Every automatic entrance you own is a machine the public walks through hundreds of times a day. When one of them hurts somebody, the failure almost never shows up out of nowhere. It builds — a sensor that drifts, a hold-open time that creeps shorter, a door that closes a little harder than it did last month. The businesses that catch those changes are the ones where somebody looks at the door on purpose every morning.
That is all a daily safety check is. It takes about a minute, needs no tools, and anyone on your staff can do it. AAADM, the association behind automatic door safety training, encourages owners to run a short daily walk-test between professional inspections. Here is how we teach our central Arkansas customers to do it.
Before You Start: What This Check Is Not
This is a look-and-listen check. You observe how the door behaves and write down what you see. You are not adjusting anything, not opening the header, not aiming a sensor, and never testing closing force with your body. Those are certified-technician jobs, and doing them wrong makes a door more dangerous, not less.
The 60-Second Walk-Test
- Watch it work first. Stand back for a few cycles and watch customers walk through. The door should begin opening well before anyone reaches it, move smoothly, and stop without bouncing. Listen while you watch — grinding, popping, scraping, or a straining motor is a problem you hear before you see it.
- Walk it yourself. Approach straight on at a normal pace, the way a customer would. You should never have to slow down, stop, or wave at the door to make it open. If you find yourself hesitating, the sensor is not covering the approach the way it should.
- Count the hold-open. Once the door is fully open, count seconds out loud until it starts to close. You are looking for two things: enough time for a slower-moving person using a cane, walker, or wheelchair to clear the opening comfortably, and consistency with what the door did yesterday. A hold time that is quietly getting shorter is an early warning.
- Watch the close. The door should travel smoothly, ease near the end of its stroke, and settle rather than slam. A swing door that whips shut, or a slider that finishes with a bang, is telling you its timing or force is out of range.
- Test the re-open. Stand still in the fully open threshold and confirm the door stays open and does not begin closing on you. Then, from a safe position outside the door's path, put a box or cart into the opening as the door begins to close and confirm it stops and re-opens. Do the same in a swing door's path.
- Look at the details. Sliding tracks and thresholds should be clear of grit and packaging. Safety decals should be present and readable, sensor housings clean and undamaged, and push plates should work on the first press.
When a Failed Check Means Call Now — Not Next Week
Some findings can wait for your next scheduled service visit. These cannot. If any of the following show up, take the door out of automatic mode, prop or secure it safely for egress, route traffic to another entrance, and call a certified technician the same day.
- The door closes on a person, a cart, or your test box and does not stop or re-open
- It does not start opening until you have stopped walking, or it opens only sometimes
- It closes noticeably faster or harder than it used to, or it slams
- Anyone reports being struck, pinched, or knocked off balance by the door
- You hear grinding or dragging, or the door binds partway through its travel
- Glass is cracked, a panel is out of alignment, or breakaway hardware feels loose
- Sensors are damaged, blocked, or their indicator lights are out
- Required safety decals are missing or unreadable
Write It Down
Keep the log simple: date, initials, pass or fail, and a line describing anything odd. A clipboard by the door or a line in your opening checklist is enough. That record gives your technician a history to work from at the annual inspection, and it shows your business was actively watching the equipment if an incident is ever questioned.
Leave the Adjustments to a Certified Technician
Opening speed, closing speed, hold-open time, closing force, sensor aim, control settings, belts, rollers, and anything electrical are all outside the daily check. They interact with each other, they are set to published safety standards, and they require training and proper equipment to verify. If your walk-test fails, your job is to stop using the door in automatic mode and pick up the phone.
CSC Automatic Doors has served central Arkansas businesses since 1976, and we work on entrances in Conway, Little Rock, North Little Rock, Benton, Bryant, Maumelle, Jacksonville, Searcy, Russellville, Cabot, Sherwood, and Hot Springs. If your daily check turned up something that worries you — or if you would like us to show your staff how to run one — call us at 501-548-2374.
Frequently asked questions
Who should perform the daily automatic door safety check?
Anyone on your staff can do it — a manager, an opener, or whoever unlocks the building. It is an observation check only. Adjusting speed, force, timing, or sensors is separate work that belongs to a certified automatic door technician.
Does a daily check replace an annual AAADM inspection?
No. The daily walk-test catches obvious changes between visits. A certified inspector still needs to verify the door's speeds, hold-open time, force, sensors, and signage with proper equipment on a regular professional inspection.
What should we do if the door fails the check during business hours?
Take it out of automatic mode, make sure the opening still allows safe exit, direct traffic to another entrance if you can, and call for service the same day. Do not keep running a door that is closing on people.