DHF SETS THE HARDWARE STANDARDS

Article first published 01/12/2005

For the first time, manufacturers of certain types of door-mounted safety and security furniture and equipment will be able to rate the performance of their products, thanks to an important new Door and Hardware Federation initiative.  
 
The hardware group of the DHF has published three technical specifications which set out the standards for the products. The technical specifications are available on the DHF website www.dhfonline.org.uk. It is expected that eventually, they will be developed into fully fledged British Standards.  
 
DHF members can now start rating their products against the minimum requirements set out in the technical specifications, so ensuring that specifiers will be able to differentiate high quality products from inferior offerings.  
 
Said DHF hardware technical committee chairman Malcolm White: “Work began on these technical specifications more than three years ago. We were conscious that products such as door viewers and security chains were referred to in other standards and codes of practice, yet there was no official guidance to indicate what level of performance they should achieve.  
 
“So we decided to develop our own industry standard to enable our members to demonstrate that their products meet, and in most cases, exceed, accepted minimum levels of performance and quality, thereby allowing specifiers to make informed choices.  
 
“The new technical specifications offer commercial benefit to our members by helping to increase sales of quality products at the expense of substandard products – some of which, quite frankly, are not worthy of the confidence placed in them.”  
 
The first technical specification is titled: Setting the Standards for Door Mounted Anti-ligature Devices for Safety and Security Purposes Guide, which covers door mounted furniture including load releasing devices such as coat hooks, and fixed hardware devices such as thumb-turn operated door locks and handles. This guide focuses on the level of performance that products should achieve in order to ensure the safety of users, especially those who are unsupervised in special care environments.  
 
The Setting the Standards for Door Viewers Guide sets out minimum performance levels (including viewing angle and clarity of vision) expected of all types of door viewers which allow occupants to detect and identify callers.  
 
The Setting the Standards for Door Opening Restrictors for Security Purposes Guide covers all forms of door opening restrictors, in particular door chains and limiters, designed to keep callers at bay whilst still permitting sufficient door opening to assist identification and allow conversation. It sets out demanding levels of performance to combat known methods of attack, so that products conforming to this technical specification can be specified with absolute confidence.  

Article ID No.: 120