An overlooked aspect of industrial doors is, perhaps, their importance for specific production processes through tightly controlled temperature ranges. A good example of this is Alstom Power Systems’ installation of high speed roller doors from Efaflex. Consistent temperatures are crucial for Alstom’s turbine assembly because cast parts very quickly change their size in differences of temperature. Given that temperatures had to be a constant 21 deg C the company could not afford to have two doors open at the same time as the resulting draught would cause too great a temperature difference and welding work could not be done in a draught.
Other industries, like printing, can be similarly affected by low temperatures, particularly when doors facing Siberian easterlies are kept open too long, as one London printer found, and solved the problem with Sara’s Sprint PVC roller doors.
Door control systems may also be overlooked in terms of using the right kind. There is a plethora of control options, including pull cord, radio, radar, inductive loops, infra red and press button but care is needed when choosing, based on each specific application. Where hundreds of door operating cycles are involved it might be wiser to replace contact loops with laser scanner systems like the Efa-Scan because forklift collision with even fast-acting doors is not unknown. Such scanners are considerably faster at detecting when doors must be opened. Door collision damage and remedy costs can be mitigated by knock out facilities and photo electric cells which stop descending doors from hitting trucks or pedestrians, and most leading door makers supply them.
The damage factor can be particularly galling in cold stores that still use small openings just big enough to take the appropriate type of traffic like ride-on pallet trucks and forklifts with little clearance at the sides or tops. The reason for the small doorways was the smaller the hole in the wall the less moisture ingress into the freezer, creating fewer defrost cycles and supposedly lower operating costs. The reality, however, is that such small openings lead to much damage to doors and walls, needing constant repair and/or replacement, “a false economy,” said Alan Hirst, sales director of Union Industries.
It is not unknown, claims Union, for contractors to install the wrong type of door for a specific opening. A sliding, insulated door would be adequate for a low use, light-traffic area, whether manually or electrically operated, but a busy environment makes fast-acting doors like Union’s cold store Eiger model much more sensible. The Eiger door uses a dehumidification system, which prevents ice build-up on the door blade, frames and mechanical parts.
If your industrial doors are outmoded and energy inefficient now is the time to plan a door strategy that will help meet the requirements of the Energy Act, 2011, of which the most onerous requirements for commercial landlords come into force by 2018. Where landlords fail to achieve and maintain at least a specified minimum level of energy efficiency they will not be allowed to let the property and may also face fines. That energy efficiency level looks like it will be set at ‘E’.
Most leading industrial door producers offer a free energy audit, some of which are downloadable, and likely payback periods for their kit. But paybacks will depend partly on how good one’s maintenance scheme is and it is important to choose the right service provider because not all are up to scratch.
Doors are not just about keeping draughts and pests out of your premises. They also help prevent a financial draught.
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