High-Performance Industrial Doors Contribute To Perfect Safety Record

Anheuser-Busch distributor City Beverages, of Orlando, Fla, has enjoyed a long-standing perfect safety record, which can be attributed to safety training and incentive programs, along with soft leading edges and sensors on high-performance industrial doors that were installed in two major construction projects in the last five years.

Housed in a 165,000-sq. ft. warehouse built in 2000, City Beverages achieved its goal of double-digit productivity increases without compromising worker safety. The distribution facility installed nine 10-foot by 10-foot high-performance roll-up industrial doors. The speed was a significant productivity upgrade over the slow rigid doors that took more than 10 seconds both to open or close at its former 30-year-old warehouse, according to Mark White, director of facility operations. 

While speed increased productivity, specifying a high-performance door without safety enhancements can endanger workers, according to Ken Markham, vice-president sales, beverage and container specialist at Rite-Hite Corp., Milwaukee. According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 17,800 non-fatal workplace door accidents were reported in 2003. While the BLS doesn’t detail whether these accidents involved high-speed automated or manually-operated doors, high-performance industrial door accidents can be greatly reduced if proper safety design measures and training programs are employed, like the steps taken at City Beverages.  

Safety is one reason White was adamant about a soft leading edge on the two high-performance doors for the 34º F draft cooler, and seven more for the CEW (controlled-environment warehouse). White was sold on the Soft-Edge Safety System that’s a standard feature on the Protecdor high-performance door manufactured by Rite-Hite. If for some reason auxiliary safety automation such as the Reversing PhotoEye fails to detect a pedestrian and abort the door’s operation, the second line of defense is the soft leading edge. A worker accidentally struck with a soft leading edge would probably walk away from the incident without injury, according to White. Internal tests at Rite-Hite have shown that soft leading edges apply up to 10 times less force than hard leading edges. 

The door’s 45-inch by 120-inch vision panels offer better visibility from both sides of the door and help prevent possible collisions in the door area. Additionally, floor loops open the doors only when sensing vehicles such as pallet jacks or forklifts were specified. This keeps workers on foot out of the area and forces them to use pedestrian doors, which has also attributed to City Beverages’ safety record. 

Besides productivity increases, all the doors have reduced condensation maintenance. Previously, the slow movement of the former warehouse’s doors, combined with poor seals, presented a condensation challenge, especially in Florida’s humid summer months. To keep pedestrians and forklifts from slipping, constant maintenance was required, including mopping and drying areas around the old doors.

Forklift impacts also took a toll on the former warehouse’s slow rigid doors which needed constant repairing. While there are few forklift impacts due to City Beverages’ veteran staff and training programs, an occasional impact only requires the forklift driver to snap the dislodged magnets back in place to save the door’s structural integrity from damage.   

“We have not conducted a formal energy analysis yet, but I know the new doors are saving significant energy in the refrigerated areas,” said White.  

Door safety, company incentive programs that offer perfect safety performance rewards for employees, and constant attention to safety from the management staff have all contributed to City Beverages’ perfect safety record.