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Fire Door Replacement Programme: Enhancing Safety Across Oxford’s Tower Blocks
Client: Oxford City Council
Project: Fire Door Replacement Programme: Enhancing Safety Across Oxford’s Tower Blocks
Department: Fire Solutions (Property)
Date of completion: May 2025
Budget: £1,077,000
Summary:
The ODS team successfully delivered a major fire door replacement programme across five residential tower blocks in Oxford—Foresters, Plowman, Windrush, Evenlode, and Hockmore—on behalf of Oxford City Council. Between March 2023 and May 2025, we replaced 348 front doors with fully certified, BM TRADA-rated fire door sets. This upgrade not only improved fire safety compliance but also offered residents a modern finish to their homes.
Requirements:
The existing doors were not certified for fire safety, necessitating a full replacement with BM TRADA-certified fire doors. ODS was tasked with surveying, measuring and fitting 348 new doors, some of which required custom measurements due to size variations across properties. Residents were given the option to select from blue, red, white, or green door colours. Effective communication was essential for scheduling appointments and ensuring minimal disruption, with the team needing to be flexible due to frequent rescheduling by residents.
Challenges:
Resident Scheduling: Coordinating appointments for over 300 residents was challenging due to frequent reschedules and missed appointments, which impacted the installation schedule.
Variation in Door Sizes: Many doors followed similar dimensions, but some required custom measurements, making the fitting process more complex and time-consuming.
Logistical Constraints: With only 12 doors delivered weekly and limited storage space, managing inventory and ensuring timely deliveries for each scheduled appointment posed a logistical challenge.
Solutions:
To manage the project efficiently, ODS proactively contacted residents to confirm appointments and reduce missed installations. Precise measurements were taken for each door, ensuring a proper fit. Weekly deliveries of 12 doors were coordinated with careful inventory management, and each door installation was completed in one day by a single operative. We avoided using lifts during peak hours to minimise disruption and followed strict health and safety protocols throughout the project. The team remained adaptable, rescheduling missed appointments and ensuring smooth operations.
Results:
The fire door replacement programme was completed on time, with all 348 doors successfully installed across the five tower blocks. This upgrade ensured full compliance with fire safety standards and provided residents with a choice of door colours, improving both safety and the visual appearance of the buildings. The project was delivered efficiently with minimal disruption, and residents were highly satisfied with their new doors, which also included three new keys for added security.
Feedback:
“A week ahead of schedule, very polite, tidy, clean work and friendly workforce. Very satisfied with new door job well done!”- Resident of Plowman’s Tower
“The work was done very carefully. Maintaining cleanliness during and after work” - Resident of Plowman’s Tower
“Work carried out very well. Extremely happy with service. Happy with new door. ODS team worked very hard and were nice polite and friendly” – Resident of Evenlode Tower
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