Door Industry Journal - Summer 2021

39 THE door industry journal summer 2021 Also online at: www.dijonline.co.uk Industry News All these systems have their pros and cons. Hold to run is simple and inexpensive but relies on the trained and alert operator to achieve safety; accidents have occurred when operators have been distracted or careless. It is also inconvenient in many situations; drivers can display a marked reluctance to stand in the rain to obtain a full view of the door or gate during operation. Solutions relying on pressure sensitivity are based on well-established technologies and are probably still the commonest solutions for garage doors and gates. Properly designed, set up, tested and maintained, these will provide a safe solution at a reasonable cost. Non-contact solutions obviously have advantages, particularly for vulnerable users, but their sophistication and convenience come at a price. Some detection technologies may be affected by the weather in exposed locations. As technology develops, prices are likely to reduce. Other moving parts, such as secondary edges, may be protected in a similar way to the main edge and any moving part should, in principle, be protected, for example, by providing guards, up to two and a half metres above the ground. However, under certain circumstances, garage doors for single residences are not required to have full protection for these risks, other than for the main closing edge. • Riding on the door or gate Children and even, occasionally, adults may attempt to ride on the door or gate as it moves under power. Mitigation can include ensuring, by the design of the moving leaf, that there is no possibility of holding on to the door or gate (or being accidentally caught by it), or limiting the available power so the door will not lift the weight of a person. Adding safety devices can stop the door or gate before the rider can become entangled in the mechanism. • Wind effects All garage doors mounted on the outside of a building must, when first placed on the market, be accompanied by the manufacturer’s declaration of their wind resistance in a ‘Declaration of Performance’. The legal minimum is class 2, a pressure of 450 pascals. This rating is only suitable for a sheltered location. The wind resistance is a measure of the closed door’s ability to resist pressure; it does not imply that the door can be safely used in the wind conditions specified. If a door fails, the resulting collapse is likely to endanger anyone in the vicinity. Depending on the building, this could result in further collapse; for example, the roof might blow off. For powered gates, strong wind is more likely to present problems for opening and closing, particularly if the gate is close- boarded. The close-boarded gate leaf acts as a sail and may overcome the power of the motor or, if the gate is fitted with inherent force limitation, cause the drive system to react as if it has encountered an obstacle. The result can be a gate that refuses to open or close in strong wind. Sensitive edges avoid this problem, provided the drive system is powerful enough. The wind likely to be encountered at any site in the UK can be calculated using BS EN 1991-1-4:2005+A1:2010 with the UK national annex, but this is really a task for building contractors and architects. The calculation is complex, involving detailed adjustments for local topography and surrounding buildings, for example, being on a hill, near the coast, on open ground and facing the prevailing wind are all factors that indicate wind resistance may require further investigation. • Electricity Although certain electrical work in domestic buildings is not notifiable (in England and Wales) or does not require a warrant (in Scotland), all such work must nevertheless comply with the current edition of BS 7671. In England and Wales, provision of a new circuit from the consumer unit to an isolator is notifiable and must, in addition to the above, be subject to one of the three prescribed certification procedures described in Part P of the building regulations. It is therefore vital that competent persons are employed for the electrical installation of powered garage doors and gates. This is particularly important in the case of gates because of their remote location and the consequent complexities with running power and data cables to the equipment. A potential issue, particularly with powered gates, is selecting the correct IP or ‘ingress protection’ rating for the enclosures on site. Ingress protection is measured by two digits: the first indicating protection against solid particles, the second against liquids. Included in the first category, oddly enough, are slugs, which seem to delight in disrupting powered gate circuitry located near the ground. As an example, a rating of IP54 would indicate some protection against dust (and complete protection against slugs) plus protection against water splashing from any direction. Choosing a new door or gate – what evidence of conformity should we look for? • CE marking This mark was introduced by the European Community in 1985 to facilitate trade across the EU. It is not a quality mark but does indicate the product concerned meets the requirements of the applicable product directives. There are approximately two dozen directives and regulations requiring products to carry the CE marking in order to be placed on the market in the European Economic Area. A CE mark on a product indicates it has been manufactured in compliance with all the EU product directives that apply to it. The responsibility of ensuring compliance and applying the CE mark normally lies with the manufacturer, although an importer, a distributor or an installer may become responsible under certain circumstances. The CE marking will continue to be recognised for products placed on the GB market (England, Wales and Scotland) until the end of 2021. The CE mark will continue to be recognised in Northern Ireland for the foreseeable future. Continued on next page