ASSA ABLOY Door Group is urging building owners and facilities managers to take a lifecycle approach to the management of doors, with regular inspection, maintenance and repair playing an important role in keeping buildings safe, compliant and operational.

Doors are among the most frequently used elements of a building, yet their condition can change significantly over time because of heavy use, damage, and wear and changes to the building or its use.

For building owners and those responsible for managing estates, ensuring that doors remain fit for purpose should therefore be an ongoing responsibility rather than something addressed only when a problem occurs.

This is particularly important for doors that perform a safety-critical function. Fire doors, for example, need to remain in suitable condition so that they can perform as intended in the event of a fire, while doors providing security, access control or emergency egress also need to remain operational and properly maintained.

A reactive approach, where maintenance only takes place once a door has stopped working or visibly deteriorated, can increase the risk of disruption and potentially allow relatively minor issues to develop into more significant problems.

A planned approach to maintenance can help organisations identify wear and defects at an earlier stage, supporting timely intervention and potentially extending the useful life of door assets.

For larger estates, this also means having visibility of what doors are installed, their condition, inspection history, maintenance requirements and any remedial work that has been undertaken.

Fire door maintenance is an important part of wider building safety. Regular checks can identify issues affecting the door leaf, frame, hardware, seals, signage and clearances, while formal inspections can provide a more detailed assessment of condition and compliance.

The important point for building owners is that inspection shouldn’t be viewed as the end of the process. If an issue is identified, there needs to be a clear route to remedial action and ongoing maintenance.

Good record keeping is also increasingly important, especially when considering the requirements of the Building Safety Act and ‘golden thread’ approach to building management. Organisations need to be able to demonstrate what has been inspected, what issues have been identified and what action has been taken.

Digital lifecycle records can support this process by bringing together information about individual doors, including installation details, inspection records, repairs and service history. ASSA ABLOY Door Group’s Openings Studio provides this type of digital record for door and opening assets.

Where doors have suffered damage, replacement is not necessarily the only option. Specialist repair can sometimes restore doors and extend their useful life, particularly where damage is limited to the surface.

For building owners managing large estates, considering repair alongside replacement can form part of a more sustainable approach to asset management.

To meet these challenges, ASSA ABLOY Door Group’s Service, Maintenance & Repair team supports organisations throughout the door lifecycle, providing planned preventative maintenance, scheduled servicing, specialist inspections, repairs and lifecycle information.

This includes on-site restorative repairs for scratches, dents and other surface damage, helping to avoid unnecessary replacement costs, waste and disruption.

The team also provides certified fire door inspections by BRE and FDIS accredited professionals, with digital reports including photographic evidence, compliance status and prioritised remedial actions.

Kevin Campbell, Sales Director at ASSA ABLOY Door Group, explains: “Installing a compliant door is only one part of its lifecycle. The responsibility continues throughout the period that the door is in use.

“Building owners and facilities teams need to understand the condition of their doors, have appropriate inspection and maintenance arrangements in place, and ensure that issues identified are addressed in a timely way.” For more information on Door Group’s Service, Maintenance and Repair services, visit here.

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