Mainstay Trust Ltd
How Mainstay Trust improved access
Opening the door to safety at Beeches Nursing Home
Sector
Care
Customer requirements
Improve access for elderly residents
Product provided
Dorgard SmartSound
"Dorgard SmartSound is quick and easy to install. It took about 10 minutes for each one. I’d recommend Dorgard SmartSound to anyone. We’ve had great customer service from Fireco, very helpful. It’s really been tremendous."
Bob Field
Maintenance Manager
THE PROBLEM
Closed doors cut off residents
Maintenance manager Bob Field said, “You rarely see a door closed here. No one likes to be stuck in their room, and if the doors were closed our residents might feel cut off. People like to have their doors open so they can easily move around the building and chat with people.”
Safety is a priority at The Beeches, so bedroom doors, as well as the doors to the communal areas, are fire doors. Fire doors need to remain closed to do their job, but they can be heavy and difficult to open, particularly for older people or those who are less mobile. Wedging them open is dangerous, so Bob needed a safe solution.
the solution
Low maintenance with self-testing
“About 10 years ago, we installed Dorgards on all the doors,” Bob said. “They’ve worked well over the years and when they needed replacing, we chose Dorgard SmartSound.”
Dorgard SmartSound holds fire doors open legally and safely, automatically releasing them to close when the fire alarm sounds. It has advanced listening technology so it only releases the doors to the noise of the fire alarm and not to common background noises, such as the vacuum cleaner.
“We’re really happy with the new Dorgard SmartSounds,” said Bob. “I’ve installed 45 of them on all our doors and they’re working really well.”
“I remember when we first got the Dorgards, we thought the place was haunted as the doors were closing automatically once a week. We soon realised it was because the Dorgards self-tested each week to check they were working.”
Haunted houses won’t be a problem with Dorgard SmartSound, as its advanced technology means there’s no need for the units to self-test by closing the doors.
Find out more about Dorgard SmartSound here
Dorgard SmartSound is a wireless solution for legally holding open fire doors, automatically releasing them to close when a fire alarm sounds.
Dorgard SmartSound is also available as part of our subscription service, Compliance as a Service.
the outcome
A safe environment for everyone
“Our residents can keep their doors open which they love. Some of them like to have them open all the way, some like to just have them halfway open. Either works with Dorgard SmartSound.”
“Keeping the doors open is helpful for our staff too, as it means they can check on everyone without causing a disturbance. If one of our residents is asleep, the click of the door opening and closing could wake them up. We don’t have to worry about that.”
Bob continued: “The new units have a three-year battery life which is great for us as we don’t have to think about changing the batteries. The cleaners also don’t need to worry about the doors closing when they do the vacuuming so everyone is safer.”
“We have an older building, so we chose white Dorgard SmartSounds. We like the way they blend in with our white doors.”
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