For any stores or despatch department, busy warehouse or distribution centre, speed is vital. In this kind of environment forklifts zip back and forth, moving pallets in rapid succession to meet tight schedules. As a result, there is a potential for collisions, and one of the most common casualties is the industrial door.
When operations managers hear the sound of a forklift or reversing truck impacting a shutter or door system, they hear the sound of money draining away. Not only do repair bills bring an immediate cost that can sometimes be significant, but the real killer of such an incident is the downtime. A struck or broken door has the potential to bottle-neck an entire shift, as well as letting valuable heat escape, compromising security, and halting the flow of goods.
But what if your doors could fix themselves? The good news is that this is a possibility with some of our speed door systems. The latest generation of high speed industrial doors has moved away from rigid and unforgiving designs to “self-healing” technologies. By prioritising flexibility and intelligent engineering, these doors are built to absorb impacts and reset automatically, turning what could have been a disaster into a minor hiccup that is easily dealt with.
Flexibility Over Rigidity
Traditional roller shutters and sectional doors are designed to be tough, but this is not always an advantage in the face of a moving vehicle. When a forklift catches a rigid bottom bar the metal bends or buckles, and the damage can be much worse if a forklift backs into the door, hitting it with its counterweight. In any such scenario, the door will likely jam in its tracks, meaning that you will be left waiting for an engineer while operations grind to a halt.
The solution lies in removing the rigidity and instead introducing speed door systems designed to recover from impact without intervention from engineers.
The Zip Speed Door: The Ultimate Self-Repairer
Our Zip Speed Door represents the pinnacle of “self-healing.” In contrast with standard high speed doors, Zip Speed Doors do not have the rigid bottom bars usually associated with industrial door systems.
So why is this so important? Without the rigid metal parts, the curtain is incredibly forgiving in the event of impact. When a vehicle hits it, the flexible curtain absorbs the energy rather than resisting it as there is no metal beam to bend, and no heavy component to damage the forklift or injure the driver.
Most impressively, this door features a zipper-edge system that allows the curtain to come out of its guides upon impact. Rather than jamming, the system detects the breakout and automatically resets the door on the next cycle, essentially healing itself. This means that Zip doors can return to normal operation within seconds of impact, cutting out the need for a technician.
Turbo Roll Door: The Reinsertion Specialist
Our Turbo Roll Doors are another high speed solution engineered to handle the rough and tumble of industrial environments. Whilst its opening speed of up to 1000mm a second is a major advantage to keeping traffic flowing, the real superpower of a Turbo Roll Door is its resilience.
Built with a special reinsertion system designed for inevitable collisions, when a Turbo Roll Door is dislodged, the door resets and turns the curtain to its correct position within a single cycle. This ensures that the door is back in full action immediately, allowing operations to continue as usual.
Revolver Speed Door: Maximum Durability
Zip Speed and Turbo Roll Doors provide excellent solutions for impact recovery, but our Revolver Speed Door focuses on preventing wear and tear through engineering excellence.
High speed doors undergo a lot of stress, opening and closing hundreds of times every day. To reduce this wear, Revolver Doors utilise a unique spiral stacking system that means that the door panels do not touch, roll, or fold upon themselves. This lack of friction drastically minimises wear, helping reduce the need for repairs and related downtime outside of standard maintenance.
Another great feature is its intelligent drive system, which operates without a counterbalance, removing the need for the complex parts that typically require more maintenance. The result of these features is a door system capable of running for up to 200,000 cycles with little to no service required.
Invest in Uptime Through “Self-Healing” Doors
Installing self-repairing and high durability doors is an investment in continuity. By addressing some of the weaknesses of traditional industrial doors, products like our Zip Speed, Turbo Roll and Revolver Speed Doors cut out emergency repair costs and the downtime that would usually follow a collision. Don’t let a stray forklift truck dictate your productivity! Talk to us today about how our “self-healing” high speed doors will reduce your downtime and repair bills. Our experts are here to help you decide which door system is right for your business.