Corporate automatic doors carry a building’s first impression and its climate control at the same time. This entrance for MSD in Midrand needed to manage steady staff and visitor traffic while keeping the reception comfortable.
Client: MSD | Location: Midrand, Gauteng | Sector: Pharmaceutical / corporate office | Scope: Automatic sliding entrance
The solution
We supplied and installed an automatic sliding door with a slim-sightline aluminium shopfront, glazed to certified safety standards for a clean corporate entrance that opens on approach and closes gently behind.
What corporate automatic doors are specified for
A head-office entrance is judged in the first three seconds of a visit, so the glazing and sightlines do a lot of work. But the specification that actually determines whether the entrance is still working in five years is the operator duty rating.
In a corporate reception the door is in near-constant use through the working day. That means a high-cycle operator, sensors set for the actual approach path, and a maintenance plan – not simply the cheapest unit that fits the opening.
Glazing and safety certification
Glass in and beside a doorway is a human-impact position, which is why the pane specification is not a free choice. Certified safety glazing is the baseline, and the correct grade depends on the size, position and exposure of each pane in the entrance.
Safety, sensors and compliance
Any automatic entrance runs unattended, so the safety devices matter as much as the operator itself. Presence and motion sensors hold the door open while somebody is still in the opening, safety beams guard the closing edge, and hold-open time and closing speed are set on commissioning to suit the traffic. Glazing in and around a door is a recognised human-impact position, so the glass specification should be confirmed against the applicable South African standards – see the South African Bureau of Standards, or our glazing compliance centre for a plain-English summary.
Keeping corporate automatic doors running
An entrance that opens hundreds of times a day is a mechanical system and needs to be treated like one. Sensors drift out of alignment, floor tracks collect grit, and operators need periodic adjustment. We install these systems and can keep them serviced afterwards, which is what keeps a busy entrance reliable rather than becoming the thing everyone complains about.
Why it works
- Hands-free access for a busy corporate reception
- Air-conditioning kept in, energy costs down
- High-cycle operator built for all-day commercial use
- Safety sensors preventing the door closing on anyone in the opening
Fitting out offices in Gauteng?
If you are specifying corporate automatic doors for a head office or campus, we can survey the opening and advise on operator, shopfront and glazing. See our automatic sliding doors page or browse other completed projects.
How a corporate automatic doors installation actually runs
Every entrance starts with a site survey rather than a catalogue number. We measure the structural opening, check what the floor and lintel will carry, look at how people actually approach the doorway, and confirm the power supply position. Only then does the operator get specified, because the same opening can need a different unit depending on traffic, exposure and how wide the clear opening has to be.
The frame and glazing are then manufactured to the confirmed sizes, delivered, and installed. Commissioning is the step that gets skipped most often elsewhere and matters most: opening speed, closing speed, hold-open time and sensor coverage are all set on site, with the door running, against the real approach path rather than a default profile. It is the step that separates corporate automatic doors that feel effortless from ones everybody in the building complains about.
What we need to know to quote
Most of the quoting delay on corporate automatic doors comes from missing information rather than complexity. If you can give us these up front, we can usually come back quickly:
- The structural opening width and height, measured rather than estimated
- Roughly how many people pass through on a busy day
- Whether the opening is internal, or exposed to weather and wind
- Any landlord, centre-management or fit-out specification that applies
- Whether an existing frame is being replaced or it is a new opening
If you are not sure on any of it, a site visit sorts it out faster than a drawing exchange – and it avoids the most expensive mistake in this trade, which is an operator specified for the wrong duty and replaced a year later. Specified properly at the start, corporate automatic doors should run for years with nothing more than servicing.