The short answer
Most industrial roller shutters should be serviced every six to twelve months: every six months if the door opens many times a day or takes knocks, every twelve if it is lightly used. Fire shutters need at least a yearly service with a drop test. The maker's instructions and your own risk assessment set the exact interval.
On this page
The usual intervals
No regulation sets a single number of months. What the law asks is that the door is kept in efficient working order and safe, and the interval follows from how hard the door works. In practice most firms and sites settle on these:
| Shutter | Typical service interval | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Industrial shutter, light use | Every 12 months | A few cycles a day, sheltered, no impact damage |
| Industrial shutter, busy dock or yard | Every 6 months | Many cycles a day, forklift traffic, weather |
| Shopfront shutter, opened daily | Every 6 to 12 months | Twice-daily cycles add up; motors and springs wear |
| Fire shutter | At least every 12 months, with a drop test | Fire safety equipment the responsible person must maintain |
| Shutter in a harsh environment | Every 3 to 6 months | Food washdown, chemicals, coastal air, dust |
If a shutter’s controller counts cycles, that count is a better guide than the calendar. Springs in particular are designed for a number of cycles, not a number of years.
What the law says
Two sets of rules apply to most powered shutters at work.
The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 require workplace equipment, which includes doors, to be maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair (regulation 5). Regulation 18 adds that powered doors must have features to stop them trapping people and must be stoppable in an emergency. Those features, the safety edges, photocells and emergency stops, only work if someone checks them.
For fire shutters, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 in England and Wales makes the responsible person keep fire safety equipment maintained in efficient working order and good repair (article 17). A fire shutter that has not been drop tested is an unknown. Scotland has equivalent duties under its own fire safety law.
What a service visit should cover
A proper service is more than oil and a quick look. Ask for a written report covering:
- The curtain and guides: damaged or missing laths, end locks, wear in the guides, wind locks where fitted.
- The counterbalance: springs, barrel, bearings and end plates, and how the curtain balances by hand on manual doors.
- The drive: motor, brake, gearbox or chain, hand chain or manual override, and the limits.
- Safety devices: safety edge, photocells, emergency stop, and on fire shutters the release mechanism, governor and the link to the alarm.
- Force check: on powered shutters that can trap someone, a measurement against the limits in BS EN 12453 where the engineer carries the meter.
- A status for each door: safe, safe but needs work, or taken out of use.
Keep every report. After an incident, the maintenance record is the first thing an insurer or inspector will ask for.
What it costs
A routine service visit on one shutter typically costs £80 to £180 before VAT, with industrial doors toward the top. Fire shutters with a drop test are typically £300 to £600 a year each. Sites with many doors usually pay a price per door per visit under a contract, and the unit price falls as the door count rises. The servicing page sets out what a good contract includes.
Signs a shutter needs attention before its next service
- It is noisier than it was, or judders on the way up or down.
- It stops or reverses part way for no visible reason.
- The curtain sits unevenly or rubs in one guide.
- The bottom rail no longer seals at the floor.
- A manual door feels heavier than usual.
Any of these can be the start of a spring, motor or safety device failure. If you see them, take a look at our notes on industrial door repairs and get it checked.
To set up servicing for one shutter or a whole estate, tell us about the doors and we will find a specialist who covers your area.