Continuing Professional Development Door systems and accessibility

DORMA Group is a global partner for premium access solutions and services designed to enable better buildings. With more than 100 years of tradition behind it, DORMA has developed, in revenue terms, into the world market leader in door controls, movable walls and glass fi ttings and accessories. It is a top fi rm in the automatics segment, a successful player in the security, time management and access control segment, and number one in Germany for emergency exit control and escape route security systems. DORMA maintains produc- tion plants in Europe, Singapore, Malaysia, China and North and South America. With an international workforce of around 7,500 employees, the group realised sales of more than €1bn in 2013/14. Headquartered in Ennepetal, Germany, the DORMA Group has companies in more than 50 countries.

DORMA UK & Ireland: Two companies comprise the fi rm in this region: DORMA UK Limited and DORMA Ireland Limited. In the UK, DORMA leads the market in product quality and innovation for door hardware, automatic doors and glass fi ttings.

Left: Automatic doors have helped to make the UK’s railway stations accessible for the whole of the travelling public

pedestrian traffi c fl ows as required and impart width and depth to entrances even where the available structural dimensions may be tight.

Swing sets For standard large and heavy doors, powerful automatic electrohydraulic swing door operators are available. These can be adapted to a wide range of applications and mounting requirements and offer numerous adjustable features. In the past, architects may have had to compromise when adding surface-applied

Low-energy doors offer increased access and independence to people who would otherwise be restricted by conventional manual swing doors

door automation units. Although these units can be housed behind covers coloured to match their surroundings, they still affect the overall aesthetics of the installation. But an alternative is in-head swing door operators, which do not incorporate any bulky box units or swing arms and are designed to fi t almost invisibly within the transom of the door. This makes them an ideal swing door operator where aesthetics are important. Low-energy doors offer increased access and independence to people who would otherwise be restricted by

conventional manual swing doors. In areas of low traffi c, or where the normal manual operation of the door needs to be retained with only occasional assistance to those who need it, low energy swing door operators are ideal. They do not require additional safety equipment to operate, and thereby offer inexpensive assisted access to both existing and new doors.

Specifi cation is crucial Although automatics are clearly the specifi cation of choice for Equality Act compliance, most buildings will have a >

CONSTRUCTION MANAGER | JANUARY 2015 | 37