Industry News
MAKING THE GRADE: THE DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN GRADE 4 AND 5 OF BS 8607
» » CRAIG BIRCH, PRODUCT
Category Manager at UNION, outlines
what the new grade 5 for BS 8607
includes, why it has been introduced and
the benefits that it can help deliver.
At present, mechanically operated
push button locksets are not typically
security products, but rather access
control ones. For example, think about
the last time you went to your local
doctor’s surgery. No doubt there will
have been a lock on the door behind
the receptionist, protecting the sensitive
information they hold – a demand that
has become only more critical with the
introduction of the new General Data
Protection Regulation (GDPR). However,
the truth is that the lock protecting the
restricted area in question is probably
little more than a tubular latch.
Essentially, it’s not a security device, but
rather one that is used for convenience
to simply meet the access control needs
of a site.
However, BS 8607 – a standard for
mechanically operated push button
locksets – offers a series of grades that
these locks can meet for strength and
robustness. Introduced only recently,
grade 5 is the newest and most stringent
level for delivering assured security and
access control. But what does it offer that
grade 4 does not?
What is BS 8607?
The British Standards Institution
(BSI) states that BS 8607:2014 specifies
the requirements and test methods for
durability, strength and function for
mechanically operated push button
locksets and their locking plates for use
on doors, windows doors and entrance
doors in buildings.
Both grade 4 and grade 5 of BS
8607 stipulate that products meeting
these standards must be suitable for
‘applications where security, abuse
and usage levels are expected to be
equivalent to BS 3621’, which relates to
thief-resistant locks.
But if the security, abuse and usage
levels are the same, what then is the
difference between the two grades?
6
What is the difference
between grade 4 and 5?
Put simply, those rated as grade 4 can
only achieve this standard with the help
of an integral additional locking unit.
So, with a grade 4 product, users must
lock and unlock the solution from the
inside with a key, and then operate the
push button from the outside to unlock
a door.
In contrast, a mechanically operated
push button lockset that meets grade 5
standards provides a ‘one-stop’ security
and access control solution; one that
does not require a separate locking
unit. In short, with a grade 5 product
the latch and lock are integrated and
tested together, without the need for an
additional key. The result is a solution
that offers keyless egress. This means
that, when it shuts, a grade 5 solution
automatically locks. Then, should you
need to exit a room, it’s simply a one
handle operation to unlock the door.
While it’s intended that both grade 4
and 5 devices offer the same resistance to
attack and it’s simply the way it is locked
that is different, the fact that a user has
to physically lock a door themselves with
a grade 4 product means the technology
is reliant on key holders to secure the
premises themselves. Ultimately, users
have to take responsibility and ownership
for the security of a site. But with a grade
5 solution, security is assured as the door
will lock automatically.
Why has grade 5 been
introduced?
Essentially, grade 5 has been introduced
because it provides a BSI Kitemark approved
certification. This means any mechanically
operated push button locksets advertised
as meeting grade 5 standards will be fully
tested and inspected to this certification,
offering complete peace of mind to users,
installers and specifiers.
As a result, there is no question that
a grade 5 product will meet the security
and access control needs that so many
commercial environments demand. A
grade 4 product is reliant on an additional
locking unit that meets BS 3621 being used
too, whereas a grade 5 solution delivers
assured protection and access control in a
single package. Finally, the BSI Kitemark
for a grade 5 solution is an official stamp
of approval for the quality of the service
offered.
To date, it is this combination of security
and convenience that has not yet been
seen in mechanically operated push button
devices. Grade 5 of BS 8607 looks set to
change all that.
www.uniononline.co.uk/codeguard5
JUL/AUG 2019
locksmithjournal.co.uk
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