Karen Trigg, business development manager, South East, at Allegion UK, considers Document Q approval requirements for security products used in dwellings.
The importance of products being Document Q approved is now widely understood by architects, developers, installers, and increasingly, homeowners. Following the introduction of these standards in October 2015, which apply to all new residential buildings (including those that have been converted to residential use), manufacturers have been quick to ensure that their products comply with these standards.
With anyone that is installing a door or window in a new residential property now being required to ensure the product is Document Q approved, most in the industry would agree that compliance at this level is now the minimum standard for door or window hardware, even if not used in new residential builds.
Whenever there’s a ‘minimum standard’ in place, manufacturers like us at Allegion will regularly strive to improve on this. It makes sense for manufacturers to do this commercially and fits firmly in with Allegion’s focus on continual improvements and core value to ‘Have a Passion for Excellence’.
An example of this in practice is PAS 24. This standard covers a wide variety of doorsets including aluminum sliding and bi-folding timber and requires them to go through various types of attack on the door, frame and locks as well as an enhanced security performance test to meet door assembly requirements. The test itself replicates a burglar trying to attack the doorset or manipulate the locking cylinder. To comply with Document Q, PAS24:2012 is sufficient for a product to be approved. However, at Allegion, we are always looking to go one step further.
To illustrate the point further, the Weatherfold 4s top hung exterior folding system and Weatherfold 5c rolling bottom system from Allegion brand, Brio, have both achieved the most recent PAS24 standard, PAS24:2016 and exceeded all minimum requirements in doing so.
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