Many businesses might consider automatic doors as a luxury or unnecessary expense when designing or refurbishing their building. But installing automatic doors to even a small shop can bring advantages you may not have considered before.
You may think that automatic doors are only installed in large hotels, shopping centres or other public buildings, However we’re going to explain how smaller businesses can benefit from automatic entrance doors.
What benefits do automatic doors bring to businesses large and small?
If you run any kind of business and of course one that is open to the public, then the ability for your customers to enter and leave your premises with ease should be an important consideration. Look at your business and think about how easy it is for people to get in and out of your premises.
If you run a business close to a train station, a school, a bus stop or other busy place you may have experienced an increased flow of traffic during certain periods of the day that causes problems for your incoming and outgoing customers going through a typical manual swing door. In something like a cafe, restaurant or shop automatic doors can prevent the people jams that often occur in busy periods as well. Automatic doors can provide a solution for simple accessibility to your business that is open and of course, welcoming to the public.
Automatic doors for businesses and the law
Are you aware that public buildings are required to provide unrestricted access and make reasonable adjustments so that the disabled can access their services? This is law and covers businesses in the retail, health, financial, education, transport and other sectors. Breach of the Equality Act 2010 can result in unlimited fines.
Automatic doors are one solution of many whereby the disabled, infirm and elderly can gain entry to your premises without having heavy metal or glass doors to open as well as making you easily compliant with the Equality Act 2010. But it is not just meeting the needs of the disabled. If you have a business that is frequented by people with pushchairs, or even those that are carrying goods, their shopping or even their mobile phone, they can all be assisted greatly by automatic doors.
It therefore makes a lot of sense that automatic doors can not only offer excellent solutions to your business but they can actually enhance how your customers experience your business.
Despite the increased cost of automatic doors, they can actually save you money.
In many shops and commercial buildings, doors will often be left open or jammed open because they are convenient to do so. In winter you will often walk through a set of open doors to be greeted by a door heater above them that is blowing hot air over an open door. This just adds to the heating bills of the premises.
Doors that will open and close only when needed have long been proven to save money in heating bills and air conditioning costs as well as reducing noise pollution from busy town centre streets, constant energy in heating a building that loses heat through permanently open doors and not to mention constantly trying to keep your premises at the right temperature for your customers.
There are obvious energy savings to be had with the installation of automatic entrance doors. They ensure that doors remain closed and only opened when needed. Another big advantage of automatic doors whilst still providing energy savings is that closed doors in winter can make your business appear closed for business. But as soon as someone walks up to a closed set of automatic doors, they will swing or slide open and tell that customer that you are very much open and are inviting them to step into your shop.
Automatic sliding or swing doors remain one of the most cost effective ways of improving your energy efficiency and designed right will also let lots of natural light into your premises.
Better for your customers and better for you.
Automatic swing or sliding doors can be made much larger than their manual counterparts. This means that larger goods coming into your building can easily be taken through automatic doors. For your customers who may have bought large items from you, these doors also make it easy for them to leave your building with their purchases.
Safe and Secure
Automatic doors also perform much needed safety and security functions. Many automatic doors can be fitted with “panic breakout facility” which enables a sliding door to swing open in the event of an emergency.
They can also be controlled at closing time to ensure that nobody enters the premises but customers who are still in your store can leave unhindered. This is much more cost effective than having a member of staff at a set of manual doors locking and unlocking them as required.
are one company that specialise in complete automatic entrance systems as well as operators for aluminium, timber or glass doors. Whether you are looking for a framed or frameless automatic door solution contact us and we can provide you with further information and assistance.
