Revolving Door Safety: Risks, Features and Checks

Revolving door safety comes down to one plain fact: the wings of a revolving door are moving walls that sweep through the space people stand in. A sliding door moves out of the way. A revolving door moves around you. That is what makes revolving doors so good at keeping a lobby sealed, and it is why revolving door safety has to be designed in from the start rather than added afterwards.

This guide explains where the risks on a revolving door actually are, which safety features matter, who should be given another way in, how revolving door safety is kept up over the life of the door, and what to ask for when you specify one. It uses our MC-R30 automatic revolving door, which covers diameters from 2,000 to 3,800 mm in three or four wings, with an anti-pinch sensor device on the wings and a programmable rotation.

Are revolving doors dangerous?

A correctly specified, correctly commissioned and properly maintained automatic revolving door is a safe entrance that thousands of people use every day without noticing it. Problems usually come from a handful of predictable situations: someone in a hurry pushing a wing faster than it wants to go, a child playing in the drum, a pram or trolley that does not fit the compartment, or a safety device that has been turned down or left broken. Revolving door safety is about designing for those situations and keeping the safety devices working.

We do not quote accident statistics, because the useful question for a building is not how many incidents happen somewhere else. It is whether this door, in this lobby, with these users, is set up so that the predictable problems are prevented.

Where the risks are on a revolving door

Revolving door safety starts with knowing where a person can actually be hurt. There are five places to think about.

• The closing edges at the drum entrance. Where a moving wing meets the end of the curved drum wall, the gap closes. Hands, bags and feet can be caught here. This is the most important area for revolving door safety.
• The leading face of the wing. A wing that keeps moving when someone stops in front of it pushes against them.
• The floor. Feet, toes and wheels can be caught under the wing if the bottom brush or edge is worn or the floor is uneven.
• The top of the wing. Rarely a risk for adults, but relevant where children climb or where the canopy height is low.
• The compartment itself. Overcrowding, luggage that does not fit, and people stopping inside the drum all create pressure on the people around them.

The safety features that matter

On an automatic revolving door, revolving door safety is built from a small number of features working together.

• Anti-pinch sensing on the wings. The MC-R30 has an anti-pinch sensor device on the moving wings. When it detects an obstruction, the drive stops rather than pushing through.
• A sensible rotation speed. The rotation program on the MC-R30 sets the speed for the people who actually use the entrance. A hotel with older guests and luggage needs a slower drum than an office lobby at rush hour.
• Slow-down on approach. The rotation can slow as someone approaches, so people step in at a comfortable pace instead of rushing to catch a compartment.
• Response when pushed or obstructed. The program decides what the door does when someone pushes a wing or holds it. A good setting resists being pushed faster rather than speeding up.
• Central control. The MC-R30 runs from a central control computer with a combination operation panel, so settings are made once and stay consistent.

Other devices, such as additional sensors at the drum entrance, emergency stop buttons and mode controls, are specified per project against the building and its risk assessment. Ask what is included on the quotation and make sure the answer is written down.

Revolving door safety and speed

Speed is the single setting that most affects revolving door safety, and the one most often changed without anyone recording it. A faster drum moves more people per minute, but every wing carries more energy and gives people less time to react. A slower drum is more forgiving, but can create a queue outside on a busy morning, which tempts people to push.

The right answer is to size the door so that a comfortable speed carries the traffic. That is a diameter decision as much as a speed decision. Our guide to revolving door dimensions explains how diameter and wing count change throughput. If a revolving door has to run fast to keep up, it is probably too small for the entrance.

Three wings or four

Wing count also affects revolving door safety. Three wings give larger compartments, which suit luggage, trolleys and people walking together, and leave more space around each person. Four wings give smaller compartments and a better air seal, but less room for anyone carrying something bulky. In a hotel or an airport, three wings are often the safer choice. In an office lobby where people walk through with a laptop bag, four wings work well. See automatic revolving doors for the MC-R30 options.

Who needs another way in

A revolving door should never be the only entrance. In our view an accessible door alongside the drum is not optional, and it is one of the most important parts of revolving door safety. People who need it include:

• wheelchair users and people using walking frames
• parents with prams and pushchairs
• people with guide dogs
• hospital beds, trolleys and stretchers
• deliveries and anyone moving equipment
• anyone who is uncomfortable using a revolving door

The accessible door should sit right next to the drum, be clearly signed, and be automated, usually with a sliding door on the MC-125 or a swing door on the MCW-100. Our guide to automatic doors for disabled access covers that side in detail.

Children and revolving doors

Children are the users revolving door safety has to think about most carefully. They are small enough to be missed by sensors set for adults, they move unpredictably, and to a child a revolving door can look like a game.

Practical measures include keeping the rotation speed modest, checking that the anti-pinch and floor-level sensing are set up for small people, signing the door, and directing families with prams to the accessible door. In schools, clinics and shopping centres with a lot of family traffic, it is worth asking whether a revolving door is the right entrance at all.

Revolving door safety in an emergency

How a revolving door behaves in a fire or other emergency is set by the building’s fire strategy, not by the door supplier. On many buildings the revolving door is not counted as an escape route at all, and a separate exit door is provided alongside. Some revolving door designs allow wings to fold for escape. Whether that is needed, and whether it is accepted, is a decision for the fire consultant and the local authority.

