NFMT 2026 Field Guide: Reducing Door Emergencies for Facilities Teams

How To Turn a Trade Show Visit Into Better Doors and Fewer Headaches

NFMT 2026 in Charlotte brings together people who do the same hard job in different buildings. They keep facilities open, safe and running. They manage aging assets and new technology. And they carry the stress when something simple, like a door, stops working at the worst time.

On the show floor, you will hear a lot about smart systems, HVAC, cleaning automation, healthy buildings,  AI and software . All important. But every facilities director and maintenance manager knows how quickly a failed entrance, a temperamental slider or a poorly chosen new door can undo a good day.

This field guide is about using NFMT to make better decisions about both sides of your door program:

• Who installs and upgrades your automatic doors
• Who services and maintains them over time

Advanced Door Automation does both. The team designs and installs automatic door systems and provides ongoing commercial door service, emergency repair and preventive maintenance for major brands. The ideas here come from what their customers have learned the hard way.

>> Facility leaders can register for NFMT 2026 at no cost using ADA’s complimentary registration link (a $199 value): click here. <<
 

Why Door Choices At NFMT Are About Projects And Operations

“Doors sit where capital projects and daily operations meet. A well‑designed automatic entrance, installed correctly, reduces emergencies and supports accessibility and security”, said Matt Stuka, General Manager of Advanced Door Automation. “A poorly chosen or poorly installed one becomes a constant source of callbacks. NFMT is the perfect moment for leaders to rethink how both sides of that equation work.”

NFMT is one of the few times you can talk, in one place, to companies that both install and service automatic doors. It is a chance to think beyond the next repair ticket and ask whether your future projects will make your life easier or harder.

Advanced Door Automation often steps into situations where an earlier installation never really fit the space. A retail entrance might be underpowered for the traffic. A healthcare door might not match survey expectations. In those cases, service alone cannot fix the underlying issue. A better installation is part of the answer.

Trap One: Treating Automatic Door Installation As A Commodity

When a project needs new automatic doors, it can be tempting to pick the lowest bid and move on. The real cost shows up later if that installation leads to chronic issues.

An automatic door installation is not just hardware. It is design, engineering and integration. The solution has to match traffic levels, environment, accessibility needs and security requirements. It also has to be installed to manufacturer standards so warranties hold and safety systems work properly.

At NFMT, ask potential partners how they handle automatic door installations. Do they simply sell products, or do they design and install full entrance systems with long‑term performance in mind? Advanced Door Automation plans and installs automatic sliding doors, swing operators and other systems knowing they will also be the ones servicing them later. That creates a natural focus on doing it right the first time.

Trap Two: Splitting Installation And Service Across Different Vendors

Many facilities inherit a split model. One company did the original installation. Another company now handles repairs. When problems appear, it can be hard to tell whether the issue is design, product choice, installation quality or simple wear.

When the installer and the service provider are different, it is easier for each to point at the other. The only constant is that your team still deals with downtime and complaints.

Working with a partner who both installs and services automatic doors brings everything under one roof. The same organization that provided the automatic door installation understands how the system is built and what each component does. When that same partner also handles emergency door repair and preventive maintenance agreements, they have a strong reason to recommend solutions that stay reliable.

Advanced Door Automation fills both roles for many customers. The result is a single point of accountability and a cleaner story when you have to explain what is happening at a specific entrance.

Trap Three: Treating Repairs And Capital Planning As Separate Worlds

Repair work usually lives in the operating budget. Installations and upgrades live in capital planning. On paper they are separate. In real life, they are tightly connected.

If you are sending technicians to the same door over and over, that is a signal. It may mean the door was never the right type for that location. It may mean the original installation is at the end of its useful life. It may mean the building has changed around it.

A useful vendor will not just keep fixing the same failure. They will use service history to tell you when it is time to stop patching and start planning a smarter automatic door installation or upgrade.

Advanced Door Automation uses what technicians see in the field to guide those recommendations. When certain entrances keep showing up in the service log, they become part of the conversation about future projects instead of staying an endless line item.

Trap Four: Overlooking Documentation For Both Projects And Service

Documentation is what connects today’s work to tomorrow’s decisions. For installations, it explains what was installed, how it was configured and what standards it meets. For service, it records what was found, what was done and what should happen next.

If your installation partner does not provide clear drawings, setup details and warranty information, you will struggle to manage those doors over time. If your service partner does not provide plain‑language notes after each commercial door service or emergency repair, you will struggle to justify costs or build a case for replacements.

Advanced Door Automation treats documentation as part of the job. After an automatic door installation, customers know exactly what they have. After each service visit, they get clear, useful notes. When you meet vendors at NFMT, ask to see samples of both project and service documentation. It is an easy way to see how well they will support you when your leaders or inspectors ask tough questions.

Trap Five: Ignoring How New Installations Affect Future Service

Every new door installed today becomes a service responsibility tomorrow. Brand choices, configurations and integrations all influence how hard that door will be to maintain.

A company that both installs and services automatic doors has a front‑row view of which products and setups hold up best in real conditions. They see which sliding systems handle heavy retail traffic, which swing operators perform well in healthcare, and which components make repairs straightforward instead of painful.

Advanced Door Automation uses that field insight when recommending automatic door installations and upgrades. The goal is not just a smooth start‑up, but doors that are easier to maintain, with parts and expertise readily available for years.

A Simple Three Step Commercial Door Plan Around NFMT

You do not need a complicated plan to get more from NFMT. You just need to connect what you see at the show to what you live with in your buildings.

1. Before NFMT, think of two doors that represent your world. Choose one entrance that needs a better automatic solution and one that keeps sending you back to the service log. Jot down when those problems show up, who they affect and how your current vendors respond.
2. During NFMT, bring those examples into your conversations. When you talk with a door provider, ask how they would redesign and install a new automatic entrance for your problem location, and how they would then support that door with preventive maintenance and emergency service. You are listening for a clear, practical answer that links projects and operations.
3. After the show, pick one partner whose answers felt grounded and relevant. Set up a short conversation about a specific automatic door installation or upgrade you have on your list, and ask them to pair it with a service plan that keeps that new door dependable. If the plan is clear and realistic, you have someone worth testing on a small but important piece of your world.

How Advanced Door Automation Supports Facilities Teams

Advanced Door Automation is built to help facilities teams with both new doors and existing ones. The company designs and installs automatic door systems for new construction and retrofits, and it provides ongoing commercial door service, preventive maintenance and emergency repair for automatic and manual doors across major brands.

On the project side, ADA works with owners, facility leaders and contractors to choose and install the right automatic doors for each opening, taking into account usage, environment, codes and future maintenance. On the operations side, ADA backs those doors with responsive service, consistent certified technicians and documentation you can share without rewriting.

If you manage facilities and you are planning to attend  NFMT 2026 in Charlotte, this is a good moment to rethink both how you install doors and how you keep them running. Start with one entrance that needs a smarter automatic door installation and one that keeps failing. Use NFMT to explore options, then let Advanced Door Automation help you turn those two doors into a better pattern for the rest of your portfolio.

Facility leaders can register for NFMT 2026 at no cost using ADA’s complimentary registration link (a $199 value): click here