The Crime Prevention Website

Share:

In essence this is your guarantee that the production of the door you are purchasing is being monitored by a UKAS accredited certification body to ensure compliance with PAS 24:2016 Enhanced security performance requirements for doorsets and windows in the UK. External doorsets and windows intended to offer a level of security suitable for dwellings and other buildings exposed to comparable risk and the specific and the relevant material specific standard for general performance referenced in BS 6375 Parts 1, 2 and 3.

PAS 24, like most British Standards, is a minimum standard.  In other words it doesn’t include higher or lower grades for security and so doors that are tested to the specifications of the standard either pass or fail.  Although some of the doorsets that pass will be a little stronger than the minimum required, a minimum standard encourages engineers to design the door to pass at the minimum requirements.  This makes economic and environmental sense and the effectiveness of doors certificated to this standard has proven that the minimum levels set by the British Standards were just about spot on.

The process of testing and certification

The manufacturer of the door submits a range of doors to a United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) accredited test house for testing to PAS 24 and the relevant ‘fit for purpose’ standards.  Having achieved passes on these doors the factory and the manufacturing processes are examined by a UKAS accredited Certification Body. Providing the independent certification body is satisfied with the manufacturing facility and the way in which it is managed they will award a certificate to the manufacturer, which will enable them to market their doors as ‘certificated’ to PAS 24 and the ‘fit for purpose’ standards.  

‘Fit for purpose’ standards for doors

BS 6375-1: 2009 Performance of windows and doors.  Classification for weathertightness and guidance on selection and specification

BS 6375-2: 2009  Performance of windows and doors.  Classification for operation and strength characteristics and guidance on selection and specification

BS 6375-3: 2009 Performance of windows and doors.  Classification for additional performance characteristics and guidance on selection and specification

PAS 23-1: 1999 General performance requirements for door assemblies. Single leaf, external door assemblies to dwellings

BS 6510: 2005 Steel-framed windows and glazed doors

BS 7412: 2007 Specification for windows and doorsets made from unplasticized polyvinyl chloride (PVC-U) extruded hollow profiles

BS EN 12608:2003 Unplasticized polyvinylchloride (PVC-U) profiles for the fabrication of windows and doors. Classification, requirements and test methods

To ensure that the quality of manufacture is maintained, the Certification Body will regularly visit the production facility and periodically re-test the products to make sure that they are still performing to the standards.    If the manufacturer changes a component part of the door they are obliged to inform the Certification Body who might require a re-test.  During the initial and periodic retests the tester can attempt various procedures for up to 3 minutes each.  Because these tests are conducted under strict laboratory conditions, where the tester has an opportunity to inspect the door beforehand, then it is reasonable to assume that the door’s performance is likely to better out in the field.   Some of these PAS 24 doors have proved so effective that the police service has had to reconsider its methods of forcing an entry when executing a warrant to arrest drug dealers and the like!

Test Houses and their UKAS accreditations (where available)

LINK: Assa Abloy Test Laboratory

Schedule of UKAS accreditation


LINK: British Board of  Agrément (BBA)

Schedule of UKAS accreditation


LINK:  BSI (British Standards Institute )

Schedule of UKAS accreditation  


LINK:  LPCB (Loss Prevention Certification Board)

Schedule of UKAS accreditation


LINK:  Chiltern Dynamics Ltd

Schedule of UKAS accreditation


LINK:  Exova Warrington apt (Certisecure)

Schedule of UKAS accreditation


LINK:  MILA Testing (site not working 09 06 15)

Schedule of UKAS accreditation  


LINK:  Fullex Testing Services

Schedule of UKAS accreditation


LINK:  Winkhaus Laboratories

Schedule of UKAS accreditation


LINK:  Wintech Engineering Limited

Schedule of UKAS accreditation


 

Getting doors up to and maintaining this standard represents an enormous investment by the manufacturer and it is hoped that should you wish to change your doors you will make sure that they are replaced with those that are certificated to PAS 24.  It is quite possible that the company you use to replace your doors don’t actually make them, in other words they are installers only.  In this case make sure that they know that they are to supply certificated doorsets and ask for proof.

How can I check the certification? 

