Gai GUIDE to STANDARDS

advancing architectural ironmongery

Number 1, May 2019 GAi GUIDE TO STANDARDS

AN INTRODUCTION TO STANDARDS

Kindly sponsored by PAGE 2 MAY 2019 GAI Guide to Standards

AN INTRODUCTION TO STANDARDS The Guild of Architectural Ironmongers have published a series of “GAI Guides to Standards” relating to British or European Standards which are relevant to the architectural ironmongery industry. They highlight background and detail on the relevant product, provide information on the specific standard and explain what harmonisation is, where applicable. This GAI Guide provides an overview of standards.

BACKGROUND DEFINITION A standard is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as “A required or agreed level of quality or attainment”. The following definitions are taken from BS 0 : 2011 A standard for standards, Principles of standardization: Standard: document, established by consensus and approved by a recognized body, that provides, for common and repeated use, rules, guidelines or characteristics for activities or their results, aimed at the achievement of the optimum degree of order in a given context NOTE Standards should be based on the consolidated results of science, technology and experience, and aimed at the promotion of optimum community benefits. British Standard/BS: standard, developed and published by British Standards Institution following the principles set out in BS 0: 2011 CEN: European Committee for Standardization (Comité Européen de Normalisation) European standards body, of which BSI is the UK member, officially recognized by the European Union and the European Free Trade Association EN / European standard: standard adopted by CEN/CENELEC and carrying with it an obligation of implementation as an identical national standard and withdrawal of conflicting national standards HISTORY

The world of ironmongery relies heavily on British and European Standards – this is a brief history of the British Standards Institution (BSI) and how CEN became involved in the provision of standards. The roots of BSI Group (The British Standards Institution) began in 1901 as Sir John Wolfe Barry - the man who designed London’s Tower Bridge - instigated the Council of the Institution of Civil Engineers to form a committee known as the Engineering Standards Committee to consider standardizing iron and steel sections . In 1903 the need to indicate to buyers that goods were 'up to standard' led to the creation and registration of the British Standard Mark which was later to become known as the Kitemark®. The Kitemark® was first applied in 1953 to domestic furniture, pressure cookers and motorcycle helmets to help consumers know whether goods were well produced. As part of the European Union “single market” programme, it was agreed that CEN should create European Standards for many building products including doors, windows, and building hardware. Work commenced in 1989 on the development of these standards, and where they duplicated existing national standards the new “EN’s” have replaced the previous standards. This will mean that, eventually, all European countries will use the same product standards . The word standard appears from the mid-12th Century and is derived from the Old French word “estendre” meaning to stretch out.

Quotation about standards: “it's integral to the practice of being able to conduct business, that you have a set of honest standards.” – Kerry Stokes PAGE 3 MAY 2019 GAI Guide to Standards

STANDARDS - WHAT ARE THEY?

Many things at some stage of their design, manufacture, or final use, will be tested to one or more standards. Products which are obviously linked to safety can be associated quite readily with standards. Simple products like door handles and locks have many standards around the world, covering quality of materials, performance, dimensions and safety. Standards whether national or international are not intended to hinder trade but to improve it and to increase the competitiveness of industries in aiding the development of new technology and perhaps most importantly, ensuring the safety of consumer products. Standards spell out the agreed technical requirements or dimensions for a product, material, or process. With the use of standards, safety and quality are quite often very useful by-products, which benefit all parties.

HOW TO SELECT THE APPROPRIATE STANDARD There are several types of standards. Some are dimensional. This means they establish sizes to which goods should be manufactured. The old BS 1227 for hinges was like this. Other standards relate to performance - that is - capability and durability. The current BS EN 1935 for hinges is one of this type of standard. There are three types of standards in the UK, British Standards (BS), Product Assessment Specifications (PAS) and Technical Specifications (TS) The main differences are as below: • BS British Standards are developed after public enquiry and full consultation. They incorporate the views and expertise of a wide range of interests from consumers, academics, interest groups, government, business and industry. As a result, standards represent a consensus on current best practice- Any ISO or EN is adopted as a BS, after consultation • PAS Product Assessment Specification- A document developed by BSI British Standards, commissioned by an external organization; subject to stakeholders consultation but does not require full consensus. • TS Technical Specification published by BSI or industry sector- A ‘standard’ which has not achieved national consensus, but is still useful. Usually developed by an industry sector. They often refer to rapidly evolving technologies – e.g. methods of burglary. A TS can be updated quickly.

