Door Industry Journal - Summer 2016

Also online at: www.dijonline.co.uk industrial doors 76 THE door industry journal summer 2016 JEWERS DOORS HELPS OPEN NEW WALES AIR AMBULANCE HELIPORT Wales Air Ambulance has just installed an electrically operated multi-leaf sliding folding Osprey hangar door to their new purpose-built helicopter hangar at Llanelli, Carmarthenshire. The new hangar is integral part of their new headquarters due to be completed later this year, and will be a fully operational airbase housing the South Wales helicopters as well as the charity’s administration centre. Speed, ease of operation and security were the main factors for the design of the doors. Wales Air Ambulance service manager, Mark Winter commented, “Wales Air Ambulance provides one of the most advanced emergency services of its kind in Europe. When we receive an emergency call-out, the hangar doors must open quickly so the helicopter can be airborne with the minimum delay. Security is also an issue as the new hangar can house two expensive helicopters as well as state-of-the-art medical equipment.” Manufactured and installed by Bedfordshire specialist Jewers Doors, the doors are electrically driven with each half operating independently. For speed of response, the doors open automatically on the single push of a button and are fully open in approximately 30 seconds. For reasons of safety, the doors can only be closed by a continuous push of the close button. Jewers’ Director, Mark Jewers commented, “Doors of this size are a standard product from Jewers’ Phoenix range, and it was natural that the door be designed with two bi- parting sections with 8 leaves sliding and folding to each side of the opening. The beauty of the Osprey door is the way it slides across the opening and only folds as it reaches the sides, ultimately folding into a footprint no more than 1m 2 behind each jamb which leaves the full 15-metre wide by 5.75-metre high opening clear for helicopter access. This means helicopters can be parked right up to the door without the risk of obstructing the doors during operation or damaging the aircraft. Integral security design features include automatic locking when closed and anti-lift top tracks.” Winter added, “The new doors are one of the purpose-built features which will help Wales Air Ambulance complete its missions more efficiently. Our new base at Llanelli is Wales Air Ambulance’s first owned home and building it would not have been possible without the generous donations and support from the people of Wales. We receive no direct funding from the government, so we still have more fund raising to do to complete our new headquarters and to carry out our daily life-saving operations.” For more information about Jewers Doors visit www.jewersdoors.co.uk JEWERS DOORS SPEEDS RESPONSE FOR WREXHAM’S NEW EMERGENCY CENTRE ASSISTED BY FAAC DRIVE UNITS Jewers Doors put the finishing touches to the new £15 million Ambulance and Fire Services Resource Centre (AFSRC) at Wrexham with the installation of 14 pairs of Swift fast-acting, bi-fold doors. The new AFSR Centre accommodates eight fire appliance vehicles and six ambulances and replaces an obsolete fire station and two ambulance stations which are now co-located onto one modern, fast response site. Jewers Doors were commissioned to install doors where safety, reliability and speed of operation, were the prime factors. Each door comprises of four panels, with two leaves folding to each side of the exit. Fire and ambulance vehicles need to exit rapidly when under ‘blue light’ emergency response conditions, and the FAAC 560 drive units fitted to the Swift doors ensure they take less than seven seconds automatically fully open. In the event of power failure, each door can be instantly and effortlessly opened manually via low-level disengage handles to prevent delays. A four metre vertical roller door not only typically takes twice as long to open, but drivers find it more difficult to judge when there is sufficient height clearance. In the urgency of responding to an emergency call, there is a risk of tall vehicles such as fire engines hitting the bottom of the door while it’s still opening, which not only requires a costly repair to the door, but also to the vehicles ladders and roof lights. As Swift doors open to the side, there is full height access at all times and drivers have full line of sight of the doors as they open, thus ensuring a safe exit. Leading edges of the doors are fitted with full height pressure sensitive edges, so if doors were to meet resistance during closing, they would immediately stop and reverse. FAAC’s XP 20 D photocells fitted to the inside and outside create a safe area around the door to greatly reduce the risk of an impact ever occurring. Gareth Davies, project manager for BAM Construction Ltd said, “Jewers have been supplying Swift doors for North Wales Fire since 2008. The doors installed at Wrexham underline their reputation and do justice to this new state- of-the-art emergency centre.” For more information please visit either www.jewersdoors.co.uk or www.faac.co.uk