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.