17
PRO INSTALLER DECEMBER 2015
PRO NEWS
@proinstaller1
Association welcomes
insurance sector’s tough
stance on house burglary
MICHAEL SKELDING, GENERAL manager and secretary of
the Door and Hardware Federation, talks to Pro Installer
about the insurance sector’s latest moves on security.
As the trade association representing the
UK’s leading lock makers, we welcome the
insurance sector’s early
acceptance of a new
domestic door security
standard designed to
defeat a wave of house
burglaries.
A leading UK insurance
company is now advising
its domestic insurance
policy holders to choose
TS 007-rated security for
their entrance doors. TS 007
security provides resistance
against cylinder snapping
and other forms of lock
attack which are increasingly being used in domestic
break-ins.
Now we are sincerely hoping other insurance companies will follow the lead set
by this particular insurance
company and encourage
their policy holders to upgrade their door security.
Locksmiths are well aware
that cylinder snapping, a
technique which allows burglars to break into a home
in a matter of seconds, is
an increasing problem and
that many homes are at
risk from this form of lock
attack.
We developed the TS 007
standard, working with the
Glass & Glazing Federation,
BSI, Secured by Design,
MLA and other industry
organisations. We’ve been
liaising closely with the
RISCAuthority, the insurance-backed organisation
that supports best practice
in the protection of property and business.
‘We welcome the insurance
company’s early adoption of the
RISCAuthority guidelines and
we’re confident other insurance
companies will follow their example’
RISCAuthority referenced
TS 007 and other standards developed by the lock
industry in their recent
Guidance to Occupiers publication. We welcome the
insurance company’s early
adoption of the RISCAuthority guidelines and we’re
confident other insurance
companies will follow their
example.
A wide range of TS 007
lock cylinders and door
handles is available which
are certified by the BSI
Kitemark. Security to the
TS 007 standard can be
achieved by either a combination of a TS 007 cylinder
(marked with one star) and
TS 007 security door furniture such as a strengthened
door handle (marked with
two stars), or a “super cylinder” (marked with three
stars) that successfully
resists snap attack without
the need to fit additional
door hardware. In both
cases, the same degree of
resistance against attack is
provided.
Locksmiths have long
been aware that cylinder
snapping exploits a weakness in the eurocylinder
typically used in locks
found in doors made from
PVCu and composite mate-
rials, which form the bulk
of domestic entrance doors
in the UK. The DHF - and
now the insurance sector is spreading the message to
the general public that they
need to take action against
the threat of cylinder snapping by uprating their lock
cylinders.
For more information visit
www.dhfonline.org.uk
National Plastics launches new app
National Plastics, one of the UK’s largest trade counter network has just
launched an app to help customers keep up to date with the latest offers.
Managing Director Geoff Foster said: “Many of our customers are out and about for much
of the day but don’t want to
miss out on any special offers
or promotions. By downloading
our app they can get notifications of our latest offers
straight to their phone.”
The free National Plastics app is
available from Apple’s App Store
while Android users can download
it via Google Play. The app also
has store contact details, a photo
gallery of products, a QR scanner
and social media links and users
can make an enquiry directly
through the app.
National Plastics’ has added £9
million to its turnover in recent
years and plans to take its total
number of stores to 50 by the end
of 2017.
www.nationalplastics.co.uk or
call 0800 011 3503