Automatic Door Specification: What to Include

An automatic door specification is the document that decides whether the entrance on handover day is the one the building actually needed. Written well, it lets three contractors quote the same thing, stops a cheaper operator slipping in at tender, and gives the commissioning engineer something to test against. Written badly, it says “automatic sliding door to manufacturer’s details” and leaves every important decision to whoever is cheapest.

This guide is for architects, quantity surveyors, facilities managers and procurement teams in South Africa. It sets out what an automatic door specification should cover, gives the published figures for our MC-125 sliding and MCW-100 swing operators so you can see what real numbers look like, and ends with clause wording you can adapt.

Why the specification matters more than the brand

Most problems with automatic entrances are decided before anyone orders an operator. The header is not strong enough. The opening is sized for an average day rather than the busiest hour. Nobody decided what the door does in a power failure. The access control and the door were specified by different people who never spoke.

A good automatic door specification fixes those decisions on paper, so the contractor has to price them and the commissioning test has to prove them. It also makes quotations comparable. Our guide to automatic door installation cost shows how much the total moves when these items are left open.

What an automatic door specification should cover

These are the headings we expect to see. Each one changes the price or the performance.

• Configuration. Single slide, bi-parting, telescopic, swing, revolving or hermetic, and the number of leaves.
• Clear opening. Width and height, sized for the busiest hour and the widest load.
• Leaves and glazing. Framed or frameless, material, glass type and thickness, and the resulting leaf weight.
• Operator performance. Leaf weight limits, opening and closing speed ranges, hold-open time, manual opening force and operating modes.
• Activation and safety sensing. Motion or push-button activation, presence sensing at the threshold and swing path.
• Locking and access control. Electric lock type, fail state, card readers, keypads, intercoms and schedules.
• Power failure behaviour. Open, closed and locked, or battery backup, decided with the fire strategy.
• Structure and services. Header construction, fixing, power supply position and cabling.
• Environment. Wind exposure, coastal salt, dust and temperature range.
• Commissioning, handover and documentation. What is tested, what is written down and what is handed over.
• Warranty and servicing. What is covered, for how long, and the service interval.

Sizing the opening

The clear opening is the most important number in an automatic door specification and the one most often guessed. Size it for the busiest fifteen minutes and the widest load: two people passing, a wheelchair and companion, a bed, a trolley or a pallet. A shopping centre and an office reception with the same daily footfall can need very different openings.

Then check the wall beside the opening. A sliding leaf needs somewhere to park, at least its own width. Where the wall is short, specify a telescopic sliding door. Where there is no wall at all, a swing door. Our operator size guide and sliding vs swing door guide work through this in detail.

Published figures: MC-125 sliding door operator

These are the published figures for our MC-125 sliding door operator. Use them as an example of the performance data a specification should ask for, whichever operator you specify.

• Leaf weight: single slide up to 150 kg; bi-parting up to 2 × 120 kg.
• Leaf width: single slide 750 to 1,600 mm; bi-parting 650 to 1,250 mm per leaf.
• Clear opening: single slide 1,450 to 3,100 mm; bi-parting 2,500 to 5,000 mm.
• Opening speed: 150 to 460 mm/s, adjustable. Closing speed: 130 to 460 mm/s, adjustable.
• Hold-open time: 0 to 8 seconds, adjustable.
• Motor: brushless DC, 24 V, 60 to 70 W, with integrated gearbox.
• Manual opening force: under 40 N single, under 50 N bi-parting.
• Operating modes: automatic, hold open, half open and locked.
• Other features: two-door interlocking, electric lock support with multiple access-control inputs, optional battery backup.
• Operating temperature: −20 °C to +50 °C. Service-life test: one million cycles.
• Installation: surface mounted, solid level header required. Warranty: 24 months on the operator.

The full figures and header detail are on the MC-125 sliding door operator page and in the MC-125 brochure.

