A near-stifling heat haze rising off the tarmac of an empty car park. A lone, crackling, sun-aged crisp packet turning circles in the gentle wind eddies around the playground. A swing slowly creaking back and forth in a temporarily abandoned play area.
It’s the school summer holidays.
Every room occupied, overcrowded even. The excited murmur of unfamiliar voices. Luggage stuffed into every available space. Frazzled staff giving hurried directions, harried by groups and individuals for weeks on end. Lessons, lunches, residentials.
It’s the school summer holidays.
Whether your facility is as empty as a Celebrations chocolate tub in an office at Christmas time or filled to the gunwales from June to August with mature students on short courses, there is still essential maintenance to be undertaken and completed before the new Autumn term starts.
The unrelenting hands of time continue to tick down on the regular checks required throughout the premises and grounds, including life safety measures such as fire door inspections. It’d be ideal to carry these out, and any required repairs and upkeep, when your facility is unoccupied and accessible but not every facilities manager or maintenance team has that luxury.
Squeezing in a 3-day job between room bookings, or with a clear 6-week stretch ahead, door and fire door maintenance remains crucial for safety and security so, let us guide you through the essentials.
Understanding the Importance of Door and Fire Door Maintenance
Regulatory Compliance
Regular maintenance ensures compliance with UK building and fire safety regulations. “Responsible Persons” have responsibilities under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRO) and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022.
Safety and Security
Well maintained doors aid in ensuring the safety of students and staff. Doors that function as they should prevent accidents and enhance passive fire safety throughout a building. Correctly specified, installed, and maintained doors also provide security whether this is external access doors, locked doors securing plant rooms or archives, or fire rated compartmentation doors in corridors.
Common Pain Points in Door and Fire Door Maintenance
•Wear and Tear: Frequent use, or misuse, leads to common door hardware issues like loose hinges and worn seals. There could also be damage to doors and frames. The users of educational facilities often have little reason to exercise care when using doors and hardware. Customers have recounted incidents of students hanging off of door closer arms, intentionally slamming doors, and unscrewing handle roses, so those regular checks are a necessity.
•Budget Constraints: What business doesn’t list finances as one of their top reasons why not everything that needs to be done gets done in the time frame they’d like. Schools, nurseries, and colleges all face budget limitations, which can make it challenging to prioritise maintenance. Scheduling works in good time off the back of regular inspections allows for budget to be allocated and provides visibility to stakeholders.
•Knowledge Gaps: Facility managers and internal maintenance staff may not be aware of all compliance requirements or the latest safety standards. Many of our customers report issues to an external contractor, often dictated by the local education authorities or county council, but are the staff on the ground aware of what the potential issues are to report them? Education is one of the keys to effective and timely action.
•Time Constraints: Finding the time for comprehensive checks during the school term can be difficult. Layer this with planning in works throughout the year, liaising with suppliers, contractors, and third parties can extend time frames for completion. Using dedicated software, an internal planner or platform, or a management company can help structure your year to allow for required checks and work to be diarized effectively.
Door Maintenance Survey
Inspecting doors during periods of maintenance falls into two stages, a visual inspection and a functional test. On the surface a door might look as though everything is as it needs to be, but opening, operating, and closing the door may prove otherwise.
Visual Inspections
Check for visible signs of wear and tear. This could look like loose fixings which mean hardware isn’t securely fixed which would impact the function of the ironmongery itself, such as door handles, or the function of the door if we’re talking about door closers or hinges.
Visual inspections also cover:
•The condition of hardware e.g. are the fins or brush pile of combined fire and smoke seals intact.
•The presence of correct hardware e.g. are fire door signs still in place and visible.
•The door and frame e.g. gaps around fire doors, material damage that could compromise the integrity of the doorset.
Watch our fire door gap tester video below for guidance on how to check the size of gaps at the head and side of your fire rated doors.
Functional Tests
Time to get hands on. Internal or external, non-locking or access controlled, hold open or fire door keep locked, you’ve looked over the door, frame, and ironmongery, now get stuck in and check it actually works.
Doors should close securely into frames after every operation. Locks shouldn’t stick or be graunchy when you turn the key. Kickplates, handles, signage shouldn’t be hanging off or causing an obstruction. Access control doors are a little more involved so read our blog or watch our step-by-step video on how to maintain your access control system.
The best door hardware is the hardware that works, you need the right product for the right job. Product lifecycles matter so considering intended use, the traffic, and positioning and selecting a suitable product can reduce your costs of maintenance, repair, and replacement.
Fire Door Specifics
Look no further than our fire door safety checklist to start your basic fire door checks. This 8-point guide takes you around the door covering the main hardware components. Alongside inspection and maintenance of doors, you’ll also be covering active fire safety measures such as testing fire alarms and sprinkler and spray systems.
Compliance Verification
Layered over all the practical elements will be the ‘why’ behind the actions. Whether this is the trained, responsible person on site, or through a third party, ensure that someone is reviewing the latest regulations so all elements of work being undertaken meet legal standards.
The Right Partners and Tools
•Maintenance Provider: In-house or outsourced, it’s important to have reliable service providers that are focused on quality and compliance. Look for accredited, competent staff or companies that can work with tight timeframes, often limited access, and limited budgets, providing certified hardware and services.
•Tools and Products: Once you have the right people, it’s time for the right tools and products. These include physical items that aid in maintaining door integrity, such as specific fire rated consumables, CE/UKCA marked door closers and hinges, through to FM software to allow the quick and easy logging of support tickets and tracking planned works.
Planning for the Long-Term
Some quick tips for how to assure you’re set up for a smooth of a journey as possible with your regular maintenance routine:
•Maintenance Schedules: Establish an effective maintenance calendar. Align inspections and works with school terms and holidays. Provide visibility for all stakeholders.
•Budget Planning: Agree strategies for allocating budget to critical maintenance requirements. Balance this with the other requirements for your facility across all departments.
•Training Staff: Understand and communicate the importance of training for onsite staff. Whether this is having an awareness of legislation and regulation, understanding doors and door hardware, to handling minor maintenance tasks.
A great place to start your team off on their door hardware education journey is our blogs. We’ve got comprehensive guides on a wide range of ironmongery and door controls:
•Finger guards – understanding door finger guards and addressing FAQs
Our YouTube channel also has informational content such as “what type of panic hardware do I need?”
Conclusion
You know about the importance of maintaining doors and fire doors in schools – regulatory compliance, safety, and security, and how to address it – visual inspections and functional checks.
Working on the front line you have an all too ready understanding of the pain points when it comes to maintaining a busy facility – wear and tear, budgets, knowledge gaps, and time constraints.
And you are aware of pulling all the threads together to ensure proactive maintenance that enhances safety, security, and compliance – the people doing the work and the tools needed. These combined with planning and the right partnerships will deliver that smooth, unrushed maintenance schedule that is every facility manager’s dream.
There’s one thing missing from that summary. Did you spot it? Well, you won’t get too far without product. We’ve bought our best sellers together for you to allow for a seamless purchase process when it comes to school maintenance. Shop today, goods on site the next working day, jobs completed on time, leaving time to sit back and either enjoy the peace of your briefly deserted site, or watch the crowds of visitors pass through the halls and dormitories, knowing you’re keeping everything on track.
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