Health and Safety

For all Automatic Doors in use in Ireland it is in the interests of both the end user and the property owner or facilities manager that Health and Safety is given the highest priority and there are specific legal requirements to be adhered to regarding the servicing of all Automatic Doors, which are designed to both enhance the safety of end-users and protect building owners.

• The only specific standard that cover Automatic Door installations is the European Standard EN16005 Safety in use of powered pedestrian doors which replaced the British Standard BS 7036:1996 The Code of Practice for Safety at Powered Doors for Pedestrian Use .
• The main standards that cover the design of buildings and their approaches to meet the needs of disabled people is the Republic of Ireland Building Regulations Part M Access and Facilities for Disabled People 2009 and the BS 8300

IS EN16005: Safety in use of powered pedestrian door - Summary of Activation & Safety Sensor requirements.

Note: It is now a mandatory requirement since April 10th 2013 to adhere to the requirements of IS EN16005 for all new automatic door installations in Ireland and the other CEN Countries of Europe.

Note: The BS 7036-1996 Standard has now been superseded by the BS EN16005 Standard which is now the only standard for all new automatic door installations within the CEN Countries of Europe.

Summary of the Main Changes with the introduction of IS EN16005

• For all non-Low Energy Automatic Doors there is a requirement for safety sensors and the door operator must monitor and test the safety sensors once per activation.

Additional requirements for Automatic Sliding Door sets in escape and emergency exit Routes:

• For escape routes and emergency exit routes a fail-safe system including redundant motor and tested activation sensor with a durability test of not less than 1,000,000 cycles is required and this shall be automatically tested, at least once every 24 hours.

• If a locked mode of operation is available, the mode of operation shall be protected by an access code or key so that changes can only be made by authorised personnel.

• Side screen scanners should be avoided in escape routes and emergency exit routes as they may conflict with the requirement to open to 80% within 3 seconds if they become obstructed. Other solutions such as pocket screens or barriers may be more suitable.

BS 7036:1996 Code of Practice for Safety at Powered Doors for Pedestrian Use. It is published in five parts:

Part 1: General Safety Requirements:
Part 2: Straight and Curved Sliding Doors and Prismatic and Folding Doors:
Part 3: Swing Doors and Balanced Doors:
Part 4: Low energy Swing Doors:
Part 5: Revolving Doors:

BS 8300:2009 Design of buildings and their approaches to meet the needs of disabled people.

Code of practice BS 8300 explains how the built environment can be designed to anticipate, and overcome, restrictions that prevent disabled people making full use of premises and their surroundings.

BS 8300 applies to the following types of building:

a) Transport and industrial buildings, e.g. rail, road, sea and air travel buildings, car parking buildings and factories
b) Administrative and commercial buildings, e.g. courts, offices, banks, post offices, shops, department stores and shopping centres, and public service buildings, including police stations
c) Health and welfare buildings, e.g. hospitals, health centres, surgeries and residential homes
d) Refreshment, entertainment and recreation buildings, e.g. cafés, restaurants, public houses concert halls, theatres, cinemas, conference buildings, community buildings, swimming pools and sports buildings
e) Buildings for worship
f) Educational, cultural and scientific buildings, e.g. schools, universities, colleges, zoos, museums, art galleries, libraries and exhibition buildings
g) Dwellings and other residential buildings, e.g. hostels, hotels, residential clubs, university and college halls of residence, nursing homes and prisons.