2017 economic forecast - amazon s3 · construction starts in 2017 to increase 5% to $713 billion...

New Construction Starts to Increase 5 Percent

Economic Forecast for Canada

Low-Energy Automatic Door Openers for ADA Compliance

Opening the Door to School Safety

JANUARY 2017

2017 ECONOMIC FORECAST

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Chief Executive Officer Jerry Heppes Sr., CAE [email protected] | 703.766.7010

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Doors + Hardware

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Volume 81, Number 1

Doors + Hardware (ISSN 0361-5294) is published monthly by DHI, 14150 Newbrook Drive, Suite 200, Chantilly, VA 20151-2232; 703.222.2010; Fax: 703.222.2410. Periodicals postage paid at Fairfax, VA, and other additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to Doors + Hardware, 14150 Newbrook Drive, Suite 200, Chantilly, VA 20151-2232. Email: [email protected]; Website: www.dhi.org.

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2 JANUARY 2017 DOORS + HARDWARE

ContentsJanuary 2017 | 2017 Economic Forecast

Case Studies22 CYRK Building:

Building a Sustainable, Adaptive Space Mixing Work and LifeThis LEED Platinum-certified building is a pillar of innovative and environ-mentally focused architecture.

Columns4 InTouch Jerry Heppes Sr., CAE

42 Decoded Lori Greene, DAHC/CDC, FDAI, FDHI, CCPR

52 The Revenue Growth Habit Alex Goldfayn

56 Shelf Life Jason Bader

60 Closing Thoughts John Woestman

Departments6 Achievements

36 Profit Improvement Report Dr. Albert D. Bates

46 Real Openings Mark J. Berger

In Every Issue58 Impact

59 Ad Index

8 2017 Economic Forecast: New Construction Starts in 2017 to Increase 5% to $713 BillionThe Dodge Outlook Report predicts moderate growth for most project types, including single family housing, commercial and institutional building.

10 Economic Forecast for Canada: Continued, Moderate GrowthA summary of economic information and forecasts from numerous sources, collated as a member service by DHI Canada.

12 AAMA ForecastRich WalkerThe American Architectural Manufacturers Association's annual industry forecast and review covering the current state of the window and door market.

14 Low-Energy Automatic Door Openers for ADA ComplianceKerby LeckaA brief look at market trends for automatic doors, features that are driving the trends, some basic information specific to low-energy swinging doors, and application examples.

24 Opening the Door to School SafetyJerry Heppes Sr., CAETo highlight the dangers of barricade devices and to provide assistance in better understanding secure and safe classroom door openings, the Door Security & Safety Foundation has created an educational video

as the centerpiece of our new public relations campaign.

30 Addressing Evolving Requirements and Diverse Demands with Proper Door Controls, OperatorsLana KirkpatrickSelecting door control hardware today is no simple task. Factors to consider include fire and life safety, accessibility, aesthetics, security, convenience and sustainability.

34 Culture: Your Secret Weapon for Attracting Millennial TalentJamie NotterThe Millennial generation is the largest generation in the history of the United States. They are currently the largest segment of our workforce, and they’re going to hold that title for decades, because nearly half of them haven’t even reached the workforce yet.

50 Meet the DHI StaffEver wonder who that person is on the other end of the phone, or computer, when you contact DHI? Here's your chance to find out.

54 Commentary: The Value of Social MediaAmanda WilsonReaching a global audience.

The Power of TwitterGinny PowellBecoming a united voice for common goals.

DOORS + HARDWARE JANUARY 2017 3

Last month I updated you on our accomplishments since we launched the New Day, New DHI campaign in 2016. I also men-tioned some of the initiatives that you will see in this new year, including our new automated testing program, Kryterion Testing System, and our new credential, the Level Two DHT – Door + Hardware Technician.

I wanted to follow up and let you know about even more of our new initiatives scheduled for this year:

• At press time, we launched our newest certificate in our credential and certification program update—the Door + Hardware Industry Associate (DHIA) certificate. The DHIA is the first level of technical recognition you can earn with just two online classes. Already, more than 80 door security + safety professionals have earned the DHIA certificate.

• We just launched a complimentary industry orientation pro-gram, which is a series of videos that will continue to roll out in 2017 for newcomers to learn more about the door security + safety industry and the great career opportunities it offers. The first video is called Safely Securing the Built Environment through Building, Fire, and Life Safety Codes and can be accessed on DHI.org or our YouTube channel.

• Our Education and Certification Team is launching the exam for the DHT – Door & Hardware Technician credential in the first quarter of 2017. This is level two of our new credential and certification program. Stay tuned for those details. In addition, there will be new webinars, online classes, and local learning opportunities.

• This year we will launch online, member-only communities to allow for peer interaction, idea sharing, identification of crit-ical issues facing the industry, as well as career development.

• Connextions 2017 is scheduled for May 10-12 in sunny Phoenix, Ariz., featuring three days of stimulating educa-tional sessions, professional development and networking opportunities.

• Our 2017 Spring Technical Schools in both the U.S. and Canada, scheduled for April 2-9 in Virginia and May 29-June 2 in Montreal; and our Fall Technical Schools scheduled for Oct. 22-29 in Scottsdale, Ariz., and Nov. 6-10 in Calgary.

Door Security & Safety Foundation• As we went to press, the Door Security & Safety Foundation

launched its Opening the Door to School Safety campaign. This campaign, which includes a new educational video on the dangers and unintended consequences of barricade devices, stresses the importance of securing classrooms without com-promising life safety.

The Foundation is proud to collaborate with AASA - The School Superintendents Association, National Association of State Fire Marshals, ASIS, BHMA and many other allied organizations who are contacting their members on our behalf to spread this mes-sage. Our public relations firm, Kellen, is also reaching out to the media in the U.S. and Canada, as this issue is a growing concern on both sides of the border. You can read more about the cam-paign and how you can help beginning on page 24.

• In addition to the new campaign, the Foundation had a very busy year building awareness and delivering education to healthcare facility managers, facility engineers, AHJs and code officials to help them understand fire door inspection regula-tions resulting from CMS adoption of the 2012 edition of NFPA 101 – The Life Safety Code.®

• Our partnership with NFPA continues to grow, the latest example being a one-day course we built and taught together last month to healthcare facility managers, facility engineers, building contractors, owners and consultants. It was such a success we will be doing four more in 2017.

• The Foundation’s scholarship program continues to grow, so you will see additional scholarship opportunities supporting door security + safety professionals seeking DHI education in 2017.

None of this would have been possible without the support of our members. Thank you for your loyalty throughout the year—we’re excited to continue our progress together in 2017!

JERRY HEPPES SR., CAE, is the CEO of DHI. If you’d like to comment on this article or any others within the January issue, email [email protected].

By Jerry Heppes Sr., CAE

Continuing Our Progress in 2017


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Achievements

Krista J. Christensen, AHCCONSULTANT, jpw systems inc

NUMBER OF YEARS AT CURRENT COMPANY: 1

NUMBER OF YEARS IN THE INDUSTRY: 9

MENTORS: Thank you to the employers and coworkers past and present, who have taken the time to mentor me. A special thank you to Ross Westman, AHC, Paul Jackson, DAHC, John Harris, AHC, and Paul Wraith, DAHC/EHC.

Thank you to the Door Security & Safety Foundation and the DHI Ontario Chapter scholarship programs, and all of the DHI vol-unteers and staff.

Congratulations on Achieving Your Certification!Congratulations to these door security and safety professionals for taking the next step in their careers and completing DHI certifications! If you would like more information on DHI certifications, email [email protected].

NOT PICTUREDLeah M. Convery-Meyer, AHC, CSI, CDTARCHITECTURAL CONSULTANT, STANLEY SECURITY


NUMBER OF YEARS IN THE INDUSTRY: GOING ON 20 –

AUGUST 1997

MENTORS: R. Kevin Convery, AHC—thanks, Dad, Miss you every day. Ken Raikowski, AHC and Zeke Wolfskehl, AHC, for helping me take it to the next level. John Geniesse, AHC/CDC, CSI, for helping me through the

educational transition. Laura Frye, AHC, CSI, CCS, FDAI, and Audrey Wyser, AHC, CSI, CDT, for kicking me in the butt to finally sit for the exam. Rachel J. Sama, AHC, for sup-porting me and giving me the time to make it happen.

For many years it was a daunting task. Preparing for the exam and sitting down and actually taking it were the hardest part. A great weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I’ve learned so much from the experience and want

to thank everyone who helped along the way. I know that I am better prepared to handle the challenges of our evolving industry and hope to help the next generation find their way. Never give up. Never surrender.

Matthew T. Lewis, AHC

Liana Steffens, AHC

Mark Morton, AHCPROJECT MANAGER, CHOWN HARDWARE


TOTAL NUMBER OF YEARS IN THE INDUSTRY: 12

Kevin Tish, AHCPROJECT MANAGER, NORTH CENTRAL SUPPLY, INC.


NUMBER OF YEARS IN THE INDUSTRY: 12

MENTORS: Josh Blair, AHC, DHI staff and instructors

I would like to thank everyone at my company, my family, especially my wife, Melanie and daughter, Josie, for all of the help and support they have provided.


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Total U.S. construction starts for 2017 will advance 5 percent to $713 billion, following gains of 11 percent in 2015 and an estimated 1 percent in 2016, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. Dodge released its 2017 Dodge Construction Outlook, a mainstay in construction industry forecasting and business planning, in October 2016.“The U.S. construction industry has witnessed signs of deceleration in 2016, following several years of steady growth,” stated Robert Murray, chief economist for Dodge Data & Analytics. “Total construction starts during the first half of this year lagged behind what was reported in 2015, raising some concern that the current con-struction expansion may have run its course. However, the early 2016 shortfall reflected the comparison to

unusually elevated activity during the first half of 2015, lifted by 13 very large projects valued each at $1 billion or more, such as a $9 billion liquefied natural gas export terminal in Texas and a $2.5 billion office tower in New York City. “As 2016 has proceeded, the year-to-date shortfall has grown smaller, easing concern that the construction industry may be in the early stage of cyclical decline. Instead, the construction industry has now entered a more ma-ture phase of its expansion, one that is characterized by slower rates of growth than what took place during the 2012-2015 period, but still growth. Since the construction start statistics will lead the pattern of construction spending, this means that construction spending can be expected to see moderate gains through 2017 and beyond.”

Murray continued, “On balance, there are a number of positive factors which suggest the construction expansion has room to proceed. The U.S. econo-my in 2017 is anticipated to see moder-ate job growth, market fundamentals for commercial real estate should remain generally healthy, and more funding support is coming from state and local bond measures. Although the global economy in 2017 will re-main sluggish, energy prices appear to have stabilized, interest rate hikes will be gradual and few, and a new U.S. President will have been elected.”For 2017, total construction starts are forecast to rise 5 percent to $713 billion. Gains of 8 percent are expect-ed for both residential building and nonresidential building, while non-building construction slides a further 3 percent.

Dodge Outlook Report Predicts Moderate Growth for Most Project Types—Single Family Housing, Commercial and Institutional Building

NEW CONSTRUCTION STARTS IN 2017 TO INCREASE 5% TO $713 BILLION

2017 ECONOMIC FORECAST


10%

Institutional Building

6%

Manufacturing Plant Construction

The pattern of construction starts by more specific sectors is the following:

• Single family housing will rise 12 percent in dollars, correspond-ing to a 9 percent increase in units to 795,000 (Dodge basis). Access to home mortgage loans is improving, and some of the caution exercised by potential homebuyers will ease with con-tinued employment growth and low mortgage rates. Older mem-bers of the Millennial generation are now moving into the 30- to 35-year-old age bracket, which should begin to lift demand for single family housing.

• Multifamily housing will be flat in dollars and down 2 percent in units to 435,000 (Dodge basis). This project type now appears to have peaked in 2015, lifted in particular by an exceptional amount of activity in the New York metropolitan area, which is now settling back. Continued growth for multifamily hous-ing in other metropolitan areas, along with still generally healthy market fundamentals, will enable the retreat at the national level to stay gradual.

• Commercial building will in-crease 6 percent on top of the 12 percent gain estimated for 2016. Office construction is showing improvement from very low lev-els, lifted by the start of several signature office towers and broad development efforts in down-town markets. Store construction should show some improvement from a very subdued 2016, and warehouses will register further growth. Hotel construction, while still healthy, will begin to retreat after a strong 2016.

• Institutional building will ad-vance 10 percent, resuming its ex-pansion after pausing in 2015 and 2016. The educational facilities category is seeing an increasing amount of K-12 school construc-tion, supported by the passage of recent school construction bond measures. More growth is expected for the amusement cat-egory (convention centers, sports arenas, casinos) and transporta-tion terminals.

• Manufacturing plant construc-tion will increase 6 percent, beginning to recover after steep declines in 2015 and 2016 that reflected the pullback for large petrochemical plant starts.

