has announced that Ian Hetherington has joined its team as Commercial Director. Ian is one of the garage door industry’s most respected professionals and has worked in the sector for three decades - having first entered the fray with Scunthorpe-based Steel-Line Doors back in 1989. Since then, he has held positions with some of the biggest names in the industry. Ian, whose duties as Commercial Director at Birkdale will include marketing and internal and external sales, is excited by the opportunity offered by his new role: “I have known Birkdale Owner Simon Sturman for the best part of three decades, since we worked together at Steel-Line Doors, so I was delighted to take the opportunity to link up with him here,” he says. “It is an exciting time to be joining the company and I’m looking forward to helping the continued expansion of the business.” Ian can be contacted on his mobile, 07810 193 669 or by email at ian@birkdale.co.uk Office: 01724 282 171 Sales: sales@birkdale.co.uk Web: www.birkdale.co.uk