have complied. PAGE 4 MAY 2019 GAI Guide to Standards

METHODS OF TESTING – INDICATIVE V. LIFETIME

The testing of door hardware products is indicative, rather than “lifetime testing”. This means that we can extrapolate information from the results of tests which are done in a fairly short space of time. The alternative is to mount all the samples on doors and operate the full door assembly for the chosen number of cycles – or until they stop working properly. 500K cycles can take 3 months or more, as we see with the door closer test (which is not destructive). Not only does a “realistic” method take much more time, it is also much more expensive. Indicative testing takes a shorter period of time, is less expensive, and still gives valuable and useable data. Indicative testing works the product very hard and sometimes abusively – and therefore not realistically. The results of the test give an overall Category of Use – the fi st digit of the classification code. A hinge, door closer and lock which are classified as “Grade 3” category of use, will all have similar robustness and durability, even though the test cycles they completed were different. This is important – the result we are gaining is a level of robustness, not the number of cycles you might expect as a life-time. Let’s look at some examples.

• BS EN 12209 ( Mechanical Lock ) Max 200,000 cycles

There are various numbers of cycles, depending on the grade of lock. The higher grades are tested to the higher cycles, and with higher loadings on the latch and deadbolt. If a lock can survive this abusive test with little wear showing at the end, it is likely to last much longer in more normal usage. Some of the tests are carried out with high frequency – 10 cycles per minute. This stresses the metal more than normal usage.

• BS EN 179 ( Escape Hardware ) Max 200,000 cycles Similar to Locks above. • BS EN 1154 ( Door Closing Device ) Max.500,000 cycles

The door closer has to be tested by complete opening and closing cycles. It is difficult to simulate wear with a shorter test in this case. That is why they must complete 500K cycles. Even so, at the end of an almost non-stop, stressful cycle test, they must still operate at their declared closing force, and with no loss of hydraulic control. They are still in full working order. PAGE 5 MAY 2019 GAI Guide to Standards

METHODS OF TESTING – INDICATIVE V. LIFETIME

•BS EN 1906 (Lever Handles ) Max. 200,000 cycles

Similar to locks. The test is stressful and abusive for the higher grades, with a high frequency of cycles per minute. In more normal and less frequent usage, they will last much longer than 200K cycles. • BS EN 1935 ( Single-axis hinges) Max. 200,000 cycles Only one hinge is tested. Normally, there are two, three or more hinges on the door. If one hinge can last 200K abusive cycles on good condition, it will be very durable when used with two other hinges sharing the load. With the following three product groups, it is not expected that they will be used with high frequency. Locked doors are not normally used as often as unlocked doors. Door co-ordinators and bolts are usually used on the inactive leaf of a pair of doors, and therefore usually get less use. Even so, the level of robustness they demonstrate under test will give them a grade of category of use which you can trust. • BS EN 1303 (Cylinder for locks ) Max. 100,000 cycles

• BS EN 1158 ( Door Coordinator Devices ) Max 50,000 cycles

• BS EN 12051 ( Bolt and Latches ) Max. 50,000 cycles

So in conclusion, there is “lifetime testing” which will tell you how long a product might last (as long as it is used in exactly the same manner as the test regime, which is unlikely) and there is “indicative testing” which will give you a level of robustness. A more robust product is likely to last longer than a weaker one, where both are used in the same situation' PAGE 6 MAY 2019 GAI Guide to Standards

STANDARDS - THE LEGAL ASPECT Under Part 1 of the Consumer Protection Act, a company is directly liable if damage is caused by a fault with its products. Obviously, there is no sure defence, but if a company can prove that the product meets safety levels of a British Standard, then they are showing that they have tried to ensure that the product was as safe as it is reasonable to expect. Part 2 of the Act makes it a criminal offence to supply unsafe goods. Here standards will actually be used to define safety levels. In this instance, manufacturing and independently testing to such a Standard would be a very good defence in a Court of Law, against any action brought by a consumer/ customer.

STANDARDS ON A EUROPEAN AND INTERNATIONAL SCALE

In addition to the British Standards Institution there are two other organisations of which we have to be aware. As mentioned earlier CEN create European Standards for many products including doors, windows, and building hardware. • CEN standards are drawn up by Member states of the EU. • ISO stands for International Standards Organization. ISO standards are drawn up by a wider international community, including countries such as the USA and Japan. When an ISO standard is adopted as a British Standard, it starts with “BS ISO”, like the signage standard BS ISO 7010. They have not, as yet, produced any standards relating specifically to hardware except the recommendation R1226 of June 1970 which covers the “designation of door closing directions” and which remains in use in the U.K. today. • The current situation with regards to relevant BS and EN Standards relevant to the ironmongery industry as at January 2016 is shown below. Further detail on the CE marking requirements for fire door and escape door assemblies can be found in the GAI publication “Technical Guide to CPR No. 5” which is available for download from the members’ only section of the GAI website. PAGE 7 MAY 2019 GAI Guide to Standards

WHAT IS BS EN ISO 9000?

