If your warehouse or building has a commercial garage door, it's likely quite important to your business. You open and close it multiple times a day every time something arrives or ships out. If your door suddenly goes on the fritz, this could slow down your entire operation. To ensure that your commercial garage door continues operating as it should day in and day out, here are some tips to keep in mind.

1. Make Sure Only Trained Employees Operate It

A commercial garage door has more components to it than the door you likely have at your house, including numerous mechanisms designed with safety in mind. It may require multiple steps to safely and properly open and close the door. For best results, only allow employees who you have trained on opening and closing the door to use it. A novice or rookie employee that doesn't know what he or she is doing might end up forcing the door along the track or making another mistake that could lead to damage or a safety concern. Let your loaders and unloaders handle the door and have the rest of the team hang back.

2. Periodically Run a Safety Test

All garage doors come with safety mechanisms designed to reserve or stop a door that is in motion if someone or something moves underneath it. About once a month, grab a piece of plywood or an old piece of inventory or equipment that you don't need and put it under the door as it begins to close. The door should stop before or during the very second it makes contact with the obstruction. Do this test regularly to ensure a safe working environment for all employees and to ensure that a potential safety issue can be caught before it causes a problem that slows down your entire operation.

3. Form a Long-Term Partnership with a Garage Door Technician

Commercial garage doors endure a lot more use than the typical residential door. It's for this reason that you should be getting your door or doors professionally serviced by a garage door technician much more often than you would for the door you have at home. A good technician can spot potential problems and provide the maintenance necessary to correct the problem before it turns into an actual repair that could cost your company money or put your door out of order. Contact a local garage door services like Shoff Door Co for more information