A Quick Guide to Ensuring Door Safety in Commercial Facilities

Door safety is a matter that is generally overlooked but only until someone gets hurt. Door-related accidents are not few and far between also, with one accident occurring every four minutes. Sure, these injuries can be traumatic and painful but they are also common claims against liability insurance (which can reach hundreds of thousands of pounds!) Therefore, every commercial property owner should have appropriate door safety measures in place in order to ward off this liability and risk.

So, what can be done to ensure that doors in your facility operate smoothly (open, close and lock effortlessly) and are prevented against the risks of finger trap injuries?

The first thing you need to pay attention to in order to make your door ‘safe and smooth’ is to make sure that the door hinges are secured in place and door closers (if any) are properly adjusted to allow people to quickly move their hands before the door shuts on them. One more thing, if the door can be opened or closed by a child and allow him or her to get out of the room, you should consider changing its knobs, setting up door alarms, etc.

If you are setting up door safety products such as hinge guards, you may want to first make sure that they will allow the door to open completely without pulling back from the door. This is important because a guard that limits the movement of the door can carry the risks of a finger trap injury. You should also try to keep away from hinge guards that use glue for fastening as the hinge guard can easily loosen and be ineffective with a frail bond. After all, many types of glue cannot hold out against extreme temperatures or normal wear and tear. You must also ensure that both the opening and pin side of your hinge guard are safe. Injuries at the hinge pin side do not only number amputations, but also head traumas if anyone fall hitting his or her head on the jutting hinges.

Doors are important as they afford excellent safekeeping, environmental control, storage, privacy and much more. But despite that, they can also be a threat to the health and safety of those who do not have any control over them. For that reason, it is important to have appropriate door safety measures in place.