Paul Watson of DORMA re-elected as ADSA Chairman

The Managing Director of Automatics at DORMA, Paul Watson, has been re-elected as chair of the Automatic Door Suppliers Association (ADSA) for a second term in succession and for the fourth time overall. ADSA member companies supply over 90% of the UK market and can advise on every aspect of automatic doors, from the initial selection and specification, through to installation – taking into account factors such as projected traffic volumes and flows, access for those with disabilities or special needs and other considerations such as security and the local environment. Commercially members may be competitors, but they all share a collective responsibility for improving and maintaining standards.

Paul has a strong belief in and loyalty to ADSA and was instrumental in its development since formation in 1985. He recalls: “The market for automatics was a fairly new, fast growing sector at that time and DORMA, along with other leading manufacturers, felt that there was a need for automatic doors to conform to certain levels of performance in terms of safety and reliability. The way forward seemed to be the formation of an official body responsible for setting standards in this area and that is how ADSA came about. There were only four founding members at the outset and we have grown to twenty-seven today, which is an extremely healthy membership given the size of the industry”.

Setting Standards

It was ADSA who first developed an industry code of practice covering the safety aspects of automatic sliding and swing doors for pedestrian use which, in 1988, formed the basis of BS7036. With advances in technology and the introduction of new safety devices, ADSA then contributed to the updated standard BS7036, which was rewritten in 1996 to encompass new types of automatic door such as folding and balanced doors. Complementary to all this is a comprehensive testing programme for the industry's installation and maintenance engineers, who undertake operations covered by the standard. All member companies are fully committed to this program and in addition the Association is actively involved in the formulation of European-wide safety standards.

ADSA exists to promote the highest performance and safety standards in automatic doors and for peace of mind, end-users and specifiers should benefit from the Association's rigorous standards by dealing only with automatic door companies who are ADSA members.
Paul Watson again: “The basic questions people should ask are – will the installation comply with British Standard 7036 1996 covering safety of powered doors for pedestrian use and the guidelines laid down by ADSA which cover both the provision and fitting of safety devices? Are these devices being offered as standard equipment? Is the supplier able to offer the required after-sales support, including a long-term maintenance agreement? If the answer to any of these questions is no, then the supplier is probably not an ADSA member”.

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	Paul Watson, Managing Director of the Automatics Division at DORMA UK Limited. download view picture