An automatic door service contract turns unpredictable callouts into a planned cost, which is why most facilities managers with more than one entrance end up on one. This guide explains what a contract should cover in South Africa and what to check before signing.
To compare options and arrange a site visit, see our automatic doors page.
What an automatic door service contract should cover
A contract is only worth having if it is specific. At minimum it should set out:
- Visit frequency, set against the traffic the door actually carries rather than a generic annual slot.
- Scope of each visit — belt tension, rollers, floor guides, sensor testing and re-aiming, speed and hold-open settings, battery backup and fail-safe behaviour.
- Response commitment for faults between visits, and what counts as urgent.
- How parts are handled — whether they are quoted before fitting and at what price.
- What is excluded, so nobody is surprised. Accidental damage and vandalism are normally outside a service contract.
Automatic door service contract: why the safety testing matters most
The part of an automatic door service contract that carries real risk is the sensor testing. An automatic pedestrian door is expected to detect a person in the opening and hold rather than close on them, the principle set out in EN 16005, which is commonly referenced in commercial door specifications. Sensors drift, get knocked and get painted over. A door that opens perfectly can still be unsafe, and that is not something a caretaker inspection will catch. Requirements for powered pedestrian doors in South Africa are published through SABS.
Automatic door service contract: how contracts are priced
We quote per site rather than publishing a flat rate, because a single office entrance and a bi-parting mall door running sixteen hours a day are different commitments. The variables are the same ones that drive any automatic door maintenance cost: door type, daily cycles, sensor count, site access and how quickly you need someone on site when something fails.
What is not variable is the parts side. Every MC-125 and MCW-100 component is published at a fixed price in our spare parts category, so a contract cannot hide a margin in the parts line.
Automatic door service contract: single door or a portfolio
Contracts make the most sense where there are several doors, or where downtime has a direct trading cost — retail, healthcare and hospitality in particular. For a single low-traffic door, planned servicing without a formal contract is often the more sensible arrangement, and we will say so.
Automatic door service contract or pay-as-you-go?
The honest answer depends on how much a stuck door costs you. If an entrance failing at 09:00 on a Saturday means lost trade or a security exposure, a contract with an agreed response time is worth more than the visits themselves. If the door is a back-of-house entrance that could stand a day out of service, booking a service when it is due is usually the better value.
- Choose a contract when you have several doors, when downtime has a trading cost, or when a landlord or insurer expects documented servicing.
- Choose ad-hoc servicing for a single low-traffic door where a delay is an inconvenience rather than a loss.
Either way, insist that sensor testing is written into the scope. It is the part most easily skipped and the part that matters most.
Frequently asked questions
What does an automatic door service contract cost?
It is quoted per site against door type, traffic, sensor count and the response time you need. Parts are charged at our published prices and quoted before fitting.
Do you cover doors you did not install?
We contract on MC-125 and MCW-100 systems, and can advise on common components in other systems. Send us a list of your doors and we will confirm what we can cover.
How often will a door be visited?
Frequency is set by cycles rather than the calendar. A busy retail entrance is visited more often than a low-traffic office door.
Does a contract include spare parts?
No. Visits cover inspection, adjustment and testing; parts are quoted separately from published prices before any work goes ahead.
Get a contract quoted. Send us your door list and locations. See automatic door maintenance for what a visit covers, or automatic door repairs for reactive work.
Which door type suits the opening
Traffic and wall space decide the layout for automatic door service Contract. Single sliding is the everyday shopfront answer; bi-parting halves the travel and handles the busiest public entrances; telescopic stacks the leaves where there is not enough wall to park them; and a swing operator automates a hinged door you already have.
- MC-125 sliding: single leaf to 150 kg, or bi-parting 2 × 120 kg, openings 1450–5000 mm.
- MCW-100 swing: existing hinged doors to 1,200 mm / 150 kg (interdependent).
- Tested to one million operating cycles, 2-year manufacturer warranty on the operator.
What we check before quoting automatic door service Contract
The structural opening decides most of the specification, so we measure that rather than any existing frame. We then check whether the head is level and can carry an operator, what sits above the opening — a bulkhead, sprinkler line or services void all dictate where the header can physically go — and whether there is power at the head. Getting those three right before anything is ordered is what keeps automatic door service Contract on programme.
Power, load-shedding and access control
Decide up front whether the door should fail open for escape or fail secure for stock, and whether a battery backup should keep it running through a load-shedding slot or simply park it safely. Whichever you choose, staff need to be shown the manual release. Access control belongs in the same conversation: card readers, push buttons, intercoms and time clocks are far cheaper specified with the door than cabled in afterwards through a finished ceiling.
How long do automatic doors last?
Life depends on traffic, environment and maintenance rather than age. The MC-125 operator is tested to one million operating cycles, and a serviced entrance comfortably outlives an unserviced one.
Which glass comes as standard?
6.38 mm laminated safety glass, with powder-coated framing in the finish that suits the frontage.
How much work will the door really do?
Traffic is the number that sizes automatic door service Contract. Count people in and out, then add deliveries, staff movements and trolleys. A quiet reception and a supermarket entrance can look identical on a drawing and behave completely differently in service, which is why the cycle estimate belongs in the specification rather than in the assumptions.
Getting a fast, accurate figure
Send the structural opening sizes, a photograph taken square-on, and a note of the traffic, and a quotation for automatic door service Contract comes back quickly. Where a site survey is needed, we will say so; a free site measure confirms the opening, the power supply and the traffic flow before a fixed price is given.
- Opening width and height, measured to the structure.
- A photograph showing the doorway and the space above it.
- Daily traffic and trading hours.
- Access control, intercom or backup power, if wanted.
Making the entrance work for everybody
Hands-free access matters most to the people who find doors hardest: wheelchair users, parents with prams, delivery staff with both hands full. For automatic door service Contract we set hold-open time against how quickly people really move through the opening, and presence detection holds the door for anyone who pauses. A push-pad or a wave switch can be added where staff want manual control.
What glass comes as standard?
6.38 mm clear laminated safety glass, with tinted and performance options, quoted separately, where solar gain or privacy matters.
Automatic door service contract at a glance
- Pricing for automatic door service contract follows the opening width, the glass and the sensor layout.
- Ask us to confirm the opening before ordering automatic door service contract.
- Every enquiry about automatic door service contract gets a written specification, not a verbal estimate.
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