All warehouses need doorways. If they didn’t have them how would you be able to move between rooms? However, does every doorway need a door? Doors are in place to control access from one room to another, allow for the safeguarding of materials and information, and to prevent unwanted objects like dirt, dust, odors and noise to move from one room to another. Doors are useful as a way to stop objects and people from moving from one room to another.
Do I Need a Door in the First Place?
Ask yourself, do I need or want to limit flow? It is important to note that in a warehouse it is often better to improve flow, and when moving from one room to another it is not always necessary to have a door in place. If there is no need to provide the safeguards listed above then the doorway can remain open by removing the door altogether. This allows free movement from one area of the warehouse to another without the need to open a swinging door or roll up an overhead rolling door. Most improvements seen in a warehouse are found by improving flow rather than limiting it.
What happens then, when you have a need to restrict certain flows but not necessarily the flow of everything in a warehouse? For instance, what if you need to separate one room from others because it is dirty or has a higher temperature or humidity, but you want to make it easy for people and materials to move in and out of the room without delays. Opening and closing a door could be troublesome in this situation, and depending on the door you will leave the doorway open for longer than you want before the door can close.
In these types of scenarios you will want to consider mounted strip doors.
Wesco Easy Mount Strip Doors
Wesco has made it easy to provide the separation you need without the inconvenience of a standard or roll up door to get in the way of movement. The Wesco easy mount strip doors are made from a high quality flexible vinyl, which is clear to provide two-way visibility for personnel coming in both directions. This provides energy conservation by reducing loss of heating or air conditioning form one room to another, and reduces the transmission of noise, dirt, dust and odors to help meet OHSA health & safety rules for noise and air pollutants.
The easy mount system utilizes a molded plastic, high strength bracket. This means that the strips can be applied onto the bracket with no bolts or screws by just hooking into place. In this way there is no wasted space required for a swinging door. The bracket can be mounted inside the door, outside the door or as a surface mounted bracket. When changing the mounting of the bracket you must remember that the length of the strip is dependent on the type of mount used.
Different Types of Strips for the Function You Need
There are two different styles of vinyl strips for the mounting of a strip door. The ribbed strips reduce scratching, which makes it hard to see through and also improves scaling. The smooth strips have a convex/concave overlap for the best seal. Two widths are also available; the 12” strip width is a heavy duty configuration with a 66% overlap and is available in the smooth or ribbed style. The 8” strip is an easy walk through door with a 50% overlap and is only available in the smooth configuration.
The strips can come in packages to cover openings of various sizes. The 12” strips come in lengths to cover door heights of 7’, 8’, 9’, 10’ and 12’ and the door packages can cover door widths of 6’, 7’, 8’, 9’, 10’ and 12’. The 8” wide strips come in lengths to cover door heights of 7’ and 8’ and the door packages are available for door widths of 3’, 4’, 5’, 6’, 7’ and 8’. There is not only an option to order these as complete door sets but also as individual replacement strips and bulk lengths for hangers.
Additional Safety Options Available
Along with the ability to reduce the transmission of noise, dirt, dust and odors to help meet OHSA health & safety rules for noise and air pollutants, the strip doors can also have an additional safety feature. An additional option for the 12” strips is the inclusion of an orange end panel. This end panel strip at the side of the doorway makes it easy to see the door from far away while still maintaining the clear visibility that is beneficial for these doors. It also makes it easier to see where the door sides are when you are maneuvering a forklift truck, pallet jack or lift stacker through the door when visibility might be limited.
Exceptional Customer Service You’ve Come to Expect
If you are looking for strip doors, casters or material handling equipment there is one place to go for the largest selection and the best customer service — Douglas Equipment. We have been in the business of material handling equipment and high quality casters for almost 60 years and have a dedicated service team to help you with any questions you may have when choosing the equipment that is right for your unique needs. Contact us today for assistance.
