Door Industry Journal - Summer 2021

THE door industry journal summer 2021 Also online at: www.dijonline.co.uk OPEN DOORS Looking backwards and forwards…. Like most businesses, DHF is mainly focused on the present and the future; reviewing financial forecasts and comparing them with budgets. Sometimes, however, it is worthwhile to look back to see how things have progressed over the years. In the case of DHF, its development and growth has been quite substantial in the last 10 years. A couple of facts… firstly in the last 10 years our membership has more than doubled to over 500 companies, and secondly, we have launched a comprehensive suite of training courses which have been very well received and supported by our members and the industry. We now have over 3500 learners registered on our training academy website. Of course in tandem with growth, you must have the supporting infrastructure including investment in digital platforms. In the case of DHF, we have identified the requirement for a new training website that will be able to handle the increased demand and provide a better all-round service for learners. Development of the new website started some months ago and it is anticipated that it will be ready for launch in the next six months. Amongst its features will be the ability for learners using the Distance Learning Programme (DLP) to take their exams on the website. This will be much more convenient for the learners and also free up time for our training personnel who will not need to invigilate the exams. This new training website is a major investment for the DHF but we feel that the cost is justified in order for us to support our members and the industry sectors that we represent. This development will complement the investment that we have recently made in setting up the NVQ Assessment Centre, Entrance Systems Alliance (ESA), in conjunction with the Automatic Door Suppliers Association. So looking backwards, DHF has been mainly recognised for its work in technical areas such as product standards and technical matters. Whilst these remain our core pillars, there is no doubt that going forwards training will become an even more important part of the DHF profile. Bob Perry, dhf CEO A regular comment column, brought to you by Bob Perry, CEO, Door and Hardware Federation For more information, please visit www.dhfonline.org.uk Virtual Engineer Could Solve Your Problems in Minutes Time, money and inconvenience - that’s the impact of your automatic doors breaking down. But imagine having an engineer on-site that could identify the problem and apply a fix in a matter of minutes. Strand Technologies has a virtual solution that could prove just as effective with a remedy at the touch of a button. Virtual Engineer (VE) is a software solution for the control and diagnostics of automatic doors, gates and barriers. It is an online gateway that can be used on-site or remotely to alert and identify a problem and allow the user to overcome common problems. The dashboard, which has been devised specifically for the management of entrances, links to Strand Technologies’ iContact product range. Virtual Engineer offers two gateway user levels – one for non-technical staff who have immediate responsibility for looking after the site and another, more detailed interface for estates and facilities managers which provides greater technical detail and remote management capability. This latter option includes a dynamic overview to enable remote control of a specific set of doors or a group of entrances that link into the system – be they on one site or across a wider geographical area. Virtual Engineer also encompasses a unique ‘AssistME’ function. This is a press button facility that is located by the monitored asset and activated by the end-user. Once activated, an immediate alert is sent to the site manager and or the service provider to advise that the door/gate or barrier is not functioning effectively and that it is preventing access or exit. Read the full-length article online at https://bit.ly/virtual-engineer or for more information on Virtual Engineer or Strand Technologies’ other products contact: info@strandtech.co.uk or visit: www.strandtech.co.uk