DORMA products for Dorset's first "Modernising Schools Project"

Selecting the optimum mix of door controls to ensure safe access and egress throughout a school environment is a complex task these days, and Holy Trinity Primary School in Weymouth found DORMA’s experience and advice invaluable. Holy Trinity is a 630 pupil new build school and the first project to be built as part of Dorset's new "Modernising Schools Project". The internal and exterior door closers had to meet security, health & safety requirements, compliance with parts 3 and 4 of the SENDA (the equivalent of the Disability Discrimination Act for the education sector), and of course endure tough wear and tear.

DORMA is the world market leader in door controls and automatic doors and is able to select from a huge range of options. Six different product types were selected to meet the requirements at Holy Trinity; and almost inevitably the first two installed throughout the school were the TS92 and TS93 cam-action closers – which cannot be bettered in this type of environment in order to comply with BS8300 and Approved Document M. They feature a unique linear drive mechanism and heart-shaped cam, and operate quite differently to conventional rack and pinion closers. The clever design means that when the door is opened the opening force falls away rapidly after the first few degrees, resulting in little resistance throughout the opening cycle – and the same happens on closing. The result is a much easier and safer door operation for children, those carrying books and equipment and for people with physical disabilities.

The emergency exit doors from school halls, classrooms and general utility areas at Holy Trinity have to be opened with the minimum of effort from inside, but also be totally secure from intruders on the outside. DORMA AD4000 full door width touchbars, with stainless steel deadlocking Pullman type latches met this requirement perfectly.

In the main traffic routes and at the main entrances, DORMA ED200 swing door operators have been installed. These provide an excellent access solution for heavy traffic routes, offering no obstruction at all to users.

DORMA locks were chosen in conjunction with the OGRO range of lever handles from DORMA. They combine an attractive design with a robust mechanism where the latch and handle are independently sprung. As a result the latch can be lightly sprung so that the door will fully close and latch on a low power door closer setting –the lever handle is guaranteed to remain tightly sprung so that it always returns to its original position, and ensures practically maintenance-free operation even in a demanding school environment.

Holy Trinity Primary School, which has an overall floor area of 3166m2 split into three linked blocks, was a demanding project. Two of DORMA's distributors were involved in the supply and fitting, which had to be completed comfortably before the September intake. Hardware Solutions of Poole supplied the ironmongery for all of the internal applications, and Spiller Architectural Ironmongers of Yeovil supplied the external doors and associated ironmongery.

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