It is important to understand that manufacturers of PVC-U and aluminium doorsets buy the profiles that make up the doors and frames from profile manufacturers.  The majority of them then produce the doorsets by following a specification laid down by the profile company.  Although the majority of profile companies don’t actually manufacture doors they will often make up a range of doorsets and have them tested and often certificated also.  Therefore a manufacturer will sometimes provide you with the certification documents obtained from and by the profile company and you’ll discover that the actual door fabricator has not had them tested in their own name.   So don’t get fobbed off with documentation from a door manufacturer that shows a different company name on the certificate.  However, if you buy your doors from an installer then they will have to provide you with the manufacturer’s documentation and that’s fine.  You can see then that it is the manufacturer of the door that has to hold the relevant documentation. 

So, before you sign anything or pay any money over require, as part of your agreement with the company, that they produce to you a certification document that covers the doors that you want to purchase.  A professional company will have this information to hand and will have no problem in furnishing you with the necessary documents. 

To help you check the paperwork here is a table listing the details and contact telephone numbers of the certification bodies that are able to certificate doorsets to PAS 24.  You can check if a manufacturer is certificated to produce PAS 24 doorsets by carrying out a search using the links provided

Certification Bodies

LINK: BM TRADA Certification

01494 569700

This organisation issues a ‘Q Mark’ certificate for doorsets that are certificated to the security and performance standards

Online checks can be made at this link


LINK: British Board of  Agrément (BBA)

01923 665300

This organisation issues a BBA certificate for doorsets that are certificated to the security and performance standards. The certificate is reproduced in full on their website

Online checks can be made at this link


LINK: BSI (British Standards Institute )

08450 765600

This organisation issues a ‘kitemark’ certificate for doorsets that are certificated to the security and performance standards

Online checks can be made at this link


LINK: Exova Warrington apt (Certisecure)

0161 787 3291

This organisation issues a ‘Certisecure’ certificate for doorsets that are certificated to the security and performance standards. The certificate is reproduced on their website

Online checks can be made at this link 


LINK: LPCB (Loss Prevention Certification Board)

01923 664100

The LPCB is part of the Building Research Establishment.  This organisation issues an LPCB certificate for doorsets that are certificated to the security and performance standards

Online checks can be made at this link


 

What do certification documents look like?

Over the next few weeks I will be contacting the certification bodies to see if I can obtain examples of their documentation so you know what to look for.  Don’t forget that BBA certificates are reproduced on line anyway. 

What’s the difference between testing and certification?

Testing

When a door manufacturer wants their doorsets to be good enough to pass the security and performance tests they will submit a number of doorsets to a UKAS accredited test house (see list of test houses above).  If the doorset passes the tests it can be said that the doorset samples met (in some cases exceeded) the standards.  However, testing is no different from having an ‘MOT’ conducted on your car.  All the MOT test certificate proves is that on the time and day the tests were conducted the vehicle passed.  The next day the exhaust might blow or a headlamp could stop working.

Certification

To ensure that the doors that passed all the original tests are made in the same way into the future a door manufacturer forms a relationship with a certification body who will carry out regular and detailed inspections of the factory to ensure that the manufacturing processes are consistent.  The certification body will also periodically re-test door samples just to make sure they are as good as the ones that initially passed the tests.

Who is UKAS?

The United Kingdom Accreditation Service is the sole national accreditation body recognised by government to assess (against internationally agreed standards) organisations that provide certification, testing, inspection and calibration services.  Accreditation by UKAS demonstrates the competence, impartiality and performance capability of these evaluators.

Where can I buy these certificated doors?

Adverts from companies that have had their products tested and certificated to PAS 24 may appear in the Directory of this website.  The certification bodies listed above may also list companies in your area that supply products to the standards you require. 

The next thing you can do is carry out internet searches and then check the manufacturers’ claims using the information I have given you.  Bear in mind that many of the door manufacturers that have gained certification do not supply the general public, or if they do, they will supply door installation companies and or private builders. 

Some door installers and manufacturers who supply the public advertise on the police Secured by Design website.  Secured by Design is about designing out crime opportunity in new building developments and so the majority of companies listed on the SBD website supply doors to builders and major developments and not necessarily to individual householders. However they may have introduced a search filter to help you since I last visited the site.

Updated June 2015