Published figures: MCW-100 swing door operator

• Maximum door weight: 150 kg. Maximum door width: 1,200 mm. The two limits interact.
• Opening angle: 60° to 110°, adjustable. Opening time: 3 to 7 seconds per 90°, adjustable.
• Hold-open time: 0 to 20 seconds, adjustable.
• Motor: 55 W brushless DC. Power input: AC 100 to 240 V. Control supply: 24 V DC output.
• Modes: full-energy and low-energy operation, push-and-go.
• Inputs: access control, electric lock, safety sensors, remote control and wireless push button.
• Operating temperature: −20 °C to +55 °C. Protection class: IP21.
• Operator size: 475 × 81 × 98 mm, 5.5 kg. Pull-arm or push-arm, inward or outward opening.
• Service-life test: one million cycles. Warranty: 24 months on the operator.

The MCW-100 limits were tested without wind pressure, so an exposed swing door near its limit should run at reduced speed. See the MCW-100 swing door operator page for full details.

Telescopic, revolving and hermetic doors

Three other door types need a few extra lines. A telescopic sliding door needs the number of leaves and the stacking depth stated, because it fits a wide opening into a short side wall. A revolving door needs the drum diameter, the number of wings and the height; our MC-R30 covers diameters from 2,000 to 3,800 mm in three or four wings, with the height made to the opening. Every revolving door also needs an accessible door alongside it.

A hermetic sealing door needs the room it serves, the cleaning regime and the activation method stated, and any certified performance data the project requires asked for at tender, not after. See telescopic sliding doors, revolving door dimensions and hermetically sealed doors.

Performance clauses that matter

An automatic door specification should ask for adjustable ranges, not fixed speeds, and require the final settings to be recorded at handover. The settings depend on the leaf, the users and the site, so they are set on site, not in the office. Our automatic door speed guide explains why closing speed matters most for safety.

Ask for the manual opening force, so the door can be pushed open by hand when the power is off. Ask for a tested service life, so you know the operator has been proven over a large number of cycles. And ask for the operating modes you need, including a half-open or reduced-width mode where air-conditioning or wind matters.

Safety sensing and activation

Separate activation from safety in the automatic door specification. Activation decides when the door opens: a motion sensor on a main entrance, a push button or no-touch switch on an accessible or clinical door, a card reader on a controlled door. Safety sensing stops the door closing on someone and, on swing doors, watches the swing path.

Require the safety sensing to be commissioned on site and demonstrated at handover, not just supplied. Our guides to automatic door sensors and the automatic door push button cover the options.

Locking, access control and power failure

This is where specifications most often contradict each other. The door specification says one thing, the access-control specification another, and the fire strategy a third. Put them in one place.

• State the lock type and whether it is fail-safe or fail-secure, decided with the fire strategy.
• State the access-control devices on each side and the schedule.
• State the power failure behaviour and whether battery backup is required.
• State who provides and wires each item, so nothing falls between trades.

Where an entrance is also an escape route, its behaviour in a fire is set by the building’s fire strategy and confirmed by the fire consultant or local authority. See automatic doors and load shedding and automatic door access control.

Structure, header and services

The header is the largest hidden cost in many installations, and the item an automatic door specification most often leaves out. A surface-mounted operator needs a solid, level fixing. It will not span off plasterboard or a dropped bulkhead. Specify the header construction, the fixing and who provides it, and include the manufacturer’s header detail in the drawings.

Specify the power supply position at the head, the cabling for locks, access control and fire panel links, and the floor detail for the guide and threshold. On new buildings these are built by other trades, so the automatic door specification must reach them early.

Environment

South African sites vary enormously, and an automatic door specification has to reflect where the door is. A specification for a Gqeberha beachfront, a Durban port warehouse and a Highveld office cannot be the same. State the exposure to wind, salt, dust and temperature, and require fixings, finishes and sensor positions to suit. Our guide to outdoor automatic doors and the South African climate covers each region.