The 2017 Dodge Construction Outlook was presented at the 78th annual Outlook Executive Conference held by Dodge Data & Analytics at National Harbor, MD. Copies of the report with additional details by building sector can be ordered at http://analyticsstore.construction.com/outlook.html or by calling 800.591.4462.

12%

Single Family Housing (dollars)

2%

Multifamily Housing

(in units)

6%

Commercial Building


CONTINUED, MODERATE GROWTH

Note: this document is a summary of economic information and forecasts from other sources, collated as a member service by DHI Canada. As with any forecast, it is subject to the uncertainties of the future and DHI Canada specifically disclaims any liability for any decisions you may make as a result of this document and the informa-tion contained herein. You should carefully evaluate this information and our analysis before embarking on a course of action.

Government

Government SpendingAs a result of the 2008 financial crisis, Canadian governments initiated programs of spending to improve infrastructure and create jobs. These programs will be ending within the next year, but government will con-tinue to spend on infrastructure. For example:

• The recent federal budget includ-ed $12 billion in infrastructure spending over the 2016 and 2017 fiscal years

• The Ontario government, in its 2016 budget, committed $12 bil-lion in capital grants to hospitals over the next 10 years

• TD Economics is forecasting government spending growth of 2 percent in 2017, declining to 1.5 percent by 2019

Government PolicyCanadian governments often use in-terest rates to curb inflation or support the dollar. As we have seen recently, government has not used interest rates to prop up the Canadian dollar, but remains committed to them as a tool

to control inflation. Thus, over the next few years, interest rates will likely in-crease as economic growth returns to pre-2008 levels and the money supply increases.

Building Codes• The National Building Code of

Canada (NBCC) 2015 was re-leased in the first quarter of 2016; since the NBCC is on a five-year review cycle, there will not likely be major changes between now and the next edition, which is due in late 2020 or early 2021.

• Alberta, BC, Ontario and Québec have their own Codes, all of them based on the NBCC 2010; since Alberta and Ontario released their latest Codes in 2014-2015, it will be some time before we see changes there.

• BC’s Code (also based on NBCC 2010) was released in 2012, so we can likely expect a new release in the next two to three years.

• The latest edition of the Québec Construction Code was issued in 2015 (based on NBCC 2010).

• Manitoba adopts the NBCC by legislation; currently, they are working with the NBCC 2010 edition, but specifically exclude any amendments made after Dec. 1, 2012.

• PEI mandates the latest version of the NBCC in incorporated areas of the province (basically Charlottetown and Summerside), but the government is promoting its adoption in other areas of the province as well.

Economy

International Economic OutlookNote that the economic forecasts below were made in late March/early April 2016, before the fire in Fort McMurray. Since the fire resulted in lost produc-tion from the oil sands, this will have an impact on the Canadian economic outlook, probably damping growth. At this point, there is also uncertain-ty caused by the UK’s exit from the European Union; while many pundits are fearful of a negative impact from Brexit, a consensus has yet to emerge.The Bank of Canada reports that:

• Real world-wide economic growth (adjusted for inflation) is predicted to be 3 percent in 2016, rising to 3.6 percent in 2018. China’s economy (the world’s largest) will experience the most growth, but it will decline slight-ly over the period (6.5 percent growth in 2016, declining to 6.1 percent in 2018).

• US GDP growth will be in the range of 2 to 2.1 percent in the 2016-2018 period.

According to TD Economics, growth in US non-residential structures will be more robust than is the case with this GDP component in Canada:

• 2016—a decrease of 3.5 percent• 2017—an increase of 3.2 percent• 2018—an increase of 3.7 percent• 2019—an increase of 3.9 percent

This may be an opportunity for ex-ports to the U.S., especially in 2017 and onward.

Economic Forecast for Canada:


Canadian Economic OutlookInflation: the Bank of Canada sets a target rate for inflation, measured using the total ConsumerPrice Index (CPI); currently, this is 2 percent, with an overall range of be-tween 1 and 3 percent. Over the peri-od 2016 to 2018, the Bank is forecasting that inflation will hover around the 2 percent level, meaning that the Bank is unlikely to use interest rates to reduce inflation.GDP: the Bank of Canada forecast (before the Fort McMurray fire) is for moderate growth in the economy in the next three years:

• 2016—growth of 1.7 percent (this may moderate downward as a result of the fire)

• 2017—growth of 2.3 percent• 2018—growth of 2.0 percent

For the non-residential construction sector, TD Economics is forecasting weaker performance inCanada than in the U.S.:

• 2016—a decrease of 9.3 percent (this follows a decrease of 12.7 percent in 2015)—value of con-struction approximately $156 billion

• 2017—an increase of 0.4 percent —value of construction approx-imately $157 billion



Prime rate: TD Economics has forecast some increases in the Bank of Canada overnight lending rate, which means there will be simi-lar increases in the prime rate (the prime rate is generally the overnight lending rate plus 2 to 2.25 percent):

• 2016 and 2017—the overnight rate will remain steady at 0.50 percent (meaning prime rates of about 2.75 percent)

• 2018—the overnight rate will increase slightly to 0.90

percent (implying a prime rate of 3.15percent)

• 2019—the overnight will rise a half point to 1.40 percent (sug-gesting prime will be about 3.65 percent)

As noted above, an increase in infla-tion much about 2 percent could cause the Bank to raise the overnight rate quicker, and result in a higher prime rate. A significant increase in the prime rate would likely have a damp-ing effect on non-residential construc-tion and other areas of the economy.Canadian dollar: RBC Economics is forecasting a soft dollar throughout 2016, with some recovery in 2017. This may help exports, especially as the U.S. economic recovery continues:

• 2016—the dollar will trade at about $0.75 U.S.

• 2017—the dollar’s value will in-crease slightly to about $0.80 U.S.

Overall, the outlook for the Canadian economy is for continued, if moderate,

growth. Bear in mind, however, that the slightly rosier outlook for 2017 and later is subject to some uncertainty—the further into the future you look, the less certain the outcome is. A quick recovery from the Fort McMurray fire would help the econo-my—oil prices might come down (as a result of increased supply), but oil production would increase, adding to growth in the natural resources sector and therefore the GDP as a whole, without necessarily adding to inflation. A reduction in production by OPEC would both bolster the oil price and increase export markets for Canadian oil, giving a further boost to the economy (especially in Alberta). However, oil prices, like everything else, are subject to the laws of supply and demand; below a certain price point, production becomes uneconom-ic for the oil companies, with tar sands production typically being first to be cut.

Economic Forecast for Canada:


Every year, the American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA) releases an industry forecast and review covering the current state of the window, door and skylight market. Additionally, every two years, the asso-ciation puts out an even more detailed collection of market studies, including a report on the industry market size, as well as an industry channel distribu-tion report. The association’s most recent ver-sion of the full reports, the AAMA 2015/2016 U.S. Industry Market Studies, was released in May 2016. It provides a glimpse into what might be expected to come in 2017, indicating a projected increase in housing starts and door sales, including patio doors.As is already known, the fenestra-tion industry as a whole—and the door segment in particular— spent many recent years wishing for more of the pre-2006 and 2007 days. The road to recovery has been rough and very long. However, last year AAMA reported that the industry finally ap-peared to be approaching sustainable

better times, and in 2017, that is ex-pected to continue.

Housing Starts Expected to Rise, Particularly in the SouthPer the AAMA reports, an increase of around 10 percent was expected for 2016 from the 2015 housing start total. Demand is expected to continue to rebound over the following years, recovering steadily from extremely de-pressed levels. Total housing unit starts are expect to continually increase, although they will still remain well be-low peak levels seen in 2006 and 2007.Multi-family construction represented approximately 34 percent of the total market in 2015 and was expected to decrease current market share in 2016, as well as into 2017. In 2017, the South is expected to increase by 2 percent of the total, as the Midwest and Northeast regions experience slight declines.

A Snapshot of the Door MarketAfter an increase in nonresiden-tial construction from 2005 to 2007, nonresidential demand softened

2017 Expected to See Increase in Housing Starts, Door Shipments By Rich Walker

and cycled downward through 2011. Permit activity began to increase in 2011 and 2012, resulting in nonresi-dential demand growth in 2012. This trend has continued through 2015 and should sustain growth through 2018.The 2015 market for residential entry doors in the U.S. has experienced an increase from 2013. Volumes for U.S. residential entry doors increased in 2013, growing approximately 3 per-cent over 2014, and up 9 percent since 2013. An overall increase of approxi-mately 5 percent is expected for 2016.The 2015 market for nonresidential entry doors in the U.S. has continued to experience growth, with 2015 vol-ume up 5 percent over 2014 and up 16 percent since 2013. Steel doors remain the largest residential entry mate-rial; however, share has continued to decline to 47.5 percent under the pressure of an increasing fiberglass presence; now representing 40 percent share in 2015. The growth of fiberglass in the entry door market has slowed some, but should still continue to see gains over the next several years. Wood share is holding steady at 12.5 percent.The nonresidential entry door market is dominated by steel and aluminum units, representing approximately 46 and 36 percent share respectively.As far as a forecast for the door mar-ket, AAMA projects a slight increase in sales for doors of all materials and applications, though wood nonresi-dential entry doors are projected to remain static.

RICH WALKER is President and CEO of the American Architectural Manufacturers Association. He has more than 20 years of industry experience, 17 of which have been with the asso-ciation. Rich also serves

on the Board of Directors for both the High Performance Building Council and the Building Enclosure Technology and Environment Council of the National Institute of Building Sciences. You can follow him on Twitter at @richwalker6348 or email him at [email protected].


The 2015 market for non-residential entry doors in the U.S. has continued to experience growth, with 2015 volume up 5 percent over 2014 and up 16 percent since 2013.

Photo courtesy of Quanex

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Low-energy, swinging door operators provide hands-free, low-power point of entry door control to help meet all U.S. and Canadian Americans with Disability Act (ADA) requirements for door installations in a variety of loca-tions. We’re going to take a brief look at market trends for automatic doors, features that are driving the trends, some basic information specific to low-energy swinging doors, and application examples.The American Association of Automatic Door Manufacturers (AAADM), a non-profit, trade association commissioned a number of research projects that indicate the following:

• 98.9 percent of consumers who expressed a preference between automatic and manual doors prefer automat-ic doors

• Participants indicated that it was most important for automatic doors to be used at hospitals, airports, ho-tels/motels, shopping mall entrances and retail stores

• When participants were asked to name specific locations where doors are essential yet not usually present, they told researchers they should be installed more frequently at shopping malls, hotels/ motels and post offices

LOW-ENERGY AUTOMATIC DOOR OPENERS FOR ADA COMPLIANCE


Besides questioning consumers about automatic doors, the AAADM also queried those respon-sible for specifying and buying automatic doors in architectural, retail, hospitality and higher education environments. Both consumers and specifiers/buyers consistently ranked the best locations for automatic doors as:

1. hospitals2. airports3. hotels/motels4. hopping mall entrances5. retail stores

The combined audiences also ranked the top features for specifying an automatic door as:

1. handicap access2. safety/security3. convenience and ease of use

The ADA has required many businesses to in-stall automatic doors to become ADA-compliant. One of the intents of this law is to ensure that handicapped people are able to access or egress a building with little exertion, despite their physical disability. The elderly also benefit from the law, as many cannot easily open manual doors on their own, whether disabled or not. The two prevalent accessibility standards in the United States are ICC A117.1—Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities and the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design.Automatic doors hold an outstanding safety record in the U.S. with more than 50 billion safe automatic door openings and closings annually. Automatic doors and components should be manufactured in compliance with the American National Standard for Power Operated Pedestrian Doors, ANSI A156.10, which governs and defines their installation, sensing devices and safety requirements. Many automatic doors are de-signed to integrate with a variety of electronic sensors, access control systems, electromagnetic locks, electric strikes and exit devices for security applications.

Automatic doors provide immediate conve-nience by eliminating the effort required to open a heavy, manual door. Users also appre-ciate the hands-free advantage when entering or exiting a door with packages, luggage and children. There are three basic types of automatic doors: swinging, sliding and folding doors. Automatic low-energy swinging doors are designed for applications requiring ADA compliance or user convenience. These doors are usually available in three configurations:

• A single door that swings in or out and is left-handed or right-handed—most common

• A pair of doors that simultaneously swing in the same direction

• Double egress—a pair of doors that simul-taneously swing in opposite directions

Low-energy swinging doors deliver a cost effective alternative to meeting accessibility compliance, while still allowing the able bodied to manually use the swinging door. Low-energy operators can be retrofitted to existing doors for additional cost savings while providing univer-sal accessibility.

