The Locksmith Journal Jan/Feb 2019 - Issue 60 | Page 52

52 • HARDWARE&SECURITY PROUD SPONSORS OF THIS PAGE A Decade of Academy Success » » JUST LIKE THE LOCKSMITH JOURNAL, the Abloy Academy is commemorating its tenth birthday this year. To celebrate, Pat Jefferies, Commercial Director at Abloy UK, discusses the Academy’s rise to success. Abloy UK has a strong reputation for producing security solutions of superior quality, but as a company, we recognise that the high performance of our products can only be realised by the abilities of the people who specify and install them. With this in mind, we developed the Abloy Academy to provide training of the highest standard, and the Academy brand has gone from strength to strength in the last decade to be widely is recognised as a mark of excellence and accreditation. The Academy was established a decade ago through aspirations to develop training of end-users and major businesses to elevate overall awareness of compliance. We’ve grown from class sizes of around six people, to now hosting one- off conferences for over 150. The course leaders do not just teach – they are also pivotal in the development and improvement of new standards and legislation across Europe, working with the British Standards Institute (BSI) and European Committee for Standardisation (CEN). As legislation is constantly evolving, the need to educate the industry is always present, and the development of standards means emergency escape access control specifiers must continue to refresh their knowledge. ACADEMY COURSES Academy certification gives reassurance of a person’s competence and specialist product understanding to provide industry leading solutions. The two core courses offered at the Academy are the Foundations and Foundations Plus, teaching European and British Standards in detail, to help ensure attendees only specify compliant solutions. The Foundations course covers the majority of standards applicable to door sets - from hinges to door selectors - and helps delegates to understand the needs of a door, from its location within the building to the purpose the door must fulfil. It also covers areas such as minimum performance standards, Dynamic Lockdown and the Constructions Product Regulations, and is presented in easy to understand terms. In addition, there is a focus on the locking and escape requirements for access control electric locking in both retrofit and new build applications, ensuring a safe and secure solution. FOUNDATIONS PLUS For individuals who complete the first course, the Foundation Plus course is an advanced add-on, going one step further in educating delegates on in depth industry standards and compliance terminology. This provides attendees with the knowledge to specify products that are suitable for both the application and door type. Courses are held at the Abloy UK headquarters in Willenhall and are free of charge, offering delegates a complimentary educational experience that can provide CPD points and two years validity on industry standards. Although we have hosted larger events, for our standard courses we like to keep class sizes between 15-20 to allow attendees to participate and ask questions where appropriate. FORWARD THINKING The future is bright for the Academy, with a number of exciting plans in the pipeline for 2019 and beyond. We always welcome back course attendees who wish to develop their knowledge and skills, and notify past delegates if a particular regulation is updated with an invitation to a refresher course. To keep up with the increasing demand and grow the current offering, we’re looking to host more events across the year. We are also planning to add to the syllabus with more product-led courses to coincide with the changing industry and new performance standards. Ultimately, this isn’t just about conforming to standards for the sake of it – lives are put at risk when an emergency escape system is not complaint. Through teaching at the Academy, I can sleep comfortably at night, knowing that I have done my part to help people safely escape from a building if they need to. For further information on products and services available from Abloy UK or to book a place on one of the courses, visit https://bit.ly/2RoY8Va or call 01902 364 500, or email [email protected] LOCKSMITHJOURNAL.CO.UK | JAN/FEB 2019