Automatic entrance doors rarely stop working outright. They degrade. The door opens a little slower, then a little less far, then it starts closing before someone has cleared the opening. Staff adapt without mentioning it. The first formal notice usually arrives as a complaint from someone who could not get through the entrance, and by then the fault has been developing for months.

For an Ontario property, that matters beyond inconvenience. An accessible entrance is not accessible because an operator was installed once. It is accessible while the operator is working the way it was commissioned to work.

What the rules expect, in plain terms

Accessibility obligations in Ontario come from more than one place, and they do different jobs.

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act and its integrated standards deal largely with how an organization operates: policies, training, and what happens when an accessible feature is temporarily out of service. The Ontario Building Code deals with what has to be built and installed, including barrier-free entrance requirements. Canadian accessible design guidance such as CSA B651 informs how those entrances are laid out. Power operator performance itself is normally specified against the ANSI/BHMA standards, with low-energy operators and full-power operators treated separately because they behave differently and are protected differently.

The practical takeaway for a facility manager is simpler than the paperwork. Requirements differ by building type, age and whether work has been done recently, so the authority having jurisdiction is the place to confirm what applies to a specific entrance. What does not vary is this: once a power operator is part of the accessible route, keeping it functioning is an ongoing obligation, and there is normally an expectation that outages are communicated rather than simply left.

The faults that show up first

Opening speed and hold-open time drift

Operators are commissioned with a set opening speed, hold-open duration and closing speed. Those settings drift as the unit ages and as seasonal temperature changes affect the mechanism. Hold-open time is the one users feel. Shortened by a couple of seconds, it stops being enough for someone using a walker, pushing a stroller, or carrying something in both hands.

Nobody reports a door for closing slightly early. They just get clipped by it.

Actuator range and placement problems

Push plates that need a firm, sustained press have usually lost sensitivity or have a failing switch behind the plate. Touchless actuators drift out of range, or get partially blocked by seasonal displays, mats, signage or a planter that moved in the spring and never moved back.

An actuator that works when you know exactly where to stand is not working. It is being compensated for.

Sensor faults

Presence and motion sensors are the safety layer, and they are affected by the environment more than any other component. Direct low sun through a glass entrance, reflective floors after a wash, snow melt and salt residue, and shifting furniture inside the swing path all change what the sensor reads. Symptoms include a door that cycles with nobody near it, a door that opens late, or a door that closes while the opening is still occupied. The last one is the serious one.

Wear in the arm, spindle and header

Swing operators transmit force through an arm assembly. Play develops at the arm joints and at the spindle, and the door starts arriving at the open position with a knock. Left alone, the wear moves into the header and the door begins to drop out of alignment. Diagnosing that early is the difference between an arm rebuild and a header replacement, and it belongs to routine automatic door repair rather than a capital project.

Manual mode and the closer underneath

Most low-energy operators still have to close the door properly with the power off. That function depends on the closing mechanism, and when it is neglected the door does not latch in a power outage. That is a security problem in the evening and a fire-separation problem in a corridor. If the door has a separate closer, its condition is part of the same inspection, and a worn unit needs commercial door closer repair rather than a reset.

A short inspection that catches most of it

This takes a few minutes per entrance and does not need tools.

• Press the actuator normally, once, from a standing position. The door should start immediately.
• Time the hold-open. Count it. Write the number down so it can be compared next quarter.
• Walk through slowly, stopping inside the opening. The door should not begin closing.
• Watch the closing motion for a sudden last section of travel, which points to a closer or arm problem.
• Check both actuators, inside and out, and check that nothing has been placed in front of either.
• Open and close the door manually with the operator powered down. It should latch on its own.
• Listen at the header for knocking, scraping or a motor that labours.

Any one of these failing is a service call, not a note for next year.

Keep a log, and post outages

Two habits remove most of the risk. First, a dated log per entrance with settings, adjustments and parts. When hold-open time has been reset three times in a year, the log tells you the operator is failing rather than drifting. Second, a written procedure for what happens when an accessible entrance is out of service: signage at the entrance directing people to the nearest accessible alternative, staff who know the answer, and a target date.

The same applies to any door on the life-safety side of the building. Operators, closers and hardware on a required exit route are inspected as a set, and a problem with one of them is usually a signal about the others. Entrances that also serve as exits should be reviewed alongside the building fire exit doors, not separately from them.

Frequently asked questions

How often should an automatic entrance be inspected?

Manufacturers commonly recommend a daily safety walk-through by staff plus periodic service by a technician, with frequency set by traffic volume. A high-traffic retail or healthcare entrance needs more than an office side entrance.

Does a broken operator have to be reported?

Ontario organizations are generally expected to notify the public when an accessible feature is temporarily unavailable, including the reason, the expected duration and available alternatives. Confirm the specific obligation for your organization, since it depends on sector and size.

Can we just prop the door open until it is fixed?

Not if it is a fire-rated or fire-separation door. Propping those open defeats the separation and is a code issue in its own right. It is also not a substitute for an accessible entrance in bad weather.

Why does the door open when nobody is there?

Usually a motion sensor reading movement it should be ignoring: passing traffic through glass, a moving display, or a reflective floor. Sensor pattern adjustment normally solves it, and it is worth fixing because the extra cycles shorten the life of the operator.