Basic information about low-energy swinging doorsLow-energy swinging doors are governed by ANSI 156.19 and ADA and include these features and requirements:

• “Knowing Act” activation (pushbutton or push plate)

• Slow opening and closing speeds• Low operating force• Floor space requirements• No guide rails required• Clear opening width—32 inches (815 mm)

minimum in power-on and power-off mode—based on clear opening provided by all leafs in the open position

AUTOMATIC DOORS HOLD AN OUTSTANDING SAFETY RECORD IN THE U.S., WITH MORE THAN 50 BILLION SAFE AUTOMATIC DOOR OPENINGS AND CLOSINGS ANNUALLY.


Doors shall open from closed to back-check, or 80°, whichever occurs first, in three seconds or longer. Back check shall not occur before 60° opening.

When powered open, the door shall remain at the fully open position for not less than five seconds.

Exception: When push-pull activation is used, the door shall remain at the fully open position for not less than three seconds.Push-Pull Activation: A door where the user pushes or pulls a door equipped with a low energy power operator to activate a mechanism, causing the door to go through a complete cycle of automatic opening, hold open time delay, and closing.

Doors shall close from 90 degrees to 10 degrees (latch-check) in three seconds or longer.

Doors shall close from 10 degrees (latch-check) to fully closed in not less than 1.5 seconds

Knowing Act: Consciously initiating the powered opening of a low-ener-gy door using acceptable methods, including: wall or jamb-mounted contact switches such as push plates; fixed non-contact switches; the action of manual opening (pushing or pulling) a door; and controlled access devices such as keypads, card readers, and key switches.

Photos and illustrations courtesy of Security Door Controls


B. When a separate wall switch is used to initiate the operation of the door operator, the door shall be provid-ed with decals on both sides of the door with the message “Activate Switch to Operate” or the side with the knowing act switch if there is only one. Letters white and back-ground blue.

Signage: Doors shall be equipped with (a) decal(s) visible from either side, instructing the user as to the operation and function of the door. The decal shall be mounted 50 inches, +/- 12 inches, from the floor to the cen-terline of the decal. The letters shall be 5/8-inch high minimum.A. All low energy doors shall be

marked with a sign, visible from both sides of the door, with the words “Automatic Caution Door.” See Figure 1. The sign shall be a minimum of 6 inches in diameter and with minimum 5/8-inch tall black lettering on a yellow back-ground. Additional information may be included.

C. When door motion is used to initiate the door operation, the doors shall be provided with the message Push to Operate on the push side of the door and Pull to Operate on the pull side of the door. Letters white and background blue.

ALL LOW ENERGY DOORS SHALL BE MARKED WITH A SIGN, VISIBLE FROM BOTH SIDES OF THE DOOR, WITH THE WORDS “AUTOMATIC CAUTION DOOR.”


Low Energy Operator with Push-Pull

Operation: 115VAC• Free ingress and egress using low-energy operator or

bypassing the operator and using door manually• Door operator acts as standard door closer when en-

tering or exiting manuallyMaterial:

• Low-energy operator• 2 door actuators or push and go• Local power

Low-Energy Operator with Concealed Mag Lock for Glass Door Applications

Operation: 115VAC• Free entry when security system is shunted or off• Entry after hours by card reader, which unlocks and

activates low energy operator• Free egress at all times by touching push bar or using

inside actuator, which de-energizes mag lock and activates low energy operator

Material:• Low-Energy Operator• Electromagnetic Shear Lock and Power Supply (PS)• Electrified Pivot• Touch Bar Sensor PUSH–PULL set• Card Reader• Actuators

Typical Low-Energy Swinging Door Applications

115VAC

PUSH–PULL Magnetic Lock for Glass Door

115VAC

PS

CardReader


Low-Energy Operator with Electric Strikes

Operation: 115VAC• Doors are to be closed and latched (Example: Fire

Doors)• Key switch shunts exterior actuator (Example: After

hours traffic control)• When not shunted, actuators will signal electric strike

power supply and activate auto operators• From secure side, egress by manually pushing exit

devices or using inside actuator to activate auto operators

Material:• 2 Low-Energy Operators• 2 Vertical Rod Exit Devices• Electric Strike & Power Supply (PS)• Key Switch• 2 Actuators

Low Energy Operator with Latch Retraction

Operation: 115VAC• Doors are to be closed and latched at all times• When activated, latch bolts are retracted and door(s)

will automatically open• Non-rated devices can be dogged for push/pull

operationMaterial:

• 2 Low Energy Operators• 1 Power Supply• 2 Electric Hinge• 2 Exit Devices with Electric Latch Retraction• 2 Actuators

As you know, building codes are always progressing and impact the application of access and egress solutions to doorways. Because the adoption and enforcement of build-ing codes varies across the country—even with national ANSI and ADA standards relating to automatic doors— you should always consult the local Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) for compliance requirements governing your door project. That said, understanding the code requirements for low-en-ergy, swinging door operators is actually an opportunity for their application as a solution to meet the compliance needs and demands of consumers and specifiers/buyers across the country.

115VAC

Electric Strikes

KeySwitch

PS

115VAC

Latch Retraction

PS

115VAC

KERBY LECKA is Director of Marketing at SDC—Security Door Controls—a U.S. manufacturer of premium grade access control hardware. Kerby can be reached at [email protected].


Network with old friends and meet new ones

Don't miss out! Keep up with

your competition

Take this opportunity to pass on your experience

to the next generation

No matter your level,

can take you to the next one.Whether you’re new to the industry or have been a part of it for decades, there’s always connections to make and something new to learn at DHI conNextions. The 2017 convention will deliver can't-miss general sessions, dozens of educational programs, professional development and networking opportunities, as well as 9 hours of exclusive exhibit hall time including SolutionSessions and ChannelExChange. So grab a colleague—new or old—and hit the road to Phoenix, Arizona to find out what the future holds.

Get advice and guidance from the industry’s finest

See how technology is changing the industry

Attend education programs that will take you to the next level

PHOENIX CONVENTION CENTER | MAY 10-12, 2017

www.facebook.com/DHI #DHI2017 @DHIorg @DandHmagazine DHI Group DHI’s Fire Door Assembly Inspection Group

For up-to-date information: dhiconnextions.org

By Tim Lane

CYRK: Building a Sustainable, Adaptive Space Mixing Work and LifePhotos courtesy of Krownlab

The CYRK Building is a 14,500 square foot commercial and residential building located in southeast Portland. DECA, an independent ar-chitecture and interior design studio in Portland, designed it as a live-work environment. The own-er maintains a primary residence on the second floor and a business office on the ground floor. An additional 1,200 square feet is set aside on the ground floor for commercial and retail use.The LEED Platinum-certified building is a pillar of innovative and environmentally focused architecture. The design features a green roof,

CYRK BUILDING 14,500 square feet

Ground floor office and retail spaces, up-per floor residential

LEED Platinum

Krownlab’s Baldur sliding door hardware


Case Study

solar panels (both PV and hydrogen), a ground-source heat pump, FSC certi-fied lumber, and passive and active so-lar shading. Krownlab’s Baldur sliding door hardware is featured throughout the interior.“The idea of creating a sustainable live-work building in a close-in, walkable neighborhood seemed like a smart way to use time, space, and resources,” said homeowner Bonnie Serkin. “It turns out we were right to consolidate our lives in one beautiful structure just down the street from the rest of our family and only a couple of blocks from restaurants and shops.”For their second-story residence, Serkin wanted a guest wing that of-fered privacy to their visitors but was an accessible part of their home when vacant.The DECA team designed a central gallery that connects the main stair-well entry to the dining room and living room. Translucent rolling panels with sliding door hardware allow the adjacent kitchen and guest quarters to be opened or closed to the central gallery. To extend the useful lifespan of the building, the residential level is designed to be easily converted to four smaller living units should the owners decide to move or downsize in the future.“We designed two sliding resin-pan-el walls,” said DECA principal David Hyman. “One was nine feet long and the other 14 feet long. The large one weighed several hundred pounds and needed to be effortless for any of the homeowners to use. Krownlab’s rolling door hardware fit the ticket. It is both beautiful and extremely well-built. With the superb craftsmanship of the hardware, the overall effect was stunning.” The Baldur sliding door hardware system features a custom, indus-try-unique four-inch hubless bear-ing. The inspiration for the design came when Krownlab founder, Stefan Andrén, visited the workshop of a friend, and early Krownlab collaborator, Rob Roy. There on a

table in Rob’s workshop was an enor-mous eight-inch bearing. Andrén put his hand through the inner race and rolled it back and forth over the table.“You could still put your whole hand through the bearing and I was like, hang on a second, there’s something here,” Andrén said. “I realized you didn’t necessarily have to bolt through the center of the bearing like it’s originally intended to be used, but you could just clamp a portion of the inner race and get this awesome hubless look.”And, especially important for the CYRK building’s massive door panels, the Baldur sliding door hardware system has a hefty 400-pound weight limit.Hyman and Serkin chose the Baldur sliding door hardware system in brushed stainless. This classic No. 4 directional finish features a hairline, linear graining that is smooth to the touch but adds a sophisticated texture to the hardware.

The massive sliding door panel creates a fluid relationship between spaces and echoes DECA’s exterior decks and gardens on the north and south sides to provide a fluid relationship between inside and out. These spaces accom-modate a range of activities from small intimate gatherings to larger social events. Since its completion, the CRYK Building has been recognized for its functionality, sustainable qualities and chic, sophisticated design. “The CYRK Building has won awards for design excellence,” said Hyman. “The Krownlab hardware undoubt-edly played a role in helping to obtain that recognition.”

TIM LANE is a Brand Marketing Specialist at Krownlab Inc.


DSSF Video and Public Relations Campaign Stresses Importance of Securing Classrooms without Compromising Life Safety

Opening the Door to School Safety

Door barricade devices in schools are intended to keep dangerous individ-uals out of classrooms; but what if that person is already in the room? To highlight the dangers of these devices and to provide assistance in better un-derstanding secure and safe classroom door openings, the Door Security & Safety Foundation has created a short educational video as the centerpiece of our new public relations campaign, Opening the Door to School Safety, which launched in December. In response to school shootings, several states have or are considering changes to their building codes to allow for the installation of class-room door barricade devices. The Foundation took up this fight in Ohio in 2015 to testify before the Board of Building Standards (BBS) after PTO/PTAs raised $30,000 to purchase bar-ricade devices for their schools. These groups did so with all good intentions but were unaware of the code viola-tions and unintended consequences that could arise. The Foundation partnered with National Association of State Fire Marshals (NASFM), Builders Hardware Manufacturers Association (BHMA) and several members of the industry, including Lori Greene,

DAHC/CDC, FDAI, FDHI, CCPR, who testified on behalf of the Foundation, and Mark Berger, President of Securitech. Ultimately the Board ruled in our favor and against the barricade devices, but it was attached to budget-ary legislation which was passed by the legislature, which then required the BBS to consider and approve the use of these devices. The Foundation’s Board of Trustees saw this as an issue upon which we needed to take a larger public position, and they voted to allocate significant funds from the Foundation budget to launch a public relations campaign. A profes-sional public relations firm, Kellen Co., was hired to take the lead. Our cam-paign, Opening the Door to School Safety, is focused around a three-minute video whose message is to raise awareness and educate school administrators and PTOs/PTAs about the importance of safely securing classroom doors with code compliant methods and the potential unintended consequences of using barricade devices.Safety isn’t just about closing the door, it’s also about opening the door. Security should never take priori-ty over life safety; they must work hand in hand, especially during an emergency situation. Classroom door

By Jerry Heppes Sr., CAE


WATCH, SHARE, GIVE Please watch the video, share it on your website, social media, email signature, and email messages to your school customers, family and friends. This isn’t just business; this is personal. Share the resources and messages on our website, including the fact sheet, white paper and stats. Contact our staff if you’d like to help and need additional support. Your financial support helps to spread this message and supports our other important programs.

barricade devices violate building, fire and life safety codes and can easily be misused by someone inside the room intending to cause harm. The video features two safety and se-curity experts, Brian Geraci, Maryland State Fire Marshal and Board Member of NASFM, as well as Guy Grace, Director of Security and Emergency Planning, Littleton (Colo.) Public Schools. Grace knows all too well why such devices are not the way to go, as his school, Arapahoe High School in Littleton, endured an active shooter situation in 2013. He is a vocal oppo-nent against barricade devices and advocates for using the correct door and hardware solutions to ensure life safety and security for his students and staff every day, as well as in an emergency situation. While these barricade devices are per-ceived to provide additional security, they have the significant potential to facilitate unintended consequences when incidents of bullying, harass-ment, or physical violence take place. They can prevent access by school staff or emergency responders and delay egress in the case of emergencies such as a fire, which is greater than three times more likely to happen than an active shooter situation.

School shootings, although widely publicized, are rare; cases of school bullying and harassment are not. According to the National Center for Education, in 2012, students ages 12–18 were victims of more than 1.37 million nonfatal victimizations at school, including 615,600 thefts and 749,200 violent acts; 89,000 of which were seri-ous violent victimizations.


