What makes a powered door compliant, and where the law actually sits.
There is a lot of loose talk about BS EN 16005 being the law. It is not, and the distinction matters. The duty is real, but it arrives by a different route.
Where the law actually sits
BS EN 16005 is the British and European standard for the safety in use of power operated pedestrian doors. It is a standard, not a statute. Parliament did not pass it, and on its own it is not the thing that puts a duty on you.
The duty arrives by a different route. Connect an operator to a door and let it move that door under power, and in the United Kingdom that assembly is no longer just a door: it is classed as a machine. Machines are covered by law made by Parliament.
That is where the obligation bites. Machinery has to be supplied safe and then kept safe in use, which means a powered door has to be maintained, and the person responsible for the building is the person who has to be able to show it.
BS EN 16005 is how you demonstrate it. It is the recognised benchmark the HSE, the courts and your insurer will measure a door against after an accident, because it puts numbers on what "safe" means. Meeting the standard is how you evidence that you met the statutory duty, and a written report is how you prove it on the day someone asks.
In short. BS EN 16005 is a standard, and Parliament did not pass it. Connect an operator to a door and the assembly becomes a machine, and machines are covered by statute. Meeting the standard is how you evidence that you have met the statutory duty.
- 01Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974The parent Act. General duties on employers and on those in control of premises.
- 02Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008Governs the powered door as a machine placed on the market: it has to be safe when supplied.
- 03Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998Governs it in use: work equipment must be maintained in efficient working order and in good repair.
- 04Equality Act 2010The reasonable adjustment duty that puts a powered opener on the entrance in the first place.
The numbers a compliant door has to meet.
These are the numbers we measure and record on every visit. They come from BS EN 16005, and they are the difference between a door that is working and a door that is safe.
1.69J
Kinetic energy limit for a moving leafWe measure closing force with a calibrated gauge accurate to 10 N. For a swing door that means at least three seconds from closed to 80 degrees.1m
Minimum detection distanceThe door must see a person at least a metre away, and 1.5 m on an escape route, so it is fully open in time. We test with the standard CA and CB test bodies.8mm
Finger and body gapsGaps must be closed, kept under 8 mm, or opened beyond 25 mm. Anything in between gets a guard, a rubber profile or a sensor.5s
Opening on a power failureSliding doors on escape routes must open within five seconds and stay open, so the entrance does not become the thing that traps people.150N
Manual force on a dead doorWith the power off, a swing door has to be openable by hand with no more than 150 N. If it needs a shoulder, it fails.3s
Closed to 80 degreesThe floor for a low-energy swing door. Anything quicker and the leaf is carrying more energy than a person can safely absorb.
The document that proves it.
Every service and inspection ends with a report: what we tested, the force readings we measured, what passed, what needs attention and by when. It goes in the log book and stays with the door.
On the day someone asks, the door is either compliant on paper or it is your word against theirs.
- Activation sensorsPass
- Presence detection at 1 mPass
- Closing force within limitPass
- Safety distances and guardsPass
- Power failure opening3 s
- Log book updatedDone
Need a door signed off before an audit?
A single BS EN 16005 inspection, with the readings and the remedials in writing. No contract required.