Standards and compliance

Reference the National Building Regulations and the SANS standards applicable to the project, as confirmed by the professional team, and require the contractor to demonstrate safe operation at handover. Do not ask a door supplier to certify that the building is compliant. That is the professional team’s role. See our guide to automatic door safety requirements in South Africa, and the South African Bureau of Standards for the standards themselves.

Commissioning, handover and documents

The automatic door specification should require, as a minimum:

• Commissioning on site, with opening speed, closing speed, hold-open time and force set for the actual users.
• A written record of every setting at handover.
• A demonstration of the modes, the manual release and the power failure behaviour to the building’s staff.
• Operating and maintenance information, the warranty terms and the recommended service interval.

As standard we recommend servicing every six months, more often on high-traffic entrances. See automatic door servicing.

Example clause wording

Adapt this to your project. It is a starting point, not a standard.

• “Supply and install a bi-parting automatic sliding door with a clear opening of [width] × [height] mm, leaves of [material and glazing], driven by a surface-mounted operator rated for at least [weight] kg per leaf.”
• “Opening and closing speeds and hold-open time shall be adjustable and set on site for the users of the entrance. Final settings shall be recorded and handed over.”
• “The operator shall provide automatic, hold-open, reduced-opening and locked modes, and a manual opening force suitable for use without power.”
• “Presence sensing shall prevent the leaves closing on a person or object in the opening and shall be demonstrated at handover.”
• “Power failure behaviour, locking and any escape-route function shall follow the building’s fire strategy.”
• “The contractor shall provide [duration] warranty on the operator and recommend a service interval.”

Specifying by building type

The same headings apply everywhere, but the emphasis changes with the building. These are the points we would make sure an automatic door specification covers in each case.

• Shopping centres. An automatic door specification for retail should size for the peak hour, require wide bi-parting openings for trolleys and prams, and state the after-hours locked mode. See which automatic door suits a shopping centre.
• Hospitals and clinics. The automatic door specification should cover bed and trolley widths, slow closing, hands-free activation and hermetic doors where clinical areas need them. See hospital automatic doors.
• Offices. The automatic door specification should tie the main entrance to access control and specify swing operators for internal and accessible doors.
• Industrial sites. The automatic door specification should be limited to pedestrian entrances and cover cycle count, dust and impact protection. See automatic warehouse doors.
• Controlled areas. The automatic door specification should describe any interlock and its emergency override. See our door interlocking system guide.

Common gaps in an automatic door specification

These are the omissions we see most often when we price from someone else’s documents.

• No leaf weight or glass thickness, so nobody can confirm the operator is adequate.
• No header detail, so the cost of making the head structural is left out of every tender.
• No power failure behaviour, so it is decided on site, usually by default.
• Access control specified separately with no mention of how it talks to the door.
• No requirement to record the settings, so the first service has nothing to compare against.
• An automatic door specification copied from a previous project in a different climate.

Each of these turns into a variation or a dispute later. Fixing them in the automatic door specification costs nothing.

Comparing tenders

When the quotations come back, compare them against the automatic door specification, scope before price. Check that each tender includes the same opening, leaves, glazing, sensing, locking, access control, power failure behaviour, commissioning and warranty. A low price usually means something on this list is missing. Public-sector buyers can find our supplier documents on the procurement page.

Automatic door specification: quick answers

• An automatic door specification should fix the clear opening, leaves, operator performance, sensing, locking, power behaviour and handover.
• An automatic door specification should size the opening for the busiest hour and the widest load.
• An automatic door specification should ask for adjustable speeds and recorded settings, not fixed numbers.
• An automatic door specification should put locking, access control and fire strategy in one place.
• An automatic door specification should include the header detail and services so other trades build to it.
• An automatic door specification should state the site’s wind, salt and dust exposure.
• An automatic door specification should require commissioning, a written record and a demonstration at handover.

Automatic door specification questions

Writing a specification or preparing a tender? Request a quote or send us the drawings, and we will provide the operator data, header detail and comments you need. We are on 010 412 0062, Monday to Thursday 08:00 to 16:30 and Friday 08:00 to 14:00.