While the Foundation and its support-ers are devastated by the active shoot-ing tragedies and agree that schools must be safe havens for students, fac-ulty and visitors alike, we believe that a safe solution can be achieved within the proven building code process. As DHI members know so well, there are numerous traditional locking products manufactured today by a variety of companies that provide specifically designed classroom secu-rity locking functions that meet the code requirements for providing life safety in addition to security. These products allow the door to be locked from the inside of a classroom without requiring the door to be opened, yet allow authorized access by staff and emergency responders in the event that someone inside the room intends to cause harm or injury. This is another opportunity for the Foundation to point to the experts—door security + safety professionals. Our website features a FIND A PRO search engine to connect to those who can provide the best solutions with school administrators and others who need your expertise. In addition to NASFM, the Foundation is collaborating with The School Superintendents Association (AASA), which has members throughout North America, and many other allied organizations who are contacting their members on our behalf to get out this campaign to our key audiences. Our PR firm, Kellen, is making outreach to press in the U.S. and Canada, as this issue is a growing concern on both sides of the border. But we also need your help.

We ask that you watch the video, share the video on your website, social media, email signature, and email messages to your school customers, family and friends. This isn’t just business; this is personal. Share the re-sources and messages on our website, including the fact sheet, white paper and stats. Feel free to contact our staff if you’d like to help and need addition-al support. We also appreciate if you’re able to contribute toward this effort, which you can also do on our web-site. Contact Sharon Newport, Vice President of Operations, [email protected], with any questions you may have.

Thank You to Our Contributors We have received tremendous sup-port from the industry, which has contributed generous funds toward this campaign and the Foundation’s work, as well as collaborative efforts to get this message out far and wide. We hope you will continue to support us in 2017. To access these resources and begin to share and contribute, visit the Foundation’s website at www.doorsecuritysafety.org.

JERRY HEPPES SR., CAE, is the CEO of the Door Security & Safety Foundation. He can be reached at [email protected].

SHARE THESE ONLINE RESOURCES:

• Video

• Fact Sheet

• White Paper

• Statistics

• Find A Pro

• Connect on Social Media

S A F E T Y I S N' T J U S T A B O U T C LO S I N G T H E D O O R.

I T 'S A L S O A B O U T O P E N I N G T H E D O O R.


READ more on page 24WATCH our videoSHARE the videoGIVE to the Foundation

HELP US TELLSCHOOLS

& PARENTS!

Several temporary door locking devices, or barricade devices, have been made available with the intention of providing protection for students while in the classroom.

Unfortunately, these products fall short of the code requirements and often lead to unintended consequences. There are already solutions in place in most schools and experts who can help you confirm if your school is safe and secure.

To watch the video and view additional resources, visit the

Door Security & Safety Foundation at www.doorsecuritysafety.org/advocacy.

Twitter:@DSSFoundation

Facebook:Door Security & Safety Foundation

YouTube:Door Security & Safety Foundation

DOOR SECURITY + SAFETY PROFESSIONALS KNOW THIS ALL TOO WELL!

OPENING THE DOORTO SCHOOL SAFETY

SAFETY ISN’T JUST ABOUT CLOSING THE DOOR.IT’S ALSO ABOUT OPENING THE DOOR.

2015–2016 Contributors Listing as of December 12, 2016

PLATINUM LEVELDISBRIBUTOR ($5,000)Akron HardwareContract Hardware, Inc.�e Hallgren CompanySpalding Hardware Systems

INDIVIDUAL ($1,000+)Hallgren, Mark S., AHC, FDHIHeppes, Gerald S., CAELopatka, Don M., AHC, FDAIMaas, Robert D.Petersen, Tim, LEED AP

GOLD LEVELMANUFACTURER (10,000)VT Industries, Inc.

DISBRIBUTOR ($2,500)Allmar, Inc.Boyle & Chase, Inc.Dallas Door and Supply CompanyDoor + Hardware Consultants, Inc.H & G/Schultz DoorL.I.F. Industries, Long Island Fireproof DoorKelley Bros.Negwer Door SystemsOKEE Industries, Inc.RDL SupplySecurity Lock DistributorsWilliam S. Trimble Co., Inc.Walters & Wolfe Interiors

SALES AGENCIES ($1,000)D.L. Neuner Co., Inc.

INDIVIDUAL ($500)Boatman, Anthony A., DAHC/EHC,

FDAI, FDHIClancy, Michael B.Dupuis, David R., AHC,FDAI, FDHIHummel, Charles R., FDHIKrause, John F.McClendon, Don E., AHC, FDAIMullins, Charles W., DAHCParrish, Brian J., AHC/EHC

SILVER LEVELMANUFACTURER ($5,000)National Guard Products, Inc.

DISTRIBUTOR ($1,000) Architectural Door & Hardware of New YorkBuilders Hardware and Specialty CompanyBunting Door and Hardware Co., Inc.Central Indiana Hardware Co., Inc.Cleveland Vicon Company, Inc.Mid Central DoorMills & NebraskaMontgomery Hardware CompanyMulhaupt’s, Inc.

Seeley BrothersSpecial Projects Group, Inc.Twin City HardwareWeinstein and Holtzman, Inc.Yates and Felts, Inc.

SALES AGENCIES ($500)Architectural Resources, Inc.Baines Builders Products, Inc.Donald A Loss AssociatesOpening Solutions, Inc. R. E. Edwards and Associates, IncSmoot Associates, Inc.

INDIVIDUAL ($250)Baylor, Brian K., AHC, FDAIHahn, Harold K., AHCHildebrand, Stephen R., FDHIHornyak, Stephen T., DAHC, FDAI,

FDHI, CDT Li, JinLingLiddell, Rick , FDHIRay, Mel L.Smith, Kamela H., AHC

BRONZE LEVELMANUFACTURER ($2,500)ABH Manufacturing, Inc.Accurate Lock and Hardware Co., LLCAnemostat Door ProductsComsense, Inc.Security Door ControlsSecuritech Group, Inc.

DISTRIBUTOR ($500)Architectural Sales, Division of Lensing

Wholesale, Inc.Baylor Commercial Door and HardwareBeacon Commercial Door & LockBuilders Hardware and Speciality CompanyS. A. Morman and CompanyWalsh Door & Hardware Co.Washington Architectural Hardware Co.

INDIVIDUAL ($100)Barnhard, Richard J., DAHC/CDC, FDHIBoardman, Raymond K., AHCCalvillo, JosephDe La Fontaine, Richard , AHC/CDC,

FDAI, CCPREmmerich, Mark A.Frye, Laura Jean, AHC,FDAI, CSI, CCSHansen, Steven G., AHCLangtry, Alfred L., AHCLecours, Roger , AHC/CDCPoe, Gregory S., AHCRivas, Frank L., AHC, FDAISargent, David C., AHCShiers, Richard G.Spargo, John F.Sylvester, David M., PSP

AFFILIATED ORGANIZATIONS

(5,000)Steel Door Institute

(up to $2,000)DHI Arizona ChapterDHI CanadaDHI Iowa ChapterDHI Ontario ChapterDHI Puget Sound ChapterDHI Blue Grass ChapterDHI Georgia Chapter

(up to $500)Downs Safe and Lock Co., Inc.

SUPPORTER LEVELMANUFACTURER (up to $2,500)Architectural Control Systems, Inc.Concept Frames, Inc.Door Controls InternationalEggers IndustriesHMF ExpressKarpen Steel Custom Doors & FramesRocky Mountain MetalsSteward Steel, Inc., Door DivisionTOAD, LLCTotal Door SystemsWestern Integrated Materials

DISTRIBUTOR (up to $500)Allegheny Millwork-Commercial Door DivisionDeutscher & Daughter, Inc.EHC Group, Inc.

SALES AGENCIES (up to $250)K. B. O. SalesLeon Specialty, Inc.New England Building Components

INDIVIDUAL (<$100)Charette, Brian J., AHCCusick, William R.Cusick-Rindone, Kendall L., CSI, CCPRDial, Randy S.Hilkert, Albert A.Kalar, Rob , AHCLineberger, Mark E., AHC/EHC, FDAI, FDHIMolina, Chuck J.Pekoc, �omas A., AHC, CDT, CSIPratt, EdwardSaltmarsh, David , FDAISeigfreid, JeanWindfeldt, John M.Wood, Ronald E., AHC

Contributors

DIAMOND LEVELMANUFACTURER ($35,000+)

DISTRIBUTOR ($10,000+)

MANUFACTURER ($25,000+)

�ank You to Our Premier Contributors!

Addressing Evolving Requirements and Diverse Demands with Proper Door Controls, OperatorsBy Lana Kirkpatrick

A wide range of forces surrounding security, sustainability, regulations and market pressures are driving architects and building management leaders to closely examine their building hard-ware choices. Selecting door control hardware today is no simple task. Factors to consider include fire and life safety, accessibility, aesthetics, security, convenience and sustainability.These many considerations, coupled with the drive toward advanced connectivity and the near explosion of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, pres-ents engineers, designers and security professionals with many challenges—and opportunities.There are a lot of complex factors that go into selecting the correct product for an application. How much force it takes to open a door, how quickly the door swings closed, and the arc of energy to assure the door closes with enough force to latch (if needed). Selecting the appropriate solution is critical to the proper operation of the

Wheelchair push button activation to open door

Photos courtesy of ASSA ABLOY


door. The wrong product or product installed incorrectly can compromise the safety and security of occupants, as well as facility efficiency.The mass market of door controls com-prises two primary solutions—elec-trified door operators and mechanical door closers. Both serve the needs of specific applications. In basic terms, mechanical units are used for the sole purpose of closing a door after it has been manually opened, while electri-fied operators offer options to assist with both the opening and closing of a door.

Electrified UnitsAs more facilities are updated to comply with ADA accessibility requirements, demand for electrified door operators has increased. Some of the more popular offerings, including some newer technologies in this field, include:Regenerative Power Technologies: Compact, electromechanical door

operators are available today with regenerative power technology. Simple to install and use, these heavy-duty, low energy operators are intend-ed for high traffic manual opening applications that occasionally require automatic operation like retail outlets, banks, schools or universities.A regenerative power system charges an onboard battery pack that elimi-nates the need to run an electrical wire to the unit. When used in automatic mode 25 percent of the time or less, the operator will self-generate enough power to charge the battery pack for more than a decade. With most sys-tems, there is also a pluggable power option.Wave-to-Open Switches: Wave-to-open switches are great accessories for creating a touch-free environment. This aesthetically pleasing option can coordinate with most décor, and provide audible and visual cues for activation. Two big markets for these include sterile areas within hospitals,

such as operating rooms, and as the finishing touch to today’s touch-free public restrooms.Electromechanical Low Energy Operators: Feature a motor and gear-box for consistent automatic operation. Electromechanical units are used in applications where automatic mode (activated by wall switches, motion sensors, etc.) is the primary function. These extremely quiet, low energy units are designed for moderate to high-traffic doors. Electromechanical operators are ideal for any application that must comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).Electro-hydraulic Low Energy Operators: An excellent solution for both pedestrian applications and ADA compliance, providing rugged and reliable convenience for any entrance. Suitable for interior and exterior use, electro-hydraulic operators can be tailored to meet specific and complex needs. For manual or automatic oper-ation, electro-hydraulic operators can

FOUNDER | FELLOW | DISTINGUISHED CONSULTANT | AWARD OF MERIT | MARY ROTH AWARD

DEADLINE: January 31, 2017 Go to www.dhi.org to download a nomination form or contact

[email protected] or call 703.222.2010.

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

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address a range of needs, in addition to being easily adjusted to better serve traffic flow.

Mechanical UnitsDoor closers not requiring electricity for operation come in primarily two varieties – surface closers and con-cealed closers:Surface-Mounted Closers: This type of door control is traditionally easiest to install with a minimum amount of preparation of the door and frame needed. The surface-mounted closer is also more accessible to the occasional adjustment that may be necessary with changes in usage or environmen-tal conditions. Concealed Closers: On the occasions where the architect's design calls for a door closer that is not visually obvi-ous, a concealed closer is recommend-ed. This installation requires consider-ably more door and frame preparation than a similar surface-mounted closer.Overhead Concealed Closers: Another type of concealed offering, this type of door control is normal-ly mortised into the transom of the frame above the door. A slide track is mortised into the top rail of the door. All elements—closer, arm and slide

track—are totally concealed when the door is closed.The mounting of a door closer typi-cally has the greatest impact on the function and efficiency of the door control unit. There are a number of mounting approaches, with the most common being:Regular Arm: The closer is mounted on the hinge side top rail of the door. The arm is attached to the frame face at a right angle to the door.Parallel Arm: The closer is mounted on the opposite to hinge side top rail of the door. The arm is attached to the frame soffit parallel to the door.Top Jamb: The closer is mounted on the opposite to hinge side frame face, above the door. The arm is attached to the top rail of the door at a right angle to the door.Slide Track Closers: The closer is mounted on either the hinge side or opposite hinge side. The slide track is mounted to frame face on the hinge side, and the frame soffit on the oppo-site to hinge side.Corner Bracket Closers: A type of installation where the closer cannot be mounted to either the door or the frame. The bracket is mounted on

the upper corner of the push side hinge jamb of the frame. The closer is mounted to the bracket and the arm is attached to the top rail of the door at a right angle to the door.

