The police initiative ‘Secured by Design’, product testing regimes and gaining certification
An article by Rupert Scott, Marketing Manager, Chiltern Dynamics/ Chiltern Fire, published in TRADA Timber Industry Yearbook 2001.
Secured by Design (SBD) is a police initiative to encourage the building industry and housing providers to make people safe from crime by incorporating crime prevention measures at the design stage. It is endorsed by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and has the backing of the Home Office and the Association of British Insurers. With such wide support, it is anticipated that Secured by Design approval will soon become a primary concern for house buyers, local authorities, housing associations and, consequently, for builders, building product suppliers and manufacturers.
Builders achieving the specified standards can market their approved schemes with the SBD logo to encourage buyers in the same way that car manufacturers promote the safety features of their vehicles. Existing estates can be upgraded to deter criminal and anti-social behaviour.
SBD has been proved to work. The Applied Criminology group at the University of Huddersfield carried out extensive research to compare the incidence of crime on SBD and non-SBD estates. An analysis of two refurbished estates on a ‘before and after’ basis showed that crime had been 67% and 54% higher respectively before upgrading to SBD requirements. A comparison of 25 SBD and 25 non-SBD new build estates revealed double the number of burglary offences per dwelling in the non-SBD sample.
The insurance industry is highly supportive – theft is the largest element of domestic claims. When a household has been a victim of crime, nearly all insurers now insist on tighter security measures.
Much of this petty crime is opportunist – and there is strong evidence that a large portion is drug related. In many instances, the burglar has it made easy simply because of poor home security. Windows and doors are the main focus for anyone attempting illegal entry into a building. Testing these products is, therefore, crucial to the efficacy of SBD.
Gaining SBD approval for doorsets and windows
The route is this:
SBD sets the test standards requirements
Component manufacturers work together to produce a potential product
Testing is carried out at a UKAS accredited laboratory
If successful, manufacturers can pass the test results to their clients for specification purposes
The specifier puts forward the test evidence as part of the project information package for assessment by the police architectural liaison officer (ALO)
On approval by the ALO, the product can be installed on site.
To achieve SBD, product testing must be carried out by a UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Service) accredited laboratory. Chiltern Dynamics was the first accredited test house and has designed and built rigs to carry out the specific testing required.
There are three key tests:
BS 7950 : Specification for enhanced security performance of casement and tilt/turn windows for domestic applications. This involves a series of mechanical and manual tests which attempt to gain entry.
PAS 23 : (for external doorsets) General performance requirements for door assemblies covering ease of use for the hardware, weather tightness, durability, manual intervention and strength.
PAS 24: (for external doorsets) Enhanced security performance requirements for door assembles. Three doorsets are subjected to manual assault using a variety of hand tools, mechanical loading using a hydraulic ram and impact from hard and soft bodies representing various forms of physical abuse.
SBD is not about making homes into fortresses. Doors have to be easy to operate, particularly by the elderly or infirm. A security doorset will generally have a relatively heavy door leaf, be fitted with locks that have several bolts operated by a single mechanism and have heavier hinges. Putting all these aspects together whilst maintaining low operational forces is not easy – but PAS 23 specifically considers these issues and also includes weather tightness and cycling tests after abuse as well.
Through consultation with the police, industry and specifiers, SBD’s functional performance requirements may change and test methods need modification to reflect these changes. Crooks are cunning and will quickly exploit any weakness – as borne out by the number of repeat crimes on the same dwelling. The industry has to be as smart as they are.
Chiltern Dynamics’ sister company BM TRADA Certification operates UKAS accredited Q-Mark quality schemes for enhanced security windows and doorsets. These combine both technical requirements and validation of production consistency through a quality management system. Products must be manufactured to the same high standards day after day, week after week.
The initial requirements are:
A quality management system meeting the requirements of ISO 9002
Test evidence of technical performance – of a product or range of products
A factory audit to verify that manufacture is to the correct specifications.
On-going certification is maintained through regular factory visits and audit testing of products.
Increasingly architects, specifiers, building control officers and insurers are seeking independent verification of products to differentiate between those which look alike but can have very different performance characteristics. Reputable product certification schemes are a means of ensuring peace of mind.
Links: BM TRADA Certification : Chiltern Dyanamics