What we do is make sure the door does what the fire strategy says: what happens when the alarm sounds, what happens on power loss, and how staff release it. We demonstrate those behaviours at handover and write them down. Our guide to automatic door safety requirements covers the wider principles.

Power failure and night locking

During load shedding or a power failure, an automatic revolving door stops. What happens next, whether it can be turned by hand and how the accessible door behaves, is decided for the building at the design stage.

Revolving door safety during an outage depends on staff knowing what to do, so the manual operation is demonstrated at handover. At night, the drum can stop with its wings positioned to close the entrance and be locked, with the accessible door locked or placed under access control on the same schedule. See automatic doors and load shedding.

Signs, floors and the approach

Much of revolving door safety is about the space around the drum rather than the drum itself.

• Signage. A clear sign showing the direction of rotation and pointing to the accessible door. Our automatic door signage guide covers wording and placement.
• Manifestation on the glass so the curved walls and wings are visible to everyone.
• A dry, level floor. Entrance matting inside and outside the drum and a canopy over it keep rain off, reducing slips in the compartment.
• Space to queue outside the drum, clear of the wings, so people are not pushed in by those behind them.
• No obstructions near the drum. Displays, bins and seating placed close to the entrance change how people approach and can interfere with sensors.

Keeping revolving door safety working

The safety devices on a revolving door only protect people while they work. The most common revolving door safety problems we find when taking over an entrance are not design faults. They are safety devices that have been turned down to stop nuisance stops, worn bottom brushes, and speeds that have been increased to clear a queue. All of these creep in gradually.

On every service visit we test the anti-pinch sensing, check the rotation speed and the slow-down against the commissioned settings, inspect the brushes and seals, and check the drive, the controls and the power-failure behaviour. Our standard service interval is six months, more often on busy entrances. See automatic door servicing.

Training the people who run the building

Reception, security and cleaning staff see the revolving door every hour of the day, so they are the first line of revolving door safety. At handover we show them how the modes work, how to stop the drum, how to release it during a power failure, and what the door should feel like when it is working properly. That last point matters most. Staff who know how the door behaved on the day it was commissioned are the ones who notice when it starts to stop late, run faster or hesitate.

Cleaning routines also affect revolving door safety. Mopping inside the drum while it is running, leaving a wet floor at the threshold, or parking a cleaning trolley against the drum wall are all common. A short written routine, agreed with the cleaning contractor, avoids them.

Taking over an existing revolving door

Many of the revolving doors we are asked about were installed by someone else, sometimes many years ago, with no records. Before we take one over we carry out a revolving door safety check: we test every safety device, measure the rotation speed, look at the brushes, the drive and the controls, and check what happens on power failure and alarm. We then tell you in writing what we found, what needs fixing first and what can wait.

We service automatic doors from other manufacturers as well as our own, so an older drum does not always have to be replaced to restore revolving door safety. See automatic door modernisation for when an upgrade makes more sense than a repair.

What building staff should check

Between service visits, a short weekly walk-round catches most revolving door safety problems early.

• Does the drum stop promptly when a wing is gently obstructed?
• Does it slow down as you approach, the way it did at handover?
• Are the brushes and bottom edges intact, with no gaps at the floor?
• Is the accessible door alongside working and unobstructed?
• Are the signs and glass markings still in place?
• Is the floor inside the drum clean and dry?

If anything has changed, take the door out of service and call us rather than living with it. See book a technician.

Revolving door safety by building type

• Hotels: slower speeds, three wings for luggage, and an accessible door alongside for porters and trolleys. See hotel automatic doors.
• Office lobbies: four wings for the air seal, sized so the morning peak does not need a fast drum.
• Hospitals: a revolving door at the main entrance only, always with a wide automatic door alongside for beds and wheelchairs. See hospital automatic doors.
• Airports: large diameters for luggage and trolleys, with constant two-way traffic.
• Shopping centres: heavy family traffic, so children and prams drive the settings.

What to ask for when you specify

Write revolving door safety into the specification rather than leaving it to the installer’s defaults. Ask for the diameter and wing count to be justified against the peak traffic, the rotation speed and slow-down settings to be stated, the safety devices to be listed by position, the accessible door alongside to be included in the same package, and the emergency and power-failure behaviour to be agreed with the fire consultant. Ask for commissioning records and a service plan at handover. Our automatic door specification guide shows how to set this out.

Revolving door safety: quick answers

• Revolving door safety starts at the closing edges where the wings meet the drum wall.
• Revolving door safety on the MC-R30 includes an anti-pinch sensor device on the wings.
• Revolving door safety depends on a speed that suits the people using the entrance.
• Revolving door safety needs an accessible automatic door alongside the drum.
• Revolving door safety in an emergency is set by the building’s fire strategy.
• Revolving door safety is kept up by testing the safety devices on every service.
• Revolving door safety problems usually come from devices turned down or left broken.

Revolving door safety questions

Considering a revolving entrance, or worried about one you already have? Request a quote or a safety check with photographs of the entrance and the traffic it carries. Requirements for powered pedestrian doors are published by the South African Bureau of Standards. We are on 010 412 0062, Monday to Thursday 08:00 to 16:30 and Friday 08:00 to 14:00.