The garage door safety requirements for commercial settings are much stricter than those for homes — and for good reason. Commercial doors are often much heavier than their residential counterparts and are operated more frequently, meaning that extra precautions are necessary. To ensure your commercial garage door opens and closes safely, let’s take a look at some important safety requirements.
Compliance With UL325 Standards
Commercial garage doors must comply with UL325 standards, a set of safety guidelines developed by Underwriters Laboratories that address the operation of door openers. These standards were established to reduce the risk of accidents and injuries and outline requirements for automatic garage door openers in commercial settings. UL325 standards cover several safety features — including automatic reversal mechanisms — which prompt the door to reverse if it encounters an obstruction, as well as entrapment protection devices.
These devices are important for preventing serious injuries that could occur if individuals were to become trapped under a moving garage door. By adhering to these guidelines, businesses can ensure the safety of their employees and visitors while also minimizing the potential for costly liability issues.
Two Entrapment Protection Devices
For each commercial garage door, there should be at least two entrapment protection devices in place for every potential area of entrapment. This is important for preventing the potential dangers of a moving garage door and is intended to protect against accidents that could cause a serious injury or fatality.
These safety devices — which often include floor sensors and automatic reversal mechanisms — detect the presence of persons or objects in the door’s path and stop or reverse the door’s movement accordingly. This dual-protection approach significantly reduces the risk of entrapment and ensures that commercial garage doors function properly and safely at all times.
Controls Must Be Several Feet Away
It is best for garage door controls to be installed several feet away from the door to ensure the safety of users. This distance helps prevent accidents by ensuring that individuals operate the door opener from a safe vantage point, where they can easily see the garage door open and close without the risk of being struck by the door. This placement of controls, combined with the use of security features like numerical code openers and smart device connectivity, enhances both the safety and security of the commercial garage.
Other Commercial Garage Door Safety Tips
While garage door safety is important for both residential and commercial properties, there are several differences you should keep in mind. One key variance is the sheer size and usage frequency of commercial garage doors, which add significant stress to components and require regular maintenance to avoid malfunction. A visual inspection of springs, cables, rollers, and other moving parts should be conducted periodically to identify wear and tear.
It’s also vital to test the door’s emergency release mechanism and reverse function regularly to ensure they are working properly. Compared to residential doors, commercial doors often operate more frequently and are subject to different patterns of wear and tear — making professional inspections by trained garage door specialists an important aspect of maintaining safety and function.
For both types of doors, however, it’s still vital to keep the door and the area around it clear, ensure that safety features like floor sensors and automatic reversal functions are properly aligned and functioning, and educate all users on the proper care and operation of the door. This can include how to manually open the garage door in case of an emergency.
To Install Safe Garage Doors for Your Commercial Facility, Call Door Pros Today
Does your commercial garage door partially open? Is it time to install a new one? Whatever the case may be, it’s best to entrust the task to professional technicians. At Door Pros, we offer services for commercial overhead doors, weather stripping, as well as specialty services. If you need help maintaining the safety of your commercial garage door opener, tracks, or other components, give us a call!
