Turnstile Passthrough Rates
How to Determine Turnstile Lane Quantity for Efficient Traffic Flow
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Picking the right model of turnstile and the right quantity are important factors to consider when determining what will become a successful crowd management solution.
Realistically, five seconds is a fair approximation/average on how long it takes for a person with an ID to go through a turnstile – however, there is misleading information about how many people can really move through a barrier in a given amount of time.
Much of it is based on technical data – from the speed of the reader to the database, to the gate – and mathematical projections with perfect timing. However, practical experience has shown us that the slowest portion of the entry/exit cycle isn’t the technology, but the pace of the people moving through it – those searching for credentials in their wallets and purses or opening their apps at the very last second!
Of course, user training and the type of ID used – proximity cards are faster than swipe cards for example – will improve passage times. Another way to reduce passage time is to add more turnstile lanes side-by-side, or when space is a concern, to use tandem turnstiles. These units allow more people to pass from one area to another while taking up less physical space.
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How many people can pass through a turnstile per minute?
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Security checkpoints often have multiple steps. We design systems with this flow in mind for maximum efficiency and comfort of passage space.
- Approximate Passthrough Rates
- Full Height Turnstile / 10 people per minute (ppm)
- Full Height ADA Gate / 6 ppm
- Waist-High Motorized Gate / 6 ppm
- Full Height Man Trap / 3 ppm
- Optical Speed Gates Barrier / 20 ppm
- Optical Speed Gates Barrier-Free / 30 ppm
*Note on Motorized Timing: Typically, motorized gates and turnstiles have programmable timing. It can take 1 second to open and 1 second to close; we recommend ADA gates be set to stay open for 7 seconds. Optical sensors respond immediately and offer faster throughput than motorized automatic gates without optics/photo beams.
Note: Rates are estimated and obtained from testing technical data from manufacturing. Real time may vary depending on ID type and user training.
Passage Time Example
A well-designed entrance system utilizes the best type of turnstile/gate and the right quantity for optimal passage efficiency, function, appearance. Contact TURNSTILES.us for a consultation.
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