3 Key Practices to Maximize the Life of Your Industrial Door

Over the past 40 years automated industrial doors have evolved with many benefits to industrial customers.  The ongoing transformation from the slow, rigid door to the high speed, flexible, vertical lift fabric doors has brought tremendous growth in the areas of productivity and energy savings.  You want your industrial door to give you many years of service and dependability.  When door damage and premature wear and tear occur, ordering a new door doesn’t solve the problem. There are 3 practices to put in place to make sure you get the most value out of your industrial door purchase.

  1. The continuing improvement such as high-speed, high-cycle automation also brings with it the awareness that there is a lot of risk at the door opening.  Four main accidents occurring with industrial doors are entrapment, downward impact, lateral impact and secondary impact.  Forklifts collisions cause a great deal of damage to doors and can easily be prevented by making the driver aware of proper safety protocols. Proper training and communication of door safety procedures are paramount at the industrial site.  Workers need to understand how to correctly operate the door and steps to take should an employee be hit or trapped by the door. It is a proven fact that high-speed industrial door accidents can be greatly reduced if proper safety measures and training programs are in place and effectively communicated to all workers who operate for door on a daily basis.
  2. Regular scheduled maintenance and cleaning of the industrial door is important to the daily efficient operation of the door.  Doors that work properly keep areas separated and sealed off to provide safety and security for employees and products.  Check your industrial door for visual signs of damage or dents, unusual noises when opening or closing, or a stiff pulsing motion. The importance of checking all safety mechanisms such as photo eyes, breakaway features, activation and control switches must be a priority on a regular basis. Proper cleaning and lubrication of rollers, pulleys, etc. is essential to keep these components protected from corrosion, premature wear and moisture. When doors do not operate properly it affects productivity, energy efficiency and ultimately the bottom line.
  3. Leaving industrial doors open in extreme hot and cold temperatures not only adds to your energy bill but it also puts more wear and tear on the door and your work environment.  When the door is left open, it is continually exposed to harsh temperatures and debris resulting in door components and mechanisms prematurely wearing out and resulting in unnecessary repair costs.  Closing the door when it is not in use protects against wind, dirt, debris, moisture and drafts making the workplace a more comfortable environment and protecting the goods inside the building.

In Conclusion

Industrial manufacturers, warehouses, and distribution centers face increasingly intense competition from a rapidly changing global economy. MAXDoor – Made in the USA – is at the forefront of design and technology enabling industrial facilities to increase their productivity, energy efficiency and safety standards. Door automation should be a positive feature for any facility.  With over 25 years of experience, let MAXDoor custom design and engineer a door solution to match your industrial door requirements.