News

We see plenty of confusion in the field about how standards and codes apply. Take a look at the door in this example, and you’ll see just what we mean. This application requires a fire rated glass. This picture shows a door with tempered glass and no latching device. This does not meet the intent of the code. Get acquainted with code UL 1784. Total Door Systems is the only integrated assembly that exceeds the testing and rating requirements for elevator, hoistway, and elevator lobby doors.

Part of the benefit of a Total Door System is that we take the guesswork out of how multiple codes and standards apply to your installation by ensuring they exceed existing life safety standards. We’re the experts, so that you don’t have to be.

If you have questions about the various standards and codes that affect openings and hardware, make sure that you are regularly checking our LinkedIn page or our website at totaldoor.com. We will be regularly posting helpful information and images to help you Know Your Code. 

October 30 is National Checklist Day (yes, really) u2013 in recognition of an aviation checklist established in 1935 following a tragic crash of a military aircraft caused by one missed step in takeoff protocol of the new, B-17 bomber.

While lives are not at stake, checklists matter for our industry too. We’ve provided our installation checklist u2013 or installation inspection form u2013 to help ensure Total Door Systems have been installed correctly, and to provide the best experience for your customer possible.

Total Door Service Manager John Pierre knows a thing or two about maintaining the quality of the integrated door systems. It begins, he says, with ensuring that the installer has been trained on Total Door Systems and can install it correctly.

Pierre offered some thoughts about the benefits of getting installation training and certification in a recent conversation:

Q: Why does Total Door Systems emphasize the importance of its installation training?

JP: It’s all about how the parts of the door work with each other to operate. We require our installers to be certified onsite or at the factory so that they understand how everything works together in tandem. I was on a site a couple of weeks ago where the doors weren’t functioning. I was sent to inspect them and it turned out that they were installed incorrectly. I took them apart and re-hung the doors. They work great now and the customer is happy.

Q: How does the training prepare someone to serve the customer properly?

JP: The training we do is not bookwork. It’s hands-on training. We actually hang the door and look at the specs. We look at how it all interacts with each other. We do this with each application of door we have, and the installer leaves feeling comfortable, and knowing that they can handle anything in the field.

We have installation videos available on YouTube and on the Total Door website that show the process step-by-step if installers need a refresher or a visual guide while they are on site, as well. We want to make sure that we support the correct installation of the doors as thoroughly as possible.

Q: What does quality mean at Total Door?
JP: It means everything.

At Total Door Systems, we are used to being one of a kind. Providing easy-to-use online information that distributors can present through their own company website felt like a helpful addition.

In the coming weeks, Total Door will be unveiling a marketing website that distributors can incorporate into their website with a graphical link.

In recent months, Total Door had received multiple requests to provide website content for distributors. Ensuring that the information stayed current and provided the latest product updates and features was a potential problem.

The new site will be continuously updated and provide industry updates relevant to distributors and your customers.

If you have an idea about what content would be most useful to you, please let us know by clicking through the email address at the bottom of this page.

Total Door Systems will launch new training and service resources in March with a series of videos that will detail the complete installation process. The videos will be available on YouTube and at TotalDoor.com, and are intended to give installers working in the field quick visual guidance. The videos also support Total Door’s in-field training program, which delivers installation training and mentorship for master installers at distributor locations across the nation.

Gary Deter, the owner of Architectural Door Consultants, in Laguna Miguel, Calif., is helping to drive the western expansion of Total Door. As the company’s representative for Southern California, Arizona and southern Nevada, Gary has been a key force in identifying and signing on well-respected distributors in a vital part of the country.

“Projects are booming on the west coast,” Gary says, adding that he’s excited to bring Total Door Systems into more of them.

Gary has been in the door and hardware industry for 36 years and added Total Door to his product list two years ago. He said the addition of Total Door products allows him to compete with some of the largest firms on the west coast for every project.

His process of working with distributors is to emphasize direct contact with distributors to foster relationships and a deeper understanding of their specific needs. Gary works with a complete customer-centric approach, which means ensuring that distributors have the right training and support to understand new products, how they relate to their specific markets, and the full spectrum of support options available to them through Total Door.

