GEZE UK picked for Sentinel's school projects

To produce a doorset that provides a total answer for schools and the education sector is a major challenge. GEZE UK has teamed up with Leaderflush Shapland to create Sentinel, an attractive and robust door set that provides an ‘all in one’ solution for specifiers. Sentinel provides the answers to fire, smoke, anti finger entrapment and durability.

As the UK’s leading manufacturer of door and window control systems, GEZE UK was chosen by Leaderflush Shapland to join their project team to help design and develop a brand new door set specifically for the education market. According to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA), 30,000 children trap and seriously injure their fingers in doors every year, so the new product needed to address the potentially dangerous hinge edge of a door.

A scalloped, pivoted design was chosen to remove the dangerous door edge and decorative timber elements were added to ensure Sentinel met architects’ desires for aesthetics as well as meeting the highest safety standards. GEZE UK developed its TS 3000 EC door closer to include an adjustable hydraulic latching action, closing force and speed control, and a sleek guide rail rather than an obtrusive arm to make it safer for both teachers and students.

Working closely with Leaderflush Shapland, GEZE UK advised on ways to optimise performance and comply with legislation, ensuring the TS 3000 EC has been rigorously tested, conforms to EN 1154 and is fire tested to EN 1634-1 (CF 145), bridging the gap between the stringent fire regulations and Approved Document M (ADM) of the Building Regulations.

As an all-in-one solution, seals and essential ironmongery are included within the package, eliminating the risk of certification problems, while materials used are FSC accredited or FSC neutral, so Sentinel is environmentally friendly as well as being one of the most effective and unobtrusive finger protection solutions in the marketplace.

Ray Anning, Head of Technical and NPD for Leaderflush Shapland said: “GEZE UK were always responsive to our needs and offered the best technical support available in the UK, while their knowledge of the wider market is second to none. The technical team was able to offer advice on performance and legislation as well as adapting and developing a surface-mounted closer that completely fitted the bill. We believe we can now offer architects and specifiers a unique all-in-one product that takes the risk out of decision-making.”

GEZE UK’s technical director Simon Bowden added: “This integral solution satisfies important performance requirements, from compliant opening forces to fire resistance, and is ideal for educational environments, nurseries, health centres, hospitals and commercial applications. Working with Leaderflush Shapland, GEZE UK has been able to share its knowledge, expertise and innovative approach in a way that has set a new benchmark for the industry. Collaboration can help everyone think differently about traditional products and problems.”