FF: Be Careful Out There
Facility managers need to carefully consider changes made to prevent virus transmission, which could affect egress, fire protection, and accessibility.
QQ: Antimicrobial Coating
Today's Quick Question: Can door hardware with an antimicrobial coating prevent the spread of COVID-19 or other viruses?
FF: Hands-Free Hardware
Covid-19 has inspired new "inventions" to help people avoid touching door hardware with their hands, to limit the spread of the virus. How can the hardware industry help?
QQ: Astragals, Rabbets, Bevels
Today's Quick Question: Is an astragal required for double-egress cross-corridor pairs in health care smoke barriers? The answer surprised me.
WWYD? Memory Care “Signs”?
One side of this device is attached to the door with double-sided tape, and the other side is magnetic. It is used in a memory care facility to indicate whether a resident's room is vacant or occupied. WWYD?
Extraneous Fire Door Assembly Labels
If a door or frame has a label indicating that is is fire rated, is the assembly required to be maintained and inspected as required by NFPA 80 and NFPA 101? A proposed code change offers a clarification.
WW: Extra Patient Room
During a flu epidemic in 1974, hospital staff was desperate to accommodate the patients needing treatment. Luckily, someone was watching out for the life safety of all of the hospital's occupants.
Spam and a UHP
What's a UHP? An Unidentified Hardware Product that I need your help to identify. But first, a note about spam - and not the canned ham-like version.
Decoded: Deterring Elopement in Health Care Facilities (September 2018)
Elopement is a real concern for certain health care facilities, and there are more options than there were 10 years ago.
FF: Hospital Latch Extension
Is it just me, or does this seem questionable on several levels (encroachment, projection into the clear opening width, potential for damage)? Is this an actual product or a creative modification?
WWYD? Joint Commission Policy Changes
I'm just going to admit it - I'm confused - and I'm hoping that someone who works more closely with the Joint Commission can help to clear this up. The Joint Commission recently distributed a document giving notice of 3 changes to their standards; 2 of the changes involve doors, and the effective date is March 11, 2018.
WWYD? Fire Door Assembly Inspection
The extended deadline has now passed. Facilities that receive funding from Medicare and/or Medicaid must have fire door assembly inspections conducted annually and documented, with any deficiencies repaired "without delay."
QQ: Are doorknobs acceptable in a hospital?
For most types of buildings, lever-handle locksets are standard equipment, but some existing buildings may be equipped with knobs. Are knobs acceptable by code in existing health care facilities?
Decoded: Protection Plates on Fire Doors (November 2017)
For such a simple piece of hardware, protection plates installed on fire doors have caused more than their fair share of trouble, particularly in health care facilities...
NFPA Video: Barrier Walls and Fire Doors
I will definitely attend at least one of Ron's classes, but if you are unable to be there, you can still get the answers to some of your questions about doors in health care facilities by watching Ron in this video...
CMS Interprets Emergency Departments to be Healthcare Occupancies
Because there are so many iDH readers who work for or with health care facilities, I am sharing this information here...
WWYD? Patient Room Door
Today's WWYD question is a tough one, and I'm hoping someone has an idea. The hospital is in Qatar, and the patient room doors are currently equipped with long pulls on both sides, and a deadbolt...
Fire Door Inspection Training
I get calls every week about training on fire door inspections - how and where to learn more. I just read that NFPA and DSSF are teaming up to provide 1-day training sessions...
WWYD? Health Care Pair
The doors have some obvious damage caused by carts contacting the push side face, and carts hitting the door edge when it's open. So...WWYD?
FDAI in the News
I have several Google News alerts set, so every day I receive a few emails with lists of articles that might be interesting to the readers of iDigHardware. There was one on today's list about fire door inspection...
Fire Door Label Mismatch
Several of the comments on Friday's post mentioned this section of NFPA 101, as a reason that labeled doors must be maintained as fire door assemblies (even if not required) or that the labels must be removed...
QQ: Can panic hardware be installed on a door that doesn’t lead to an exit?
In almost all cases, panic hardware is used on doors which are in the path of egress that eventually leads to the exit discharge. But - is it acceptable to install panic hardware on inswinging doors?
FF: Hygienic Handle
Alex Howe of Allegion sent me today's Fixed-it Friday photo of a piece of hardware he recently saw on a restroom door. Although I have never seen this product before, the plastic cover on the pull made it pretty easy to track down...
Controlled Egress vs. Delayed Egress (video)
For health care facilities, controlled egress can provide a greater level of safety for patients who require containment because of their clinical needs. This video explains the requirements for controlled egress and delayed egress...
WWYD? Roller Latches in Health Care Corridors
I've received quite a few questions about roller latches lately, with regard to the CMS prohibition on using roller latches on corridor doors in health care facilities...
New CMS Final Fire Safety Regulations – Ober|Kaler Health Law Group
This article about the updated CMS fire safety regulations crossed my desk over the weekend, and it contains a lot of information about how these changes will affect health care facilities...
WWYD? Fire Door Inspections
Will fire door inspections be enforced for health care facilities? NFPA 101-2012 clearly requires them, but it seems that more proof was needed...
WW: Cross-Corridor Door
Brian Lane of Allegion sent in the photos below (via Deputy Jeff Tock). This is a cross-corridor door in a health care facility. The wall behind the door MUST be temporary, but wow...
NFPA 101 – A few more changes…
Last week I posted my next Decoded article - about changes affecting door openings between the 2000 edition of NFPA 101 and the 2012 edition. Paul Dzurinda of Russell Phillips & Associates sent me a few more changes that we should be aware of...
