A high-performance door helps keep cold storage facilities, food processing plants and beverage operations moving smoothly. From maintaining temperature consistency and protecting product quality to reducing energy loss and streamlining traffic flow, these doors deliver value every time they open and close.
Getting the most from a high-performance door means more than selecting the right model. It requires the right accessories, activation methods and safety features to reduce accidental damage and ensure years of reliable operation.
The Cost of Unprotected Doors
A damaged high-performance door costs more than the repair itself. In refrigerated or temperature-controlled facilities, even a temporary disruption of environmental control can result in spoiled products and significant financial losses. Not only that, but door downtime can slow production, delay shipments and reduce productivity while you wait for service. Depending on the severity of the impact, repairs can be expensive. In a worst-case scenario, the door might need to be replaced entirely – adding unexpected expenses to your budget.
Here are three ways to protect your high-performance doors while improving safety and productivity throughout your facility.
1. Install Activation Methods
One of the most effective ways to protect a door is by ensuring it opens at the right times – and stays closed when necessary.
In cold storage and food and beverage facilities, the right activation method can help reduce unnecessary door cycles, limit air exchange and keep temperatures controlled. All of which can have a dramatic effect on preserving frozen or cold inventory, maintaining chilled areas, and protecting ingredients and finished products from temperature swings.
Rytec offers a range of sophisticated activation options, including:
- Manual controls for defined traffic patterns
- Automatic motion and presence detectors for hands-free operation
- Induction floor loops for vehicle traffic
- Advanced laser-based detection systems that create customizable activation zones
- Touchless activation solutions for convenience and hygiene
The right activation options can help reduce unnecessary door openings and prevent vehicle-door collisions. The result is smoother traffic flow, greater productivity and less wear on the door, while also helping maintain environmental conditions necessary to keep your products fresh.
2. Increase Visibility with Warning Lights
Visual warning systems help communicate door status before and during operation, giving people and equipment more time to react. This is especially important in busy cold storage warehouses, food processing plants and beverage distribution centers where forklifts, pallet jacks and pedestrians often share the same areas.
We offer several signaling options, including:
- Red/green and red/yellow/green traffic lights
- Strobe and rotating warning lights
- Audible notification systems
- Countdown timers that indicate remaining open time
- Pathwatch® and Pathwatch® II Safety Light Systems, which provide intuitive visual warnings around the door opening
These systems integrate with our System 4® and System 4+™ Controller to improve awareness around busy doorways and help reduce the risk of impacts.
3. Reduce the Risk of Accidental Impacts
High-performance doors are typically located in high-traffic areas where forklifts, trucks and other equipment regularly move through door openings. Even with proper activation and warning systems in place, accidental impacts can still occur, which can damage tracks and door panels or knock the door out of alignment. Even a slight misalignment can reduce door speed, compromise the seal and disrupt temperature-controlled environments.
Adding physical protection around door openings can help minimize the risk of accidental damage. For example, bollards that are short and sturdy posts or goal post guards that are positioned near the entire opening act as a visual marker and physical barrier to stop or deflect vehicles. They’re a relatively inexpensive preventative measure that can help reduce maintenance and repair costs while maintaining consistent door performance.
Protect Your Investment
High-performance doors require high-performance protection. Rytec’s ancillary components and other safety strategies not only increase awareness of door movement – they help take your door’s performance to the next level while providing extraordinary reliability.
Contact us today to find the right doors and protective components for your facility.
