Automatic Gates
Gate Automation & Access Control
Motors, intercoms, keypads, fobs, ANPR and app-based access, the layer that decides who your gate opens for, installed and maintained.
Automation & access control
The gate opens, for the right people
The gate is only half the system, the other half decides who it opens for. Gate automation pairs the motor and controller with the access layer: fobs and keypads for staff, intercoms for visitors, GSM dial-in for remote release, ANPR for known vehicles and app-based control where residents or customers manage their own access. Avanti Doors automates existing gates and installs complete access-controlled entrances across the UK from our Norfolk base.
Where it fits
Every controlled entrance, existing gates included
Most access-control work starts with a gate the site already owns: a manual gate that needs automating, an automated gate whose controls have aged out, or a working entrance whose credential system no longer matches how the site is used. Because the automation layer is modular, controller, drive, safety devices, credentials, it can usually be renewed or extended without replacing the leaves, which is where the best value hides.
The reference jobs show the range: at Shurgard Wandsworth we installed D6500 bi-folding gates driven by a Feig controller with inverter, four category-rated safety edges, twin photocells at two heights and app-based customer access, a fully unattended commercial entrance. In South London the job was the opposite shape: an existing sliding gate and its access control overhauled and returned to safe service. Both ended the same way, commissioned as one machine, force-tested to EN 12453, documented at handover.
Before specification
What the access-control survey establishes
Users, credentials, fail behaviour and safety integration are designed together, the credential list drives the hardware, not the other way round.
Who needs access, and how
Staff, residents, visitors, deliveries, waste collection and emergency services all enter differently. The credential mix, fob, code, intercom, ANPR, app, is designed around the real user list, not a default.
Controller and drive
The motor, gearbox and controller are matched to the gate's weight, span and cycle count; industrial systems add inverter drives and three-phase motors where daily traffic demands them.
Fail behaviour
What the entrance does on power failure, fire alarm or system fault, locked, released or open, is a security and safety decision made explicitly at specification, never left to default.
Safety integration
Access control never bypasses safety: EN 12453 edges, photocells and force limits stay active however the gate was triggered, and E-stops remain reachable.
Common questions
Gate automation & access control FAQs
Quick answers for sites planning automation, credentials or an access-control refresh.
1Can you add access control to a gate you didn't install?
Yes, provided the gate and its safety equipment are sound (which the survey checks first), a new controller, intercom, keypad, fob reader or ANPR camera can be integrated with most existing automation. At a South London site we overhauled an existing sliding gate and its access control together in one visit.
2What is app-based gate access and does it work for commercial sites?
The gate is triggered from a smartphone app, with permissions managed centrally, useful wherever the user list changes constantly. At Shurgard's self-storage site in Wandsworth the bi-folding gates we installed are opened through the Shurgard app, so every customer carries their own credential and access rights end when their contract does.
3Which is better, keypad, fob, intercom or ANPR?
They solve different problems and most sites combine two or three: fobs or codes for regulars, an intercom to a manned point (or GSM to a phone) for visitors, and ANPR where barrier-free flow for known vehicles matters. The design starts from who arrives at the gate on a normal day, and on an abnormal one.
4Does adding access control affect gate safety compliance?
It must not, however the gate is commanded, EN 12453 protection stays in force: photocells, safety edges, limited forces and emergency release all operate regardless of the credential used. We commission and force-test the entrance as one machine. Our engineers hold Gate Safe qualifications and Avanti is a DHF member.
Access-control support
Make the entrance run itself
Tell us who needs to get in, staff, visitors, customers, deliveries, and we will design the credential mix, automation and safety package that lets the gate manage them unattended.
- Support scope
- Fobs, keypads, intercoms, GSM, ANPR, app access
- Existing gates automated where sound
- EN 12453 safety kept in force
- Controls repairs and upgrades
Documented work
Recent automation projects
These project pages describe the actual equipment, site and work completed.
Explore more