Decoded: Changes to the Life Safety Code for Health Care Occupancies (July 2016)
In case you haven't noticed, there is an interesting conversation happening on my post from earlier in the week about classroom barricade devices. If you have something informative to add in response to the manufacturers of these products...
Controlled Egress vs. Delayed Egress
While delayed egress locks must automatically unlock 15 seconds after a building occupant actuates the device, a controlled egress lock allows the egress doors serving certain areas to remain locked until they are unlocked by staff, the automatic fire protection system, or power failure...
Keyes Life Safety Boot Camp
When I receive a question about the NFPA 101 - Life Safety Code requirements for health care facilities, I need to know not just what the code says but how it will be enforced...
Decoded: Delayed Egress vs. Controlled Egress (November 2015)
From the November issue of Doors & Hardware...the table below addresses the requirements for delayed egress and controlled egress, for both the IBC and NFPA 101. Do you know the difference?
Help Me Help You (please)
I need your help! And for the first 10 people who find a mistake that nobody else has found, I'll send you a $25 Amazon.com gift card by email (limit - one gift card per person).
Delayed Egress vs. Controlled Egress
Delayed egress vs. controlled egress...can you explain the difference? Do you know when and where each type of locking hardware is allowed, and what the IBC requires in order to ensure life safety?
WWYD? Assisted Living Entries
I am often asked whether it is code-compliant to install a separate deadbolt with a latchset or lockset on a dwelling unit entry door in an assisted living facility. Most doors in a means of egress are required to unlatch with one operation for egress. While there is an exception...
Decoded: Patient Room Doors in Health Care Occupancies (August 2015)
The recent nursing home fire in central China which killed 38 elderly residents is a deadly reminder of the responsibility of these facilities to keep their residents safe. While the code requirements for health care facilities and nursing homes go far beyond the doors, frames, and hardware, there are some important considerations for door openings...
When is a door not a door?
A couple of months ago I wrote a post about murals in health care occupancies and a change to the 2015 edition of NFPA 101 - The Life Safety Code. I just read an article in Australian Ageing Agenda about the practice of disguising doors in memory care units, and how this affects the patients...
Decoded: Double-Egress Pairs in a Health Care Occupancy (June 2015)
There is an IBC exception regarding smoke barrier doors that has to be one of the most confusing and widely debated door-related sections in the code. In the 2015 edition, Section 709.5 Exception 1 exempts smoke barrier doors in some health care occupancies from the requirements that apply to smoke barriers in other locations...
FF: VA Hospital
I'm spending time at a VA hospital, where my father is currently in hospice care. Even under these circumstances I can't help looking at the hardware, and I know my father would tell me to go ahead and share it. I haven't taken many photos but there are a couple below. In case I don't get a chance to post tomorrow, consider this an early Fixed-it Friday post...
Infant Abduction
There was an important change to the 2015 International Building Code (IBC) that could help to reduce the occurrence of child abduction from hospitals. Many maternity wards have infant abduction systems that use a sensor to activate a delayed egress lock when a baby is taken near the exit. But for some facilities, delayed egress locks may not be enough...
Murals in Health Care Occupancies
Last summer I wrote a post about the practice of disguising doors in memory care units, to help prevent patients from "eloping." I included many examples of doors with painted or adhesive murals, disguising doors as bookcases, gardens, wheat fields...basically anything other than an exit that might tempt a patient. I researched the codes at that time, and there was nothing that would allow the use of murals to disguise exits. It goes against the familiar IBC requirement: "Means of egress doors shall be readily distinguishable from the adjacent construction and finishes such that the doors are easily recognizable as doors. Mirrors or similar reflecting materials shall not be used on means of egress doors. Means of egress doors shall not be concealed by curtains, drapes, decorations or similar materials."
Locked Egress Doors in Health Care Facilities
In January of this year, I wrote about a tragic fire at a senior home in L'Isle Verte, Quebec, in which 32 of the home's residents were killed. The inquest into this incident is currently underway, and I've been keeping an ear to the ground to see if there are any lessons to share...
Rescue Hardware on Corridor Doors
Is rescue hardware allowed on a corridor door in a hospital or nursing home? Is the door able to provide an effective barrier to limit the passage of smoke without the frame stop?
FF: Disguised Doors
For those of us concerned with egress requirements, disguising the egress side of a door is a questionable method of preventing elopement, since egress doors must be readily distinguishable...
WW: Duct Tape
I received this photo from Chuck Noble of Certified Fire Door, and it is the epitome of Wordless Wednesday...
Memory Care Egress
To some, locking doors to prevent egress may seem like a step backward. But in some applications, the danger of elopement is much greater than potential hazards of controlled egress. Until now, it has been difficult for memory care facilities to balance the code requirements for free egress or delayed egress, with the needs of their residents...
Q&A: Life Safety Code 2012
A few years ago I met Brad Keyes of Keyes Life Safety Compliance, who is a terrific resource when it comes to life safety questions about health care facilities. When I received the question below I sent it to Brad, and his answer was so comprehensive and helpful that I asked if I could post it here. It is relevant to all types of health care facilities, not just ambulatory health care. Thank you Brad, for allowing me to share this information!
Effects of Earthquake Damage on Fire Safety
While this test report was not heavy on door-related data, I thought some of you would enjoy reading about this groundbreaking study which looked at how a test building was affected by several simulated earthquakes, and then how the damaged building's fire safety systems performed in a series of fire tests. I found the video below fascinating:
WW: Cut here to exit.
This photo was taken in a health care facility and was sent to me by both Jim Jensen and Jeff Tock of Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies. :-(