As part of Total Door’s inaugural Advisory Council, Gary is interested in candid feedback from distributors on the tools and support that would help them work more successfully with Total Door Systems.

“Communication is a two-way street at Total Door,” Gary says, “It’s an important value that we share.”

The old axiom about an ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure holds true in an emerging issue regarding pressure parameters in our industry. The lack of a standard pressure parameter for doors that protect elevator shafts during a fire has meant that many doors are subject to as much as 30 – 40 pounds of pressure, an unsustainable amount for nearly any door.

The problem presented itself during a recent project audit in California. Doors were slamming with too much force because the elevator shafts were pressurized twice as high as necessary. Elevator shafts are pressurized to contain smoke and prevent it from spreading to different floors.

Smoke evacuation design is important, but all too often overlooked. The teams in charge of HVAC and door specifications can operate in silos. The lack of communication means that while there are general suggestions on the pressure, the range is too broad to be meaningful, and no standard parameter has emerged to guide the process.

Beyond identifying the right specification, bridging the communication gap and inviting more collaboration with HVAC is the goal. The right spec will maximize door protection and safety, and maintain Total Door’s reputation for excellence – before and after installation.

While Total Door is at the front end of confronting this issue, we will keep you informed of our progress in upcoming newsletters.

A hospital recommission project in Indiana is proving that Total Door Systems can withstand the test of time. Inspectors found that 40-year-old Total Doors were still completely functional when they assessed the North Clark Community Hospital in Charlestown, Ind. In a rare move, the hospital is being put back into service in August after a nine-year layoff to meet the needs of a growing local population.

The hospital was one of the first projects for Total Door when it was built in 1976. In fact, engineers noticed that one of the fire labels on a door was #003, meaning it was among the earliest projects the company ever completed. They found that the hospital used 400 Total Doors for every single passageway, staircase and entrance in the entire structure and these doors are still completely intact.

Randy Heller, a Total Door distributor for almost 30 years and project engineer for Modern Door, is working to bring 85 of the hospital’s 400 doors into compliance with modern building, life safety, and A.D.A. (Americans with Disabilities Act) codes. He said the doors were in great shape and only needed minor modifications, such as modern labels and a review of their design specifications, to meet today’s standards.

North Clark Community Hospital has quite a history in the Charlestown area. It provided medical care for the entire area until new medical facilities made it obsolete in 2008. But explosive local population growth caused the hospital to be recommissioned this year. So it must undergo a complete inspection to meet all existing building rules and regulations before the grand reopening planned for this year.

As Total Door’s Controller, Jeanne Kitchen is one of the leaders driving the company’s quest for product speed and continuous improvement. Recently, she discussed her roles at the company and what excites her about the future.

Q: What projects excite you for the future?

I’m responsible for all the computer systems that make the business run, such as parts ordering and inventory control; and I head financial metrics and human resources.

A project that I’m particularly excited about is what we internally call “the Configurator.”

It will provide more ease and visibility to pricing and quoting future projects. It will be a fantastic resource for distributors to quickly and easily quote projects; and for end users to see how budget friendly our integrated door systems are for a wide variety of projects.

The second one would be our new preventative maintenance software. This is backstage software that is a part of our continuous improvement initiatives. It makes sure that any maintenance issues are addressed completely and on time. Our maintenance team is notified about planned maintenance immediately and receives reminders until the issue is resolved.

The system then automatically schedules the next maintenance issue after it is completed.

Q: How do these projects work to help distributors succeed?

The Configurator will allow distributors to put a Total Door into any frame from anywhere in the field. All they need is internet access and the configurator will make sure the hardware and software work together to create a door that will fit any opening.

Our focus on preventative maintenance concerns the speed and quality of our products. When we maintain our equipment, we don’t experience unexpected downtime. We can get quality orders to customers in the time we expect every time.

It’s exciting to work towards goals when everyone on the team is pulling together towards excellence.

We’re proud of our plant, and the lean operation we built from the ground up. We successfully adopted single-piece part flow when we moved into a new building in 2010, and have continuously improved our operations to respond to customers as quickly as possible. Read the complete piece here:

http://www.thefabricator.com/article/shopmanagement/a-case-study-in-lean-manufacturing-opening-the-door-to-single-piece-flow