Door Industry Journal - Winter 2019

Also online at: www.dijonline.co.uk 116 THE door industry journal winter 2019 Locks & Building Hardware Is ANSI the Answer? ANSI standards could be described as the USA’s equivalent of our EN standards and are administered and accredited by the American National Standards Institute from whom they take their name. Working together with the Builders’ Hardware Manufacturers Association ANSI has developed durability, strength and performance standards for almost every type of builders’ hardware. In the same way that the UK operates with EN and BS standards, products must be testified by a recognised test house before they can be listed on the Directory of Certified Products. These ANSI standards cover five major categories: door controls, hanging, locking, trimming, and power assist. Each test has cycle, functional strength, security, dimension and finish performance requirements and many tests are performed on each product. They may include: • Tension loading • Impact/force • Deadbolt torque • Retraction deadbolt • Pound exertion • Warped door • Bolt strength • Vertical load test • Security Products that receive ANSI/BHMA certification are designated as Grade 1, Grade 2 or Grade 3 which offers specifiers a “good, better, best” range of options when choosing hardware - with Grade 1 being the highest level of performance for heavy duty applications. But while two different product categories may share Grade 1 status, they may not have been evaluated by the same criteria: the standards for door closers are different from exit devices for example. Grade 2 or Grade 3 products must also pass certain standards tests, but the requirements are less stringent. These products are generally used at a lesser frequency and in less abusive environments. One major difference between ANSI and EN standards is in the cycle testing. Cycle tests specify how many cycles a product can endure while still maintaining its performance and the result provides an understanding of longevity, performance under wear and tear, operational capacity and security. In general, ANSI standards specify much higher number of cycles to be tested. Door closers for example must complete two million cycles to achieve Grade 1 accreditation, one million for grade 2, and half a million cycles for Grade 3 (which incidentally is the only requirement in BS EN 1154 for door closers in the European market). Some manufacturers have developed products that not only meet, but exceed Grade 1 standards as technology, materials and innovation outstrips the standards themselves. For example, LCN’s 4040XP series closer has been independently tested to 10 million cycles—far exceeding the requirements ANSI cycle test standard of 2,000,000 operating cycles.