The ADA and Heavy DoorsDoors present some of the most common accessibility issues. They may be too “heavy” and require too much force to open. Heavy doors are especially difficult for people with disabilities and seniors with limited upper body strength and/or skills in using their hands. Luckily, these common problems can often be resolved by simply adjusting door closers. The ADA makes the following recommendations:

• Interior doors should require no more than 5 lbs. of force to open. This does not apply to the initial force needed to overcome the weight of a motionless door. Open the door gradually; do not “jerk” it open.

• Opening force for exterior doors is not specified in the ADA Standards, but exterior doors that need to be accessible should have the minimum force possible. Typical maximum opening force for exterior doors ranges from 8.5 to 10lbs. Any door so heavy that it prevents entrance by people with disabilities may deny them access to goods and services, which is covered under the ADA. Also, state or local government codes may have specific accessibility requirements for exterior doors.

• The closing or swing speed must not be faster than five seconds. The closing or swing distance is from the open position at 90 degrees to 12 degrees from the latch. Latching speed isn't speci-fied but should be fast enough to latch the door but not slam it.

A Note on ANSI GradesThe American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a private non-profit organization that administers voluntary performance standards

Door controls can come in a variety of finishes, plus special order finishes.


for hardware. The purpose of ANSI grades is to help identify the qual-ity and durability of door controls through a series of operational tests. ANSI grades reflect three levels of security and durability:Grade 1 Certification – The highest grade, tested at 2,000,000 door opening cycles without the backcheck feature. Most door opening products available in the U.S. are Grade 1 Certified.Grade 2 Certification – Medium grade door openers, tested at 1,000,000 cycles without the backcheck feature.Grade 3 Certification – The lowest grade provided by ANSI, and the minimally acceptable quality for res-idential use, tested to 500,000 cycles, without the backcheck feature.

Importance of SustainabilityThe interest in sustainability is grow-ing exponentially. Because of a wide range of drivers—energy efficiency, material and environment health, occupant comfort, resource protection, waste reduction, security and build-ing resilience—sustainability is very important to all key stakeholders in the design, management and use of buildings.With all of the disciplines involved in helping customers achieve their LEED and sustainability goals, today’s contractors need to have knowledge-able discussions with their customers regarding their specified product’s sustainable benefits.A wide range of door control products available today can support buildings in the areas of energy efficiency, sus-tainably sourced materials, and indoor environmental quality as well as inno-vation and design considerations.For customers, sustainability is no longer a just a nice-to-have. End users are seeing tangible dollars in savings by using sustainable products, and new building codes, regulations, and certification programs are demanding compliance.Certifications from GreenCircle and other third-party verifiers of

manufacturers’ sustainability claims are becoming increasingly desired by architects and facility managers alike, as they verify that the products contribute to facilities’ sustainability objectives and LEED certification. GreenCircle’s certifications join the Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), Health Product Declarations (HPDs), ISO Certifications and Declare Labels that provide valuable product transparency information for the large majority of door control products cur-rently on the market.

Elevated SecurityChanging environments require higher security in applications such as schools and healthcare settings. Concerns about occupancy safety have elevated the importance of building security beyond the traditional con-cerns. Intruders, active shooters, bomb threats, and pandemics are just some of the threats that a building owner may have to contend with in the 21st century.The expectation for greater security and resilience is spurring new require-ments. Security planning now involves not just hardware, but also design ele-ments and greater collaboration among architects, engineers, and security

consultants. Doors, door controls and operators play a critical role in main-taining security and in responding to lock-down situations, when necessary.The good news is that the functional-ity, safety, durability and even appear-ance of door controls have improved steadily over the years. Security professionals and building managers can be secure in the knowledge that when properly implemented today’s door controls are safer and more user friendly than ever.

LANA KIRKPATRICK is a 24-year veteran of the hardware industry. She has spent the majority of her career with Yale Security, and subse-quently ASSA ABLOY. Kirkpatrick was pro-moted to Brand Manager

for Norton Door Controls in 2016 and currently works out of ASSA ABLOY’s Monroe, N.C., facility. She can be reached at [email protected].

Low-energy operator in hospital

Low-energy operator with regenerative power 2


We have been reading about the Millennials for more than a decade now, and it’s starting to get a little old. It is true that as a generation, they have different behaviors, approaches, and expectations compared to the older generations in the workplace (i.e., Generation X and Baby Boomers). That’s what generations do—they hit the workforce and shake things up, because they are not willing to do things in the same way the previous generation did them when they were that age. This happens every 20 years. And I hate to be the one to bring it up, but in just about eight years we’re go-ing to start going through this whole thing again with the generation after the Millennials (who have not even been named yet—they’re too young).But in the meantime, there is an im-portant truth we must face as leaders in organizations: the Millennial generation is the largest generation in the history of the United States. They are currently the largest segment of our workforce, and they’re going to hold that title for decades, because nearly half of them haven’t even reached the workforce yet.

The oldest Millennials are in their mid-30s now, so they’re not just en-try-level either. It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in, or what size your organization is—if you want to attract and retain the best talent in the com-ing years, you’ll have to be able to win over the Millennials. So does that mean you need to set up an Xbox at work, or institute a “Bring Your Parent to Work” day? No (though to be honest, Google and LinkedIn do actually have such a day). This is not about playing to the stereotypes or the hype about Millennials. But it is about creating a workplace that truly makes sense to this generation, and tradition-al management hasn’t been very good at that. In the research that went into our book, When Millennials Take Over, Maddie Grant and I identified four capacities that need to be developed to make organizations more compatible with the Millennial era: digital, clear, fluid, and fast. And just to be clear, you don’t have to be a stereotypical Millennial tech startup to achieve these qualities. We found a small

nonprofit as a case study for “digital,” and our case study for “fast,” believe it or not, was a large, regional bank. And all of our case studies were founded and/or led by Boomers and Xers.Still, a lot of organizations we’ve spo-ken to have complained that they are not in a position to really become dig-ital, clear, fluid, or fast. Their industry, or the constraints of their processes, or the demographics of their employee base make it impossible, or at least very difficult. Okay, but even if these new capacities seem like a stretch for you, there is one underlying lever that you can pull to make your organiza-tion more attractive to Millennials: organizational culture.Millennials care deeply about orga-nizational culture. Previous genera-tions, frankly, just felt lucky to have a job at that age. A clear and positive culture was a “nice-to-have,” but not a requirement. The Millennials see it differently. In a recent survey of Millennials, 77 percent of them identi-fied culture as “as or more important” than pay and benefits when consider-ing a job offer.

By Jamie Notter

CULTURE: Your Secret Weapon for Attracting Millennial TalentThe Millennials are coming! The Millennials are coming!


The Millennials are raising the bar here. They don’t just want “a job.” They want a job that has meaning. They consider less tangible things like culture to be an integral part of their work experience. And no, they are not demanding that you create a culture that is identical to Google’s, but they do want to know what your culture is, and they want their experience there to match what you said it was going to be.And that’s where most employers fall down. Too many organizations can’t clearly define their culture to begin with. They have lofty core values state-ments, but can’t really articulate what is truly valued inside the organization. Millennials want to know: Are their ideas going to be valued? Will they be supported in taking appropriate risks in this organization? Are the bound-aries between departments rigid or fluid? Will they be able to “hack” existing processes if they see an opportunity for improvement? These are the genetic building blocks of your culture. They define what is valued internally, and they shape the behav-iors of employees, and thus the overall experience of working there.

Unless you know your organization’s cultural genetic code, you’re not going to be able to deliver on the cultural promises your hiring managers are making to your new employees. And when Millennials show up to work to find a disconnect between what was promised and what they experience, they are quick to leave—and you know how expensive turnover is. You don’t have to have a perfect cul-ture, or even a “cool” one. You need to know exactly what your culture is and be honest with your employees about why you have that culture. Maybe “hacking” is very specifically limited in your culture, because of the nega-tive impact it could have on quality control. That’s fine. Be clear and honest about that, and the Millennials will likely accept it. Or maybe you can be more nuanced about your culture and start to allow hacking in some areas (e.g., staff meetings or marketing), but not others (production). Millennials want that kind of nuanced approach to culture. When you build that capacity, you’ll start attracting the best talent, even if your culture is not as cool as the tech companies.

JAMIE NOTTER is a founding partner at WorkXO where he helps leaders create stronger cultures and upgrade their workplaces, based on a deeper understanding of their organiza-tional genetic code, via the Workplace Genome™ platform. He brings 25 years of experience in conflict resolution, generational differences, leadership, and culture change to his consulting and speaking. Author of When Millennials Take Over: Preparing for the Ridiculously Optimistic Future of Business, and Humanize: How People Centric Organizations Succeed in a Social World, Jamie serves as adjunct faculty at Georgetown University.

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BLOCKING AND TACKLING:OBSOLETE CONCEPTS?

By Dr. Albert D. Bates

$

$

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Over the course of the last few years, the emphasis in distribution has moved away from improving oper-ations to completely re-thinking the nature of the business. New ideas have included dramatically reduc-ing the number of customers served, using “big data” to gain a marketing

advantage, structuring separate Web-based entities and using mobile technology to preempt competitors. Countless other strategic initiatives could also be listed.Somewhat lost in the discussion is the idea of managing the existing busi-ness for greater profit. It is not that

distributors have no desire to improve profitability. It is just that the idea of improved performance from blocking and tackling better seems so twentieth century.This report will examine the economic realities of improved operations. It will do so from two distinct perspectives:

Profit Improvement Report


• The economic impact of small im-provements—An analysis of how even modest operational changes can lead to much higher profit levels.

• Guidelines for operational im-provements—A discussion of the opportunities for blocking and tackling better.

The Economic Impact of Small ImprovementsExhibit 1 examines income statement performance of a typical DHI member based upon the latest PROFIT Report. As indicated in the “Current Results” column of the exhibit, the typical firm generates $15 million in revenue. It operates on a gross margin of 30.3

percent of sales with expenses of 27.5 percent of sales. As a result, it gener-ates a pre-tax profit of $425,000, or 2.8 percent.The “Potential Results” column re-flects the impact of three very modest, seemingly inconsequential, improve-ments. The specific improvements are: (1) a 1 percent increase in sales, (2) a 1 percent improvement in the gross margin percentage from 30.3 to 30.6 percent [30.3 percent times 1.01], and (3) a 1 percent reduction in total expenses. It is blocking and tackling better personified.While each of the improvements in op-erations are all a modest 1 percent, the impact on profitability is far from mod-est. The firm’s pre-tax profit increases

EXHIBIT 1: THE IMPACT OF ONE PERCENT IMPROVEMENTS FOR A TYPICAL DHI MEMBER

Income Statement ($) Current Results Potential Results Percent Change

Net Sales 15,000,000 15,150,000 1.0

Cost of Goods Sold 10,450,000 10,508,545 0.6

Gross Margin 4,550,000 4,641,455 2.0

Payroll Expenses 3,360,000 3,326,400 -1.0

All Other Expenses 765,000 757,350 -1.0

Total Expenses 4,125,000 4,083,750 -1.0

Profit Before Taxes 425,000 557,705 31.2

Income Statement (%)

Net Sales 100.0 100.0

Cost of Goods Sold 69.7 69.4

Gross Margin 30.3 30.6

Payroll Expenses 22.4 22.0

All Other Expenses 5.1 5.0

Total Expenses 27.5 27.0

Profit Before Taxes 2.8 3.7

from 2.8 percent of revenue to 3.7 per-cent. Of greater consequence, the dollar profit increases by $132,705, a 31.2 percent improvement. This increase in profit provides a basis for financing the foray into more strategic actions.For years the author has repeated the mantra of “little things mean a lot.” Admittedly, many distributors have tired of hearing the refrain. As a result the idea of systematic improvements has lost favor. The profit impact of such improvements suggests it might be time for an operational renaissance.

Guidelines for Operational ImprovementsIt is one thing to talk about operating the existing business more effectively. It is something else to actually do it. In essence, how does the firm block and tackle better? In making the improve-ments, there are two important issues to consider: (1) focusing on what mat-ters and (2) developing a consensus in the business as to what those item really are.

