Industry News
The war against potentially deadly &
untested cable restrictors
» CABLE RESTRICTORS
have been a staple in the
PVC-u hardware industry
for over 10 years. They offer
a flexible solution to health
and safety problems such as
preventing small children from
falling out of open windows
and also offer additional
window and door security. In
recent years, the popularity
of cable restrictors has led
to a number of potentially
dangerous and uncertified
products entering the UK
market which ultimately, is
putting lives at risk.
When the market was
first established, there was a
small number of reputable
cable restrictors tested to
British Standards. However,
as the cable restrictor market
has boomed, a number
of manufacturers and by
proxy, sellers (many from
China), have been ditching
safety regulations in order to
maximise profits and endanger
lives. Despite repeated
warnings from the Department
of Health issuing Estate and
Facilities Alerts as well as the
Ministry of Housing, the sale
and installation of poorly
produced and untested cable
restrictors is still a UK wide
problem.
“The fact of the matter is
simple, cable restrictors that
don’t comply with British
Standards should be always
avoided but especially in places
such as mental health facilities
and hospitals,” says Schlosser
Technik’s Billy Wilkinson.
“This applies to care
homes too, all it can take
is one wayward resident to
lean against a window with a
faulty restrictor and disaster
can strike. It’s simply never
worth cutting corners when it
comes to the safety of people
and especially those that are
vulnerable.”
Schlosser Technik has
been fighting the war against
untested and counterfeit
restrictors by issuing take
down notices on selling sites
such as Ebay and Amazon
whilst hitting UK distributors
with cease and desist letters
to prevent further sales. Over
120 product listings have been
removed to date.
The Schlosser Technik Mini
Cable Restrictor launched
in 2017 complies with BS EN
14351-1:2006 standards and
has become one of the UK’s
bestselling cable restrictors.
It’s able to withstand excessive
force beyond the 350N
required to achieve BS EN
14351-1:2006 and offers a safe
yet affordable solution.
Always be sure to purchase
cable restrictors from a
reputable source which have
been tested to the regulatory
standards. Find out more at
www.schlosser.co.uk.
ERA’S UKAS ACCREDITED TESTING LABORATORY
PLAYS KEY ROLE IN COLLