Automatic Entrance Doors: A Business Owner’s Guide to Safety and Upkeep

For many businesses, the automatic entrance door is the first thing a customer touches, or rather doesn’t touch. It welcomes shoppers, patients and guests, makes the building accessible, and keeps conditioned air inside.

It’s also a piece of moving equipment that hundreds or even thousands of people walk through every day. When an automatic door stops working, customers notice right away. When it works but isn’t safe, it can lead to injuries and liability.

Whether you manage a retail store, medical office, hotel, restaurant or office building, here’s what to know about keeping automatic doors safe and reliable.

Know Which Kind of Door You Have

Automatic doors come in a few common types, and each has different needs:

Type	How it works	Common in
Sliding	Panels slide open sideways when a sensor detects someone approaching	Grocery stores, hospitals, retail, airports
Swinging (full-power)	The door swings open automatically, often activated by a sensor or mat	Back-of-house entries, medical buildings, some storefronts
Low-energy swing	Opens more slowly and with less force, usually activated by a push plate or wave sensor	Offices, restrooms, accessible entrances
Folding	Panels fold to one or both sides, useful for narrow openings	Small storefronts and vestibules
Revolving	Door wings rotate within a round enclosure	Hotels, office lobbies, high-traffic buildings

Knowing your door type helps you understand which safety devices it should have and which standards apply to it.

Safety Standards and Annual Inspections

Automatic pedestrian doors in the U.S. are built and installed to industry standards developed by the Builders Hardware Manufacturers Association (BHMA). Among other things, these standards address how fast and with how much force a door may move, how sensors must detect people in the door’s path, and which warning signs belong on the door.

The American Association of Automatic Door Manufacturers (AAADM) recommends that every automatic door be inspected at least once a year by an AAADM-certified inspector. Many service companies employ certified inspectors who can check that the door meets the current standards, adjust it if needed, and document the results.

An annual inspection typically covers:

• Motion and presence sensors, and how well they detect people approaching and standing in the doorway
• Opening and closing speeds and forces
• Hold-open times, so slower walkers, strollers and wheelchairs have time to pass
• Breakaway and emergency features, where required
• Required signage and decals
• Hardware, tracks, guides and mounting

Keeping inspection records on file is a good practice for both safety and liability.

A Quick Daily Check Your Staff Can Do

AAADM also recommends a daily safety check by the business itself, usually at opening. It takes a minute or two:

1. Walk toward the door at a normal pace. It should open smoothly before you reach it, and fully enough for you to pass without slowing down.
2. Stand in the doorway. The door should stay open while someone is in the threshold and not start closing on them.
3. Watch it close. It should close smoothly, without slamming or jerking.
4. Check the area. The floor in front of and behind the door should be clear, dry and free of debris, mats should lie flat, and nothing should block the sensors.
5. Look at the signage. Required decals and signs should be in place and readable.
6. Check emergency features. On sliding doors with breakaway panels, make sure the panels are latched properly.

If the door fails any part of the check, switch it to a safe mode or take it out of service and call for repairs. Don’t let customers use a door that isn’t working correctly.

Common Problems, and What Causes Them

• The door opens on its own or won’t close. Sensors may be picking up movement from passing traffic, blowing signs, plants or reflections. Sensor adjustment usually fixes it.
• The door is slow to open, or closes too soon. Settings may have drifted, or the sensors may need adjustment, which can create a safety risk as well as frustrate customers.
• Grinding, squealing or rough movement. Worn rollers, dirty tracks or loose hardware are common causes. Sand and grit tracked in from outside are especially hard on sliding door tracks.
• The door drags or won’t latch. Panels can shift out of alignment from heavy use, impacts from carts or wind pressure.
• The door stops working entirely. Power problems, failed controls, or a worn motor or belt can take a door out of service.

Coastal and weather considerations. In coastal areas, salt air and humidity are hard on operators, tracks and electronics. Wind can push against large sliding panels and cause doors to stall or reverse. Keeping thresholds clean, sealing gaps around the operator housing, and scheduling more frequent service can help doors hold up. Before major storms, ask your service provider how to secure your doors.

Upgrades and Accessibility

If your building has manual doors at a main entrance, or older automatic doors that are hard to keep in adjustment, it may be worth looking at an upgrade:

• Low-energy operators can be added to many existing swinging doors, making entrances easier for customers with mobility devices, strollers or full hands.
• Touchless activation, such as wave sensors, reduces contact and wear on push plates.
• Newer sensors detect people more accurately and reduce false openings, which saves energy.
• Modern controls allow features like reduced-opening modes in cold or windy weather and better diagnostics.

Accessible entrances are also a matter of compliance in many buildings. A qualified door company can help you understand which options suit your entrance and use.

When to call a pro: Schedule an annual inspection with a certified inspector, and call for service any time the door fails your daily check, makes new noises, opens or closes erratically, or has been struck. Don’t adjust speeds, forces or sensor settings yourself; those settings exist to protect the people walking through.

A well-maintained automatic door is one most customers never think about. That’s exactly the goal.

About the Author

This article was written by the team at Overhead Door Company of the Lowcountry, which installs and services automatic entrance doors, commercial overhead doors, gates and residential garage doors across the South Carolina and coastal Georgia Lowcountry, from Hilton Head and Beaufort to Savannah Contact Us.