Operational FocusThere were three areas of change driv-ing the financial improvements shown in Exhibit 1: net sales, gross margin and expenses. Each needs to be addressed. In doing so, firms need to avoid over-complicating the improve-ment actions required. Focusing on a few key issues should be emphasized.Net Sales—Research in distribution routinely indicates that many distrib-utors are missing anywhere from 3 to 5 percent of their sales potential for one very basic reason—namely, they have cut back on their inventory investment. The move in distribution to cut back on inventory began almost a decade ago as firms began to take a more “financial view” of their businesses. The move to reduce inventory con-tinues even as research project after research project shows that the two

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main complaints that customers have regarding their distributors is an inad-equate service level and an assortment that is too narrow.Gross Margin—For most firms, there is a significant and largely untapped opportunity to improve the gross mar-gin percentage. It involves identifying items where prices can be increased without impacting the firm’s competi-tive position. Such items, almost all of which are slow selling SKUs, represent a small proportion of sales volume. At the same time they have the potential to contribute to a significant improve-ment in the firm’s overall gross margin percentage. Every pricing study that has been conducted has found a po-tential gross margin improvement that is at least three times as large as the improvement in Exhibit 1.Expenses—The overwhelming majority of distribution managers are tired of hearing about expense control. The economic disaster of the so-called Great Recession followed by eight years of tepid growth has left most managers feeling that there is nothing left to cut. They may well be right.The real key to expense control is not to cut expenses or even become more productive. What is needed is an em-phasis on internal order economics, a topic covered in previous articles. In simplest terms, the battle is to get the maximum number of items on every order. If that can be done, expenses will systematically fall as a percent of sales, even as they continue to increase in dollars.

Operational ConsensusAs distribution businesses have increased in size and scope, they have become more bureaucratic in nature. In far too many instances they have moved beyond bureaucratic to the point of being Balkanized.Recent research conducted by the Distribution Performance Project in a number of lines of trade has found an amazing lack of consensus among key managers as to what is really important in improving

performance. It is not uncommon for half of the firm’s key managers to feel that prices should be reduced to gain sales volume, while another half feels that prices should be increased.Interestingly, it is not just the “sales guys” that argue for lowering prices. The uncertainty about what to do afflicts every aspect of the operation. With such disparity of understanding there is little chance of making mean-ingful improvements.The key to achieving goal congruence is management education. There is of-ten a feeling that “they all know that” regarding issues such as the impact of inventory reductions. The reality, in fact, is that half of them don’t know that.Education must be geared towards pro-viding a basic understanding of what really drives profit in the firm. There should be no intent to make everybody an accountant. However, it should be relatively easy to ensure that all managers understand the economics of price cutting, for example.

Moving ForwardThere is no denying that distribution is in an era of significant change. Every firm must be looking for ways to take advantage of new strategic initiatives, new technology and new ways of servicing customers. However, if firms ignore the profit opportunities in the existing business, they are severely limiting their ability to take part in the new distribution future. The existing business is a mas-sive profit improvement opportunity that must be optimized. It is time to once again emphasize blocking and tackling better.

DR. ALBERT D. BATES is Director of Research for the Profit Planning Group. His recent book, Breaking Down the Profit Barriers in Distribution, is the basis for this report. It is a book every man-ager and key operating employee should read. He can be reached at [email protected].

©2016 Profit Planning Group and the Distribution Performance Project. DHI has unlimited duplication rights for this manuscript. Further, members may duplicate this report for their internal use in any way desired. Duplication by any other organization in any manner is strictly prohibited.

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Flush Bolts and Coordinators

Flush bolts are used to secure the inac-tive leaf of a pair of doors, projecting into the frame head and into a floor strike. In this application, the active leaf would typically have a lockset which latches into a strike mounted on the edge of the inactive leaf. Manual flush bolts and surface bolts are projected and retracted manually, and automatic flush bolts are pro-jected when the active leaf closes and depresses a trigger on the edge of the door. When the active leaf is opened, the automatic flush bolt retracts. Constant-latching flush bolts are a type of automatic flush bolt—the bottom bolt is a regular automatic flush bolt, but the top bolt latches when the inactive leaf closes, and stays latched until it is retracted manually. Automatic and constant-latching flush bolts are also available with a top bolt only, and an auxiliary fire pin which mounts near the bottom of the door edge and projects when a high tem-perature is reached during a fire. There are several different code requirements that affect the use of flush bolts and coordinators—code requirements related to egress, fire protection, and accessibility. It’s important to consider all of the requirements that might apply to a particular pair of doors in order to determine which type of flush bolts may be used—manual, automatic, or constant-latching. If a pair of doors is required to have panic hardware, flush bolts may not be allowed.In the International Building Code (IBC), flush bolts are addressed in the section called Bolt Locks. There has been some

confusion about whether this section is intended to apply to deadbolts, but the IBC Commentary references the inactive leaf of a pair of doors throughout this section, clarifying the intent. This section of the IBC pro-hibits the use of manually-operated flush bolts or surface bolts on egress doors, but includes 5 exceptions:1. Manual flush bolts or surface bolts

may be used on doors in individual dwelling units or sleeping units if the doors are not required for egress.

2. For doors serving storage or equip-ment rooms, manual flush bolts or surface bolts are permitted.

3. For a pair of doors serving a Business, Factory and Industrial, or Storage occupancy with an occu-pant load of less than 50 people, manual flush bolts or surface bolts are allowed. This exception does not require the building to have a sprinkler system, but it only applies to the occupancy types listed here.

4. For a pair of doors serving a Business, Factory and Industrial, or Storage occupancy where the building is equipped throughout with an automatic sprinkler system, manual flush bolts or surface bolts are allowed if the inactive leaf is not needed in order to meet the egress capacity require-ments. For example, if the egress capacity of the active leaf is 160 occupants and the occupant load is 100 people, the inactive leaf is not needed for egress and manual flush bolts or surface bolts are acceptable.

This applies only to sprinklered buildings of the referenced occu-pancy types.

5. In a Group I-2 occupancy, such as a hospital or nursing home, patient rooms may have self-latching edge- or surface-mounted bolts if the inactive leaf is not needed to meet the egress capacity requirements. Note that this exception does not allow manually-operated bolts but does allow constant-latching auto-matic flush bolts.

For exceptions 3, 4, and 5, the IBC states that the inactive leaf shall not con-tain doorknobs, panic bars, or similar operating hardware, as this hardware could give a building occupant the impression that the inactive leaf may be operable. These exceptions were added in the 2009 edition of the IBC. A common question is whether an inactive leaf that is provided for con-venience, aesthetics, or movement of equipment, and not required for egress is allowed to have manual-ly-operated flush bolts. This is left up to interpretation by the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) so it is dif-ficult to predict what will be accept-able in each situation. Although the IBC Commentary seems to indicate that doors not intended for egress (including the inactive leaf of some pairs) may not be required to comply with the prohibition on manual bolts, the limitations included in items 3 and 4 above seem to indicate otherwise.NFPA 101—The Life Safety Code also limits the use of manual flush bolts in a means of egress, when pairs of doors

By Lori Greene, DAHC/CDC, FDAI, FDHI, CCPR


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4 – Constant-latching flush bolts are a type of automatic flush bolt, with a self-latching top bolt and an automatic bottom bolt. 5 – Automatic flush bolts are also available with an automatic top bolt paired with an auxiliary fire pin which projects when heated to a high temperature.

4 5

the release of one leaf before the other, or

2. If automatic flush bolts are used, the inactive leaf shall not have surface-mounted hardware which would indicate that the door can be used for egress, and unlatching of either door leaf must not require more than one operation.

For pairs of doors that are part of a fire door assembly, additional require-ments must be taken into account. One of the cardinal rules of fire doors is that they are required to be posi-tive-latching; there must be an active latchbolt that automatically latches the door when it comes to a close. For pairs of doors this typically means that automatic flush bolts must be used, but NFPA 80 includes a potential exception to this rule. Where allowed by the AHJ, manual flush bolts or manual surface bolts may be used on pairs of fire doors as long as they do not pose a hazard to life safety. Annex A of NFPA 80 fur-ther clarifies this provision, limiting the use of manual bolts to rooms not normally occupied by humans, such as transformer vaults and storage rooms. Annex A also suggests that the

1 – Surface bolts are mounted on the face of the door and are operated manually. 2 – Manual flush bolts are mounted on the door edge and are projected and retracted manually using a small lever. 3 – Automatic flush bolts are projected automatically when the active leaf closes, and retracted when the active leaf opens.

1 2 3

Images courtesy of Lori Greene

are required in a means of egress. This is typically interpreted to mean that if the inactive leaf of the pair is needed in order to provide the required amount of egress capacity, manual flush bolts cannot be used because they don’t meet the criteria listed in NFPA 101.

When the inactive leaf is required for egress, NFPA 101 requires one of the following:1. Each leaf of the pair must have

a releasing device that allows the doors to be operated inde-pendently—without depending on


inactive leaf on such pairs may not be required to have a door closer. Keep in mind that the code requirements that address elevator machine rooms typ-ically require positive-latching hard-ware, and therefore manual flush bolts would not be allowed on those rooms.It’s very important to note that NFPA 101 requires corridor doors in health care occupancies to be self-latching, stating, “Corridor doors utilizing an inactive leaf shall have automatic flush bolts on the inactive leaf to provide positive latching.” This means that the NFPA 80 exception for manual flush bolts and surface bolts does not apply to corridor doors in health care facilities that must comply with NFPA 101. For example, a pair of fire doors serving a mechanical room in a school may have manual flush bolts if acceptable to the AHJ, but a pair of fire doors serving a mechanical room in a hospital corridor is required to have automatic flush bolts if the facility is required to comply with NFPA 101.When automatic flush bolts are used, a coordinator is typically required to ensure that the doors close in the proper sequence. If both leaves of the pair are opened and the active leaf begins to close first, the coordinator will hold the active leaf open slightly, allowing the inactive leaf to close. When the inactive leaf closes com-pletely, it triggers the coordinator to release the active leaf and allow it to close. Coordinators may require acces-sories such as filler bars and mounting brackets for a complete installation. Another accessory used with flush bolts is a dust-proof strike for the bottom bolt. Although this type of strike is not required by code, it can result in a cleaner installation than the standard flush bolt strike.Yet another concern, in addition to egress and fire protection, is acces-sibility. When the inactive leaf of a pair is required to meet the accessi-bility standards, manual flush bolts should not be used. Manual flush bolts require tight grasping and pinching to operate, and the bolts are not typically mounted within the acceptable range

for operable hardware—34 inches to 48 inches above the floor. For doors on an accessible route, automatic flush bolts or panic hardware would be a better application.For more information about flush bolts and coordinators, refer to the appli-cable codes and standards, or consult the AHJ.

LORI GREENE, DAHC/CDC, FDAI, FDHI, CCPR, is the Manager of Codes and Resources for Allegion. She can be reached at [email protected] or iDigHardware.com.

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Readers PhotosBy Mark J. Berger

Real Openings

Thank you readers for the wonderful comments I’ve received on this column. We try to present a balance of reminders of why we need to be vigilant in the compliance arena along with photos of interesting doors and hardware.

And thank you to those who have sent photos in; we really appre-ciate them. This year we are being treated to some international photos. Here’s our first Readers Photos column of the year. We’d love to have more; please keep sending those photos our way!

OVERDECORATING Robert BartlettRobert, an architect in Melbourne, Fla., sent us evidence that the holiday season can be fraught with items to watch out for. He wrote: I nearly fell over when I saw the sole exit doors for the right transept blocked off by garland and yellow caution tape. If the fire marshal saw this, I suspect he would have cancelled Christmas.

BAD HOOK UP David KleinAs a nation we applaud creativity, but not when it comes to securing exit doors illegally. First, look at the debris blocking the exit, another illustration as to why factory and back of house exit paths should be painted red to avoid placement of objects there.

Next, look at the four heavy duty thru-bolted slide bolts placed on the door. Not only are they locked, but the each bolt has a hasp secured with a Carabiner hook. Imagine trying to remove those in the event of an emergency. I can’t imagine how anyone in good conscience would apply those to an exit door.


2 TOO MANY SIGNS, 2 TOO MANY BOLTS David KleinDave is a road warrior, with his phone/camera always at hand. From a distance he wondered if the totes were blocking the exit path. Turns out the totes were the least of the exiting problems.

There may be three signs on the door indicating it is an exit. Unfortunately there are also two slide bolts, which present a terrible hazard.

STAND CLOSER, PLEASE Mark SchreiberDiscretion is important while taking photos for this column. And nowhere is that more important to remember than when taking photographs of unusual doors or hardware in a public space, especially a public restroom. I’m guessing Mark took the time to wait for everyone else to leave so he could share this potentially hazardous opening.

EXTRA TABLE FOR 2 Henry DeLaRosa Henry took time from a magical trip to Venice to snap this picture of an all-too-common experi-ence—the “squeeze too many tables into a small space.” The net result is usually restricting access to the emergency exit.


The images shown here are not intended to reflect upon any specific manufacturer or products but are intended to help build awareness around the everyday code violations that occur in buildings over time, despite our members’ best efforts to provide solutions to secure the life safety and security of the building occupants.

