The brief
A retailer has added click and collect doors to its stores over several years, each built by a different builder. Staff push loaded trolleys over a roller door track and a small concrete lip. Some stores bought stock rubber ramps, and some of those have curled at the edge and become trip points. Head office wants one answer that works at every door.
Step one: measure every door
A drawing does not show a worn track or a slab that has settled, so every door in scope is measured on site:
- The rise from the outside surface to the track or sill
- The clear opening, including the roller door guides
- The outside surface, and whether it falls away from the door
- What crosses the door: trolleys, pallet jacks, prams, wheelchairs
- Drainage, so a ramp does not hold water against the door
Each door gets a photo and a short condition note.
Step two: group the doors by rise
AS 1428.1 limits a threshold ramp to a gradient of 1:8, a rise of 35 mm and a length of 280 mm. That limit splits the fleet straight away.
| Group | Measured rise | Answer |
|---|---|---|
| A | Up to 35 mm | Threshold ramp, one kit |
| B | Over 35 mm | Step ramp or longer ramp, which needs more floor space and its own kit |
| C | Damaged track, sill or slab | Repair first, then ramp |
Most doors land in one or two groups, which is what makes a single standard possible. Whether a particular doorway must comply with AS 1428.1, and which edition applies, is decided by the retailer's certifier or access consultant. The program builds to what they set.
Step three: freeze the kit
For each group, one kit is written down: material, length, width to suit the opening, edge profile, fixing method and finish. Recycled rubber such as Tyrex suits most threshold doors. It grips when wet, stays quiet under trolley wheels and can be cut to a measured opening. The kit replaces the stock ramps that curled.
Step four: fabricate, install and report
Ramps are made to each measured opening rather than trimmed on the day. Crews registered on the retailer's contractor platform fit them, usually in one visit per store. Each store closes with before and after photos and a note of the kit installed, so a store refitted later can order the same ramp again.