BS EN ISO 9000 is an International Standard for assessment of management capability and the effectiveness of quality systems, and has become a fundamental requirement of many purchasers.

It is often demanded as a contract requirement, as it ensures that the goods produced will be consistently the same as those originally tested and accepted

Being a BS EN ISO 9000-registered firm of assessed capability also means that a company can, when it has products that have been independently tested for conformity to an appropriate standard, obtain Kitemark authorisation.

BS EN ISO 9000 registration is available not only to manufacturers of products but also to companies in the service industries.

An increasing number of architects, designers, contractors, and even architectural ironmongers are now registered to the scheme. It is expected that registration to this scheme will continue to be of increasing importance to all companies in our industry.

BS EN ISO 9000 should not be confused with performance standards for products. BS EN ISO 9000 relates to the structure and working methods of a Company which provides a service, or through which products pass, whether it be distribution or manufacturer. It ensures consistency and efficiency of working methods at all times.

THE KITEMARK AND SAFETY MARK

The Kitemark has been used since 1953, and is a visual means of letting customers know that a product has been independently tested against a Standard, and passed, and that the manufacturing quality systems have been assessed against BS EN ISO 9000. After the award of the Kitemark, unannounced visits to the assessed company’s premises will be made by the BSI., to ensure the agreed quality levels of production are being maintained. Failure to maintain quality standards will result in the licence for using the Kitemark being withdrawn. PAGE 8 MAY 2019 GAI Guide to Standards

WHO TESTS THE TESTER? When a company makes a statement about a product, it should be able to prove that the product meets and performs to the criteria stated, although manufacturers can claim compliance untested. It is then up to a third party, usually the local Trading Standards Officer, to prove that the products do not comply.

• A company should take its products to an independent test house facility and ask for tests to be carried out to a nationally or internationally recognised standard, or sometimes to the company’s own criteria.

• The client company then specifies what tests they require to be undertaken. Only if the test house has taken on a consultancy role, will it advise on standards and, indeed, what is wrong with a product if it fails a test.

• How does one know that the tests have been carried our correctly and that the measurements and calibration of testing equipment can be traced back to the National Primary Standards? The answer is to use a test facility with United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) approval. This guarantees that the service provided by the test facility uses methods and equipment with traceable links to the National Physical Laboratory (NPL).

• UKAS accreditation is voluntary and open to any U.K. laboratory performing objective calibrations or tests. This includes not only Independent commercial laboratories such as BSI Testing, but also laboratories which form part of commercial companies. A company primarily concerned with manufacturing may have a facility for testing its own products.

• Accreditation by UKAS offers the potential customer assurance in the competence of a laboratory, and in the validity of the calibration or test results.

• Accredited laboratories can play an essential role in the quality assurance needs of industry, ensuring that products are manufactured to specification, that tolerances are within set limits and that consumer products are safe.

• Possibly the most important factor in the using of a single accreditation body is that practices are standardised. No matter which test facility is used with accreditation, one can be assured that the methods and working practices will be the same. Obviously, this is an important consideration when a number of small sub-contractors are working for a larger group or concern.

• The essence of a UKAS accredited test facility is that working methods and calibration of measuring equipment can be traced directly back through an unbroken chain, to the National Measurement Standards held by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL).

• The harmonisation of standards between countries in the EU will ease the flow of goods from country to country. With the standards being harmonised in the EU tests, and calibration work to prove these standards should also be standardised. This standardisation of test and calibration houses has been established under the EN 45000 series of documents. The EN 45000 series of documents includes the technical criteria for the operation and assessment of testing laboratories, and also those criteria with which the accreditation bodies, such as UKAS, should conform. PAGE 9 MAY 2019 GAI Guide to Standards

DIGIT CLASSIFICATION Almost all European architectural hardware standards follow a common format to help ease their understanding by users. Each product is classified under a number of performance headings and, generally, these are the same for all products. All products are “marked” with a six or more digit classification coding which shows, in fine detail, just what levels of product performance are being claimed for the item. This classification system, when applied to all items of architectural hardware, will enable complementary items also to be specified to, for instance, a common level of corrosion resistance, category of use, door mass, etc. We have detailed the detail on the most common first 6 digits as well as providing an example of a further 4 digits taken from BS EN 179.