MARK BERGER is the President and Chief Product Officer of Securitech Group, as well as the chair of the Builders Hardware Manufacturers Association Codes & Government Affairs Committee. All "Real Openings" photos have been taken in public spaces with the goal of highlighting the prevalence of code violations and the need for vigilance to save lives. If you see something, say something.

OPEN DOOR Grant HeppesSometimes we are seated in a restaurant and notice a blocked exit. Other times, it could be shopping or walking in a sports arena.

For Grant, it was walking down the street. Like so many buildings welcoming the public, this religious institution correctly updated their entrance and emergency exit doors by adding exit devices to meet code requirements. Regrettably, there must have been a need for greater security at some point and slide bolts were added—another proof of the importance of regular inspections and the issuance of violations to save lives.

FALLING APART Marc WeihermannApplying hardware and related elements to doors must be done properly. When instructions are followed, they tend to stay in place. Sometimes things happen over time and that’s why DHI has been so active in ensuring that openings are inspected. Here’s a hazard that could prevent exiting during an emergency. Property managers need to repair opening hazards with the speed in which they repair broken HVAC systems.

HUH? Grant HeppesGrant’s always on the lookout for unconventional and unusual situations. Here’s a Dutch door with a keyed deadbolt on the interior, as well as a keyed cylindrical lock.


When it comes to public buildings, it’s easy to take the doors and entryways for granted. A major challenge is that often door security measures can undermine human safety. It is critical that door assemblies provide the correct balance of life safety and security while meeting building and fi re codes.

Building codes and product standards are complicated. And there are thousands of combinations of doors and hardware. In fact, while doors and openings represent only 2% of a new facility’s average con-struction costs, they constitute more than 30% of punch-list issues. That iswhy it’s important to get it right the fi rst time, at the beginning stages of a project. Do not drop the ball—make sure your doors and entryways meet the correct standards.

Where do I fi nd the industry experts to strike the right balance of life safety and security?Contact a DHI-certifi ed consultant!

Architectural Hardware Consultant (AHC), Certifi ed Door Consultant (CDC), Electrifi ed Hardware Consultant (EHC) and Architec-tural Openings Consultant (AOC) are the certifi cation designations recognized as marks of excellence throughout the industry. These professional certifi cations attest to the extensive knowledge of the individual and that he or she is a professional prepared to provide sound architectural door and hard-ware specifi cation advice to architects, con-tractors and building owners.

Managing the Balance of Life Safety and SecurityDHI members are the only certifi ed, credentialed professionals with the experience to fi nd the right balance between life safety and security in the non-residential architectural openings industry.

To fi nd a DHI-Certifi ed Consultant near you, visit www.dhi.org/FindAProfessional or call 703/222-2010.

DHI STAFF

L–R: Kara Burgess, Member Services Manager, Manages Member Services, technical literature fulfillment, events registration, and classified advertising; Sharon Newport, Director of Operations, Operations planning and management, including oversight of communications and services to membership; Paige (Purdum) Horton, Membership and Chapter Relations Manager, Individual membership recruitment and retention, chapter support; Jackie Bessette, Membership Development Manager (in circle), Corporate membership and chapter development

L–R: Chris Jones, Marketing and Communications Coordinator, Supports all marketing and communications projects with a focus on implementing digital communications; Molly Long, Advertising Manager, Display advertising for Doors + Hardware magazine, convention program, interactive advertising for website, and IndustryWatch e-newsletter; Denise Gable, Communications Manager/Managing Editor, Manages all DHI communications programs, online and in print, Managing Editor of Doors + Hardware magazine and all DHI publications; Sharon Newport, Director of Operations, Operations planning and management, including oversight of communications and services to membership

Jerry Heppes, Sr., CAE, Chief Executive Officer, Strategic direction, policy, finance, governance, organizational relationships, and staff management

Jennifer Denner, CPA, Staff Accountant, Supports financial maintenance and reporting; Kathleen Fite, CPA, Director of Finance; Cathy Milchak, Accounting Assistant, Accounts receivable and financial maintenance and reporting

COMMUNICATIONS TEAM

MEMBERSHIP TEAM

FINANCE TEAM

Ever wonder who that person is on the other end of the phone, or computer, when you contact DHI? There’s a lot going on at DHI this year, and we want our members to get to know the staff a little bit better and know who they can turn to with their questions and needs as we start the new year. For more information on any of our initiatives, you can always go to our website, WWW.DHI.ORG.

MEET THE


Stephen R. Hildebrand, FDHI, Executive Vice President, Strategic business and revenue development, brand and value awareness, and strategic marketing initiatives

Alexandra D'Imperio, Events Planner, Event planning for convention—DHI conNextions, Technical Schools, committee and council meetings and staff events; Julie Walter, Director of Events, Event planning, management and logistics for convention—DHI conNextions, Technical Schools, Board and committee meeting

L–R: Chuck J. Molina, CCD, Chief Technology Officer/Director of Information Technology, Information technology strategic planning, management and administration; Denise Childs, Database Administrator, Database administration, report writing and information systems support; Stanley Song, Information Technology Specialist, Database support, systems technician, and information technology infrastructure support

Paul Baillargeon, AHC, FDAI, Director, Technical Consultant, Supporting education initiatives with a focus on the FDAI program

EVENT TEAM

EDUCATION TEAM

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TEAM

Front row: Ann McCrady, M.Ed., CPL, Director of Education, Education strategic initiatives, including content development and delivery methods; Rodney Weaver, AHC, FDAI, CAI, CFDI, Director of Technical Services, Education strategic initiatives and content development; Valerie Heh Gardner, Education and Certification Coordinator, Chapter education and in-house training programs, online education, certification exam coordination

Back row: Laura Frye, AHC, CSI, CCS, FDAI, Director of Certification, Certification strategic initiatives and program management; Hanne Sevachko, Education Manager, Manages education and certification programs as well as education business development


10 Revenue Growth Truths for a Strong Start to 2017

The Revenue Growth Habit

1. On average, most customers only know about 20 percent of what you can sell them, so always tell people about the various ways you can help them.

We don’t need to increase this number to 80 or 100 percent to grow. Merely upping it to 30 percent will result in dra-matic growth for you.

2. As such, it’s impossible to over communicate with customers and prospects. Just because you’ve told somebody about your other work two weeks ago,

doesn’t mean they remember it today. That’s why you al-ways hear customers say, “I didn’t know you do that.” You can’t over-communicate, so communicate relentlessly.

3. Companies that have a good list of customers and prospects always grow more and faster than those which do not. We must know who to sell to. A good

list should consist of humans, with names and contact information, not just company names.

4. The discomfort with testimonials is ours, not our customers’, who are generally happy—which is why they’ve been buying from you for years or

decades. People love being asked what they think. In fact, they feel honored and grateful. Nobody ever says “I’d rath-er not share with you what’s on my mind.” Ask for testimo-nials and you shall receive them.

5. Similarly, people love giving referrals. If you don’t believe me, at your next social event, ask a group of people for a recommendation for a chiropractor,

or dentist, or house painter. People will trip over them-selves making ensure you use their person. We would get more referrals than we would know what to do with, if only we asked. So, ask.

The holidays are over, and it’s time to talk about how to have the strongest possible start to 2017. Here are 10 revenue growth truths and techniques. Implement them into your company, and you’ll sales go up significantly and quickly.

By Alex Goldfayn


© iStock | Bannosuke

10. Behaving boldly means picking up the tele-phone. Most salespeople

vastly overestimate the number of hours per week they spend on the phone, because the majority of them hate phone work and seek to avoid it. So they think about it a lot instead us-ing it (the phone) a lot. In my studies, the average salesperson for a manu-facturer or distributor spends about four hours per week on the phone. Four! Out of 40 to 50 hours per week. Guess what happens to sales when we double your weekly phone time? They shoot up. That’s the first 10 truths and tech-niques. I could go to 100, but this is a column and my space is limited. If you sat down with a blank piece of paper right now, you could probably come up with your own list of 2017 sales growth techniques.Happy new year! Happy revenue growth! My best wishes for success-fully helping more people more—and enjoying the inevitable increase in sales that’s to follow!

ALEX GOLDFAYN runs The Revenue Growth Consultancy which helps companies and sales departments grow rev-enue quickly and easily by implementing a system of simple com-munications techniques.

His latest book, The Revenue Growth Habit, was named the 2015 Sales Book of The Year by 800-CEO-Read. To discuss growing your business in this way, email [email protected].

6. Most salespeople are gov-erned by their fear of failure, which is usually greater

than their need to feed their family. As such, they would rather avoid the possibility of rejection than ask for the business. It’s important to teach your sales people that hearing “no” is not failure. Rather, not asking for the sale is failure.

7. Imagine what your sales would do if every salesperson pivoted to the sale and asked

for the business with every customer and prospect they interacted with. My guess is your revenue would jump instantly.

8. Because most of us hear from customers when they need something, or when they’re

upset about something, we lose sight of the fact that most of our customers are very happy with us. It’s just that we don’t hear from these happy cus-tomers because, like you, they’re busy, and there’s no reason to pick up the phone when everything is going well. So, remember, your customers love you. You do amazing work for them. You really help them. Know this, but also feel it. Really feel it in your heart that your customers love you.

9. Got it? Now. I need you to behave accordingly. That is, boldly! Be bold. Be confi-

dent. Be enthusiastic. When in doubt, communicate. You’re never taking your customers’ time; instead you’re helping them tremendously. You’re never bothering customers; you’re making their lives and work better. Revenue growth is no place for the meek. Be bold. Your market deserves that from you.

NETWORKINGIS EVERYTHING.

www.DHI.org

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Door Security & Safety Foundation

Join Us.DHI

DHI’s Fire Door Assembly Inspection Group

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@DandHmagazine@DSSFoundation


The POWER of TWITTER

The Value of SOCIAL MEDIA

By Amanda Wilson

Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have taken the world by storm. But the concept of virtual connections still has its opposers. Some naysayers feel that spending so much time on social media inhibits our ability to build emotional connections. They feel friend-ships forged online are inauthentic.Personally, I have not found those arguments to be true. I engage with far more people via social media platforms than I otherwise would if I relied solely on face-to-face opportunities. This holds especially true with industry professionals. I will always remember the moment that solidi-fied the value of social media for me. I was walk-ing the DHI trade show floor a few years ago and turned around when I heard someone call out my name. It was a surreal moment when there was instant recognition, although the person and

I had never physically met. Our online connec-tion seamlessly transferred to a real-life friend-ship. Being members of a small niche industry and having the ability to make connections all over the globe with like-minded professionals you wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to meet is invaluable.As well as building one-on-one connections, social media provides us the platform to commu-nicate our thoughts and concerns with a global audience. It allows us to be advocates for the causes we believe in. As an industry, we can put forth a concentrated effort to educate the public on life safety concerns. Every like, every share and comment assists DHI and the Door Security & Safety Foundation’s efforts to promote aware-ness of life-saving issues.

By Ginny Powell

In the summer of 2008, I was working as a sales-person for a distributor and the Florida construc-tion market had crashed. I wasn’t making much money, and my customers didn’t have a lot of projects in the works. I needed to do something to generate sales. I don’t recall how I first heard of Twitter, but one day, as I sat in front of my computer, I decided to sign up. Browsing around, I discovered that the pound symbol was also called a “hashtag” and could be used to search words or phrases. The first words I searched for were #design and #architecture to find architects and industry professionals to connect with. The design industry, in particular,

had already embraced social media, so I started following designers. In 2010, I happened onto a great group of people (many of whom were designers) participating in #letsblogoff. This is where many people write about one topic and post to their blog. Honestly, I barely knew what a blog was at the time. In fact, I had to use Amanda’s blog to participate in the first post I wrote for #letsblogoff. But getting comments from people far and wide, who were not my relatives or friends, was hum-bling and made me realize that this Twitter thing was pretty cool. Twitter may only allow 140


Commentary

characters, but I recognized it was just the first 140 characters of a conversation. I was hooked. I also caught a few orders.As big events in the world occurred, social media became even more important, either as a rallying cry or as a way to check in to say I’m safe. In October 2014, after the dev-astating earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Facebook developed and released their Safety Check worldwide program, which allows you to check on friends and loved ones during a disaster Unfortunately, we saw unprecedented fires the first part of December 2016 in Gatlinburg and Oakland. To give you an idea at how fast news can spread on Twitter, I used some recent (just before we went to press) events and their hashtags along with prevalent hashtags relevant to the building industry. Using hashtags to search narrows down the vast audience social media offers. Life and fire safety clearly has a lot of room for growth, and our industry can and should help spread those messages. DHI and the Door Security & Safety Foundation recognize the value of social media. It al-lows door security and safety professionals to concentrate their efforts in a united voice

for common goals, like alternate devices for school security that meet egress codes and the Opening the Door to School Safety campaign. Be a part of the voice that promotes educa-tion and change in the door and hardware industry through social media. Sign up for a Twitter account today and help shape our future together!

