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Soccer World Cup 2010 - Doormanagement system for the World cup |
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Tuesday, 07 September 2010 12:31 |
 A tremendous event backed up by stellar products made in Germany
With 32 nations dreaming of sporting glory as the Soccer World Cup in South Africa unfolds from June 11 to July 11, behind the scenes nothing has been left to chance on the safety and security front. All ten of the South African football arenas have been equipped with advanced technology in order to ensure that the fans and their sporting heroes are constantly kept safe and sound – with a major portion of the door and emergency exit and escape route systems, for example, having been provided by Dorma. Spread around the country, five brand new, state-of-the-art stadiums, – in Durban, Cape town, Port Elizabeth, Polokwane and Nelspruit – were completed last year alone in readiness for the World Cup. The German architectural firm Gerkan, Marg und Partner (gmp) was, through its branch in South Africa’s legislative capital Cape Town, among those heavily involved in the planning of these sporting amphitheatres. These top architects have a long-standing and excellent reputation as specialists in stadium design. And naturally, they are always keen to ensure that the products they use are from top manufacturers offering excellence in quality. One of the soccer venues designed by gmp for the FIFA World Cup is the impressive Moses Mabhida Stadium, the most striking feature of which is a steel arch that, extending to a height of 104 metres, spans the entire arena. Soon, up to 70,000 excited football fans will be streaming through its gates. And when, on June 13, the German team under trainer Jogi Loew has its opening Group D game there against Australia’s Socceroos under Dutchman Pim Verbeek, all present will be able to rely on the safety and security offered by the products from Dorma. Take, for example, its door control hardware. The swing door operators and invisibly integrated floor springs serve to automatically open and close the stadium doors for maximum convenience and safety. And this manufacturer headquartered in Ennepetal, Germany, is also responsible for a broad range of the glass fittings and accessories installed, not to mention the emergency exit and escape route control systems. Naturally, the doors throughout the VIP area and the presidential atrium are also equipped with safety and security systems from Dorma.
 If ever panic should break out in a stadium, it is vital that the people caught up in flight can quickly escape to safety outside, so the equipment enabling this must be utterly reliable. All the emergency exits – normally locked to prevent access by unauthorised personnel – must be immediately releasable in such events. In the case of the Dorma automatic doors in South Africa's World Cup stadia, the electronic controls ensure that opening is possible at all times – and without fail. But specifiers are unwilling to rely on electronics alone. So safety is further enhanced by Dorma’s manually operated panic exit devices – push bars that merely need to be leaned against to open the door and escape the danger. [www.dorma.com]
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