Digit 1 - Category of use Grade 1 : Low frequency of use by people with a high incentive to exercise care and with a small chance of accidents occurring or of misuse. Grade 2 : medium frequency of use by people with some incentive to exercise care but where there is some chance of accidents occurring or of misuse. Grade 3 : high frequency of use by public and others with little incentive to exercise care and with a high chance of accidents occurring or of misuse. Grade 4 : for use on doors which are subject to frequent violent usage

Digit 2 – Durability/Number of test cycles

Grade 1 : 2,500 cycles Grade 2 : 5,000 cycles Grade 3 : 10,000 cycles Grade 4 : 25,000 cycles Grade 5 : 50,000 cycles Grade 6 : 100,000 cycles Grade 7 : 200,000 cycles Grade 8 : 500,000 cycles Grade 9 : 1,000,000 cycles PAGE 10 MAY 2019 GAI Guide to Standards

Digit 7 – Security Digit 3 - Test door mass Products covered by EN 179 have 4 identified categories. Grade 1 : up to 20 kg Grade 2 : up to 40 kg Grade 2: 1,000 N. Grade 3 : up to 60 kg Grade 3: 2,000 N. Grade 4 : up to 80 kg Grade 4: 3,000 N. Grade 5 : up to 100 kg Grade 6 : up to 120 kg Grade 5: 5,000 N. Grade 7 : up to 160 kg Grade 8 : up to 200 kg Digit 8 - Projection of Horizontal Bar Grade 9 : up to 250 kg Two grades are identified relating to the projection of the device from the door face: Digit 4 - Fire behaviour Grade 1: projection up to 150 mm (large projection). Grade 0 : not approved for use on fi re/smoke resisting door assemblies. Grade 2: projection up to 100 mm (standard projection). Grade 1 : suitable for use on fire/smoke resisting door assemblies, subject to Digit 9 - Type of Operation satisfactory assessment of the hardware item relative to the performance of the specified fire/smoke resisting door assembly. Two categories are identified: As standards are revised, a new coding is being introduced. Refer to each standard for details of the coding used Type A: Emergency device with lever handle operator (needs downward pressure to operate) Digit 5 - Safety in use Type B: Emergency device either push pad or pull pad operator. Grade 0 : no defined safety performance (needs downward pressure or forward pull to operate) Grade 1 : satisfies the safety in use requirements contained in the “Construction Products Directive” issued by the EU. Digit 6 - Corrosion resistance

Six corrosion grades are identified in accordance with BS EN1670: Grade 0 - no defined corrosion resistance Grade 1 - mild resistance Grade 2 - moderate resistance Grade 3 - high resistance Grade 4 - very high resistance Grade 5 - extremely high resistance Type A device Type B device PAGE 11 MAY 2019 GAI Guide to Standards

Digit 10 - Field of Door Application CE MARKING Four categories are identified: Many products are covered by the Construction Products Regulation issued Category A: Outward Opening - single door, double door, active or inactive leaf by the European Commission. Consequently, these standards are regarded as a “harmonised” standard and compliance with it, supported by suitable Category B: Outward Opening - single exit door only evidence, requires the application of the CE mark.

Category C: Outward Opening - double exit door, inactive leaf only As they have a critical safety function, application of the CE mark requires the involvement of a notified certification body to provide verification of the Category D: Inwardly opening - single exit doors only compliance claims. This involves initial type testing of the product to the EXAMPLE relevant standard, initial inspection of the manufacturer’s factory production control and continuing surveillance and approval of the factory production For example, for a door closer or floor spring tested to BS EN1154 the following control. On satisfactory completion of these tasks, the notified body issues an classification code would indicate that it could close the door from 180 degrees, had EC Certificate of Conformity which then permits the manufacturer to declare been tested to 500,000 cycles, was suitable for doors up to 60kg, suitable for use on compliance and affix the CE marking to his product. certain fire doors, safe in use and with mild corrosion resistance.

PRODUCT MARKING Each product and/or its packaging will be required to be marked with:

The manufacturer’s name or trademark or other means of identification

Product identification number.

The multi-digit classification number as above. M .The BS EN standard number.

The year and week of manufacture (this may be coded). PAGE 12 MAY 2019 GAI Guide to Standards

CE MARKING

Any product in the above list should now be CE marked before being placed on the market for use in the situations specified.

