Door Industry Journal - Summer 2013

Also online at: www.dijonline.co.uk 56 THE door industry journal summer 2013 building hardware feature PUTTING STANDARDS TO THE TEST The increasing ratification of standards, as well as the mandatory nature of newer regulations is changing the construction landscape for products at all levels of the specification chain. Here, Ian Bridge from the ASSA ABLOY Test Lab discusses how these changes are affecting the lock and hardware industry at a practical level and in the test lab from day to day. The introduction of the Construction Products Regulation (CPR) across Europe this summer is going to change the market for lock and hardware manufacturers. Similarly, the push for Building Information Modelling (BIM) and the stipulation of these factors in most government and commercial specifications is changing the degree to which products are tested. Environmental Product Declarations (EDPs) too, will change the basic requirements for buildings. Born out of the Construction Products Regulation (CPR) - the same regulation coming into effect in July 2013 giving rise to obligatory CE Marking - EPDs will require all construction works to be designed, built and demolished in such a way that the use of natural resources is sustainable. In Germany, these are already a mandatory requirement on all government projects and the UK is expected to follow. The speed at which the industry’s legislation has evolved over the past decade is increasingly being driven by the impacts of globalisation. This external change to the business landscape has encouraged the aggregation of national and international standards. Homegrown standards are being replaced, and responsible parties in the supply chain have to look outwards to European Norms, with Pan-European standards dictating product specs and testing levels. There is also growth on an international scale, as standards are increasingly developed and published via the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Businesses that fail to recognise this necessity are at risk of being frozen out of profitable emerging markets, to great commercial loss. Whilst the push for higher standards across all levels of new build and refurbishment projects is significantly improving the professionalism of the industry, as well as the standard of product manufacturing, with it comes increased financial pressure on manufacturers. The value of these government and large commercial projects has to be balanced with the cost of the testing programmes. Increasingly as standards move from being country specific to pan-European and even international, products that have already met country specific standards are in need of re-testing to the latest or re-drafted standards. The issuing of new standards not only affects manufacturers who may need to develop new or retest existing products, but testing facilities also need to continually adapt and develop resources to meet with the latest changes in legislation. Engineers in the ASSA ABLOY testing lab are actively involved in advising the panels that create product and industry standards but ultimately the final decision and therefore developing testing rigs to meet with the legislative changes is dictated by the committee’s decision. This means that whilst a performance standard may work ‘on paper’ there can be challenges in proving the required standard has been met on a practical level. It is often the case that whilst a product can be developed and designed to meet with the latest industry and legislative demands, proving this can create difficulties. Standards are developed with the product and end use in mind, rather than the practicalities of testing it. This approach is of course crucial in creating products - either singularly or as part of a doorset, which are fit for purpose and provide the security and durability needed for effective use in ‘real-life’ situations. Testing facilities, therefore, have a unique and unenviable responsibility for designing rigs and methods that can help products prove their effectiveness and aid them in meeting the prescribed standards. Whilst there are strict standards for products, there are no rules or guidelines to legislate for how they should be tested. For example, whilst it may stipulate the number of cycles a product should be tested for or the length of time it should be exposed to humidity, there is little guidance or assistance in developing the methods for completing this process. The