Keeping the doors open
October 1st 2011 The maintenance of industrial doors is easy to
overlook but problems left unchecked can escalate
and become costly. BID Group offers advice.
Servicing of industrial doors, gates, loading bay
equipment and other goods in and out associated
equipment is seen by leading industrial door companies,
such as BID Group, to be the most beneficial and cost effective
measure of ensuring continually safe and reliable operation.
In the same way that you get your car serviced at regular
intervals to ensure reliability, having your door serviced at
regular intervals, will prolong the life of the asset and greatly
reduce unwanted and potentially costly breakdowns.
While most companies view the maintenance of machinery on
their production lines as vital, many overlook the maintenance of
their industrial doors, failing to appreciate that the production
line could come to a standstill if a goods-in or goods-out door
were to jam shut for example, resulting in costly down time and
lost production. Furthermore, as with any other piece of
machinery a door that is not regularly serviced is more likely to
break down incurring high repair costs. All industrial doors and
associated access equipment should be serviced periodically,
since routine checks and visual inspections help identify
problems before they escalate and become costly.
The frequency of servicing will depend on the usage of the
asset and the environment in which it operates. An industrial
door that is in a high usage area, for example, in a goods in or
out loading bay of a 24 hour operating distribution centre,
should have at least two services a year. On the other hand, an
annual inspection would be sufficient for an industrial door that
is designed for security purposes.
When companies are putting in place provisions for having a
regular programme of maintenance, they should give due
consideration on how they would proceed with implementing the
programme. This can be achieved by having in-house competent
personnel, (for example, a trained and qualified engineer) who can
dedicate time to carry out visual inspections/checks and can carry
out vital repairs, while keeping accurate records. Or for peace of
mind, a company can employ an external industrial door firm that
can carry out this work at a nominal cost, thus enabling on-site
maintenance personnel to carry out their day-to-day duties.
Having a service and maintenance programme or an
agreement in place with BID Group a competent industrial door
maintenance specialist, provides assurance that companies are
meeting their obligations under the various health and safety
regulations; Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulation, Provision
and Use of Work Equipment Regulation and Workplace (Health
and Safety and Welfare) Regulation.
At BID every service agreement is tailored to each individual
site's requirements; the number of doors and associated assets,
the usage and the working environment.We take all the hassle
away from the company by carrying out the service and
inspection. This provides peace of mind that not only are
companies complying with the current regulations but also their
doors, which are an integral part of the day-to-day operations,
are fit for purpose and remain that way.
In addition to on-site engineers, BID Group also has an
extensive technical department that can diagnose that vast
majority of faults and in some circumstances can advise
companies' own maintenance staff how to rectify the problem
without having to place a callout. More articles from B I D Group Ltd: | 