The CE mark, when applied to ironmongery products, is able to help customers be certain that the item they are being offered will perform well and help to ensure a safe environment for the building users for many years.

There are many European standards for items of door hardware. Some of these standards require a product to be “CE Marked”. The products concerned are those which perform a vital function in the performance of fire, smoke and escape doors. The CE mark indicates that the product achieves at least the minimum performance deemed essential in certain aspects of its performance. The elements of its performance which are essential are listed in an Annex ZA at the end of the standard. These are not necessarily all the aspects of the product which have been tested. It’s only those which are important in a fire emergency. PAGE 13 MAY 2019 GAI Guide to Standards

HARMONISATION AND DECLARATION OF PERFORMANCE (DoP) From 1 July 2013, under the Construction Products Regulation (CPR), it became mandatory for manufacturers to apply CE marking to any of their products covered by a harmonised European standard (hEN) or Technical Assessment. The Guild of Architectural Ironmongers has cautioned specifiers that, from this date, there are important responsibilities for the manufacturers, distributors and specifiers of fire door hardware which have legal implications throughout the supply chain. This was a major change in the United Kingdom as affixing of CE marking under the old Construction Products Directive (CPD) had previously been voluntary. Manufacturers should also be aware that in addition to a valid CE Mark, they must now legally provide a Declaration of Performance (DoP) with every CE marked product, either with the product or on their website. Without a DoP, the CE Mark is invalid. GAI Member Companies can log in to the GAI micro site www.gaidop.org.uk to complete their product DoP and sign up for the Primary Authority Agreement (PAA).

CLAIMS OF CONFORMITY Care must be taken to ensure that any claims made about a product’s conformity to a standard, or a particular grade of a standard, can be shown to be accurate and truthful.

Such claims must be clearly and unequivocally stated. Such phrases as “tested to....” “designed to”. “ conform to...”, “approved to...” , are not sufficient. To avoid misleading or confusing claims producers are recommended to use one of the following phrases when claiming conformity to a product such as door closing devices to EN 1154 This product has been successfully type-tested for conformity toall of the requirements of BS EN 1154. A Declaration of Performance and/or certificates are available upon request. This product has been successfully type-tested for conformity to all of the requirements of BS EN 1154 including the additional requirements for latch action*/backcheck*/ delayed closing* adjustable closing force*/ fi e/smoke door use*. A Declaration of Performance and or certificates are available upon request. *Add as appropriate. This* product has been successfully type-tested for conformity to all of the requirements of BS EN 1154 including the additional requirements for latch action*/backcheck*/ delayed closing*/adjustable closing force* fire/smoke door use*. Regular audit testing is undertaken. A Declaration of Performance and/or certificates are available upon request. Add as appropriate.

As it is important that a producer is extremely careful about the accuracy of the claims it makes, so it is important for ironmongery specifiers to be equally vigilant in ensuring that they ask for, and receive, copies of the Test Certification and Declaration of Performance

CODE OF PRACTICE: HARDWARE FOR FIRE AND ESCAPE DOORS

Further information on the correct selection of items of ironmongery for use on all fire resisting and escape route doors can be found in the “Code of Practice: Hardware for fire and escape doors” this is available on the GAI website www.gai.org.uk or www.firecode.org.uk. PAGE 14 MAY 2019 GAI Guide to Standards

ABOUT THE GAI

The Guild of Architectural Ironmongers (GAI) is the only trade body in the UK that represents the interests of the whole architectural ironmongery industry - architectural ironmongers, wholesalers and manufacturers. Its reputation is built on three key areas: education, technical support and community. Its qualifications, education and CPD programmes are widely respected in the UK and overseas, including the GCC and Hong Kong. Its technical information service is the only specialist service of its kind, providing GAI members with comprehensive advice on issues relating to the legislation, regulations and standards governing the use of architectural ironmongery and related hardware

CONTACT DETAILS

This “Guide to Standard” comes courtesy of the GAI Technical Information Service and has been written by the GAI Technical Manager, Douglas Masterson who can be contacted for further clarification on 00 44 7469 141657. © The Guild of Architectural Ironmongers Limited.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BS 0: 2011 Brainyquote.com Oxford English Dictionary Dictionary.com BS EN ISO 9000: 2005

Permission to reproduce extracts from British Standards is granted by BSI Standards Limited (BSI). No other use of this material is permitted. British Standards can be obtained in PDF or hard copy formats from the BSI online shop: www.bsigroup.com/Shop PAGE 15 MAY 2019 GAI Guide to Standards