LGreene
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There is a standard for automatic doors - BHMA A156.19 - that is referenced by the IBC, IFC, and NFPA 101, as well as ICC A117.1 and the ADA standards. The standard covers low-energy automatic doors - the type of doors that are usually actuated by a push button and open slowly (not the type at the entrance to a grocery store).
This standard requires low-energy operators to be actuated by a "knowing act," such as a push plate actuator or non-contact switch mounted on the wall or jamb, the act of manually pushing or pulling a door, or an access control device like a card reader, keypad, or keyswitch (https://idighardware.com/2013/08/decoded-actuators-for-low-energy-operators/). The doors are also required to open slowly and with limited force, to ensure safety without the safety sensors or guide rails that are required for full-powered pedestrian doors (like at the grocery store).
This standard will be revised soon, in part to address new technology and methods for operating these doors. For those of you involved in accessibility, should the following applications be allowed for operation of these doors? Should any additional safety features be required?
1) An app that can be installed on the phone of someone using a wheelchair, who is physically unable to push a wall-mounted actuator. This would be used by a very limited number of people in a building or on a campus, for example, at a university where a student or faculty member needs to open specific doors.
2) An access control system where someone outside communicates with someone in an office via intercom, and the person in the office not only unlocks the door but opens it automatically. An example would be a school entrance where the receptionist grants access and opens the door from within the main office.
Thanks in advance for your help!
This standard requires low-energy operators to be actuated by a "knowing act," such as a push plate actuator or non-contact switch mounted on the wall or jamb, the act of manually pushing or pulling a door, or an access control device like a card reader, keypad, or keyswitch (https://idighardware.com/2013/08/decoded-actuators-for-low-energy-operators/). The doors are also required to open slowly and with limited force, to ensure safety without the safety sensors or guide rails that are required for full-powered pedestrian doors (like at the grocery store).
This standard will be revised soon, in part to address new technology and methods for operating these doors. For those of you involved in accessibility, should the following applications be allowed for operation of these doors? Should any additional safety features be required?
1) An app that can be installed on the phone of someone using a wheelchair, who is physically unable to push a wall-mounted actuator. This would be used by a very limited number of people in a building or on a campus, for example, at a university where a student or faculty member needs to open specific doors.
2) An access control system where someone outside communicates with someone in an office via intercom, and the person in the office not only unlocks the door but opens it automatically. An example would be a school entrance where the receptionist grants access and opens the door from within the main office.
Thanks in advance for your help!