AMANDA WILSON is a Manufacturer Representative for A.G. Wilson Building Solutions, LLC. She can be reached at [email protected] or @AGWilsonBS on Twitter.

GINNY POWELL is Digital Marketing Specialist for Hager Companies. She can be reached at [email protected] or @GinnyPowell on Twitter.

The POWER of TWITTER

#architecture

#design

#firesafety

#lifesafety

#oaklandfire

#gatlinburgfire

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70in Millions

■ Impressions ■ Reach*

*Impressions are the number of times the content is displayed. Reach is the number of people who see the content.

Twitter December 3-5, 2016


Driving Add-on Sales By Jason Bader

Do you want fries with that? We hear it every time we visit our favorite flavor of fast food chain. The fact of the matter is that these folks have mastered the art of add-on sales. They understand that the menu item rarely stands on its own. On the contrary, the satisfaction of the purchase is enhanced by the additional complimentary items. There exists a desire to better serve the customer; and let’s not forget that for every dollar in cost, the fast food chain can sell approx-imately 20 orders of fries. Now most wholesale distributors can only dream of making such a lofty markup, the principle remains the same. Selling complimentary products will drive gross margin dollars to new heights and improve overall customer service. One of my favorite key performance indicators is lines per order. Although many companies understand the concept, few review this metric on a regular basis. I highly recommend that you measure this every month. Start by creating your benchmark. In the years that I have been pushing this measurement to audiences and my private clients, I have run across a strange anomaly. When a hard goods wholesale dis-tributor first runs this metric, they often fall between 2.3 – 3.3 lines per order. It does not seem to matter what vertical you service, the numbers seem to fall in this range. Judging by the number of products we stock, this tells me that we have a lot of upward potential. One of the key reasons that we want to study and improve this metric is because of the impact

on gross margin dollars coming in the door. A com-plimentary measurement is gross margin dollars per order. As lines are added to the order, the incremental gross margin dollars offset the cost of processing that order through our system. If we can assume that the average cost of pro-cessing an order is $60 - $75, any additional lines we can add will help us become more net profit-able on every transaction. As distributors, we love to stock a breadth of complimentary items. We feel naked if those shelves aren’t loaded. One of our strongest value added services is the ability to fill a large percentage of the customer’s application needs. This in turn allows them to make fewer stops or create fewer purchases to get their job done. Reducing the pain of our customers is how distributors remain a viable part of the supply chain. When training our customer service represen-tatives to drive more lines per order, we must dispel the feeling that asking questions is intru-sive or somehow conveys that the customer is incompetent. Trust me, this hesitation exists in your newer customer service people. We sell the items our customers forget. When I teach this subject, I usually discuss the consequences of letting a customer go out the door without all the materials necessary to com-plete the application. In many situations, the cus-tomer will be forced to get back in their vehicle to source a critical, yet forgotten, item. We can hope that the customer returns to our place of business, but that is not always the case. Superior

Shelf Life


service means that we help the cus-tomer spend more time applying their skills and less time sourcing product. The key to supporting this add-on ser-vice mentality is teaching our customer service people how to sell an applica-tion, not just an item. We should con-sider it a failure if we let one line item go out on a sales order. I grew up in the construction supply business, but this holds true for most wholesale vertical markets. When a customer was buying a tool, it was up to me to ask what they were doing with the tool. As an exten-sion of the tool, what were they going into? Were they drilling a hole—think drill bits or hole saws. Were they cut-ting something—think saw blades or cutting fluid. In addition to looking forward into the application, we were trained to look backward as well. This meant suggesting personal protective equip-ment, such as safety glasses or gloves. It could also mean extension cords or temporary power equipment. By looking at the whole application, a world of complimentary product opportunities is presented. Teaching this concept makes a great foundation for product training classes. Almost any one of our stocked products has a complimentary item. With many thousand items to choose from, the challenge is where to begin. High-ticket items can be a good start since they often carry a lower gross margin percentage. To bolster the overall margin per-centage, adding some high-margin

complimentary items can help make the ticket more attractive. Beyond these items, I like to focus on the highest hit items. By definition, these items are the most frequently requested and will appear on the greatest number of sales transactions. Take a look at the top 200 items. Focus on teaching the complimentary rela-tionship of these products. If you want to create lasting impact, don’t be the only one teaching these classes. I have always believed that handing out teaching assignments is one of the best ways to insure reten-tion. Each week, have a different team member teach about an application. Give them a little time to prepare and coach them on how to present the material. If anything, the instructor will become highly skilled in selling the whole application. In addition to training focused on complimentary selling, many of our distribution software packages have the ability to suggest add on items during the order generation process. Although many users know about the feature, very few maximize the capa-bility. The function relies on the com-pany setting up the complimentary item database. This means that rela-tionships need to be documented in the software. Similar to the earlier challenge with product training, the sheer enormity of creating this com-plimentary database often scares off most users. Work smarter, not harder. Don’t try to create complimentary item relationships for your entire stocked

database. As mentioned earlier, just focus on the high hit items. If you can focus on creating complimentary items for the top 200 or 300 items, you will be off to a great start. As an additional teaching opportunity, invite your customer service people to create the list of complimentary items. As suggested earlier in the article, I strongly encourage you to determine the current average lines per order. Create the benchmark and set a goal of improving that by half a line. Monitor this number every month and break the metric down by customer service person. I recommend that you use this infor-mation to discover coaching oppor-tunities, not pit your team members against each other. If you do decide to reward improvement, consider a team-based event. You can kill two birds—creating a performance reward and providing an opportunity for team bonding. If you need help getting started, just reach out. My mission is to make you more profitable.

JASON BADER is the owner of The Distribution Team, a firm that specializes in helping distributors become more profitable through strategic planning and operating efficiencies. The first 20 years of his career were spent working as a distribution executive. Today, he is a regular speaker at industry events and spends much of his time coaching individual distribution companies. Contact him by e-mail at [email protected] or visit The Distribution Team’s website at www.thedistributionteam.com.


ImpactDHI Impact includes quotes and interesting facts and figures about DHI and its impact on our industry and our members. If you have a great quote or a fun fact to share, send it to Denise Gable at [email protected].

Please indicate on a scale of one to ten, with one being “completely disagree” and ten being “completely agree,” your feelings about the following statements as they apply to the markets your company serves:

JANUARY'S 60-SECOND SURVEY RESULTS2017 Economic Outlook The following stats are taken from Dodge Data and Analytics annual Construction Outlook.

Commercial construction (offices, hotels, retail, etc.) gained approximately 12% in 2016 in your market.

Industrial construction (manufacturing, etc.) declined approximately 5% in 2016 in your market.

Total non-residential construction (commercial, institutional, industrial) gained approximately 7% in your market

Institutional construction (education, healthcare, etc. gained approximately 7% in 2016 in your market.

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Please indicate on a scale of one to 10, with one being “no confidence” and 10 being “completely confident” your feelings about the following statements as they apply to the markets your company serves:

Commercial construction will continue to grow, about 6% in 2017 in your market.

Institutional construction will continue to grow about 10% in 2017 in your market.

Industrial construction will grow about 6% in 2017 in your market.

51 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 10 51 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 10 51 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 10

7

Total non-residential construction will continue to grow about 8% in your market.

As a result of the recent Presidential election, the U.S. economy will remain healthy with moderate to significant growth in 2017.

As a result of the recent Presidential election, the world economy will remain sluggish with none to only minimal growth in 2017.

51 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 1051 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 10 51 2 3 4 6 8 9 107


Doors + Hardware is one of the few publications that addresses our speci�csegment of the industry so comprehensively.The editorial content covers a wide range of topics and is a great resource for professionalsto stay current on the latest developmentsimpacting our industry.

—ASSA ABLOY Architectural Hardware Shared Services

“

”

CONTACT MOLLY LONG:[email protected] : : 703.766.7014 : : www.dhi.org/advertising

THREE GREAT REASONS to include Doors + Hardware in your marketing plan: 1. TARGETED READERSHIP—all of whom are involved in

the non-residential architectural openings industry

2. EXCLUSIVE COMMUNICATIONS VEHICLE into thedistribution channel of our industry

3. READERS TAKE ACTION—94% of our readers respondto an advertisement

*2016 Readership Survey

Don’t miss out on these upcoming issues:MARCH 2017: Hospitals & Healthcare FacilitiesDeadline: January 10, 2017

MAY 2017: SchoolsDeadline: March 10, 2017

APRIL 2017: Hardware Trends/TechnologiesDeadline: February 10, 2017

ABH Manufacturers 1

Akron Hardware 13

dormakaba 7

JLM Wholesale 11

Royal Arch 23

Salsbury Industries 39

Security Door Controls 45

Security Lock Distributors Inside front and back covers

Top Notch Distributors 5

DHI Ads

Advertise in D+H 59

Architects Advocacy 49

Call for Nominations 31

Career Center Inside back cover

CoNEXTions 2017 20–21

Door + Hardware Industry Associate 43

DHI Social Media 53

DHI Store 38

Door Security & Safety Foundation Contributors 28–29

DHI Education 40–41

Opening the Door to School Safety 27

PartnerShip 2

Ad IndexJanuary 2017 | 2017 Economic Forecast


Ghost Ship Warehouse Fire. 36 Dead. How Could This Be?

“The Ghost Ship,” as it was known, was a rented warehouse (10,000 sq. ft.) located in Oakland, Calif., that had been converted to an artist collective known as Satya Yuga, and additionally, into living spaces. The warehouse was also used for hosting music concerts, which were held on the second floor.

Oakland’s warehouses, for decades, have been a haven for art-ists. Unfortunately, with the tech boom of nearby San Francisco spreading east to Oakland, rent in the area has risen as much as 70 percent over the last five years (more than any large city in the nation). This has caused many artists to make a choice between living under dangerous circumstances—such as “underground” con-verted warehouses like the Ghost Ship—or being homeless.

What makes these converted warehouses so dangerous is the fact that they are often not up to proper building or fire codes. In the Ghost Ship, for example, access to the second floor was by two stairways; one stairway was hidden behind the stage—a Ghost Ship “secret passage”—and had exposed electrical wires draped over it, while the main stairway was single file, constructed partially of stacked pallets. Neither stairway led to an exit on the first floor, which meant that from the second floor, there was no exit that could lead occupants directly to the outside of the building.

What’s more, the first floor—described as a labyrinth of artists’ materials, collectibles and makeshift living quarters—contained sev-eral RVs that were also being used as living quarters. Here, propane tanks were used to heat an improvised shower, electricity was made available via ad-hoc wiring, and generators, hot plates and space heaters were being used to help make the warehouse livable. These conditions, ultimately, became a recipe for disaster.

On the night of Dec. 2, 2016, an estimated 50 to 100 people had gathered on the second floor of the Ghost Ship to attend a concert. It was this same night, at about 11:20 p.m., that a fire started at the back of the building on the first floor, spreading quickly. It’s evident the building was not up to code for its current use, as it lacked the proper means of egress—emphasized by the fact that there were no emergency exits, particularly on the second floor—and all visi-bility was eliminated once the electricity failed.

Additionally, it is not clear whether fire extinguishers had been provided by the building owner; those owned and used by ware-house residents were not effective on the growing fire. Despite the rapid response by local firefighters, who arrived at the Ghost Ship at approximately 11:27 p.m., 36 people—all but one of them con-cert-goers—tragically perished that night.

Although the City of Oakland had received several complaints about the Ghost Ship over the years, the warehouse hadn’t been inspected internally since the 1980s. While the city did attempt to inspect the warehouse on Nov. 17 and 18 of this year, in response to a complaint on Nov. 14, they were unable to gain access to the building.

Unfortunately, Oakland, like many cities, has suffered from years of budget cuts and staff reductions, which may or may not have played a role in the Ghost Ship “falling off the radar” of the Oakland Fire Department’s safety inspections process. Another reason for this, perhaps, is the fact that the position of fire marshal had been vacant for some time—until it was filled about two years ago—even though California law requires the position be staffed.

The Ghost Ship fire, as we know, has forced the City of Oakland into the national spotlight. It has demonstrated, again, what we’ve learned from previous catastrophic fires: adequate functioning exits and emergency lighting are critical for life safety in emergency situations.

In the wake of this tragedy, I’m reminded of a quote attributed to George Santayana: “Those who cannot remember the past are con-demned to repeat it.” Yet, in too many cases, building and fire codes are strongly enforced after a tragic incident has occurred. Never should it take a tragedy to prompt the enforcement of these codes.

JOHN WOESTMAN is Director of Codes & Government Affairs for the Builders Hardware Manufacturers Association. He can be reached at [email protected].

By John Woestman


Closing Thoughts

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2017 economic forecast - amazon s3 · construction starts in 2017 to increase 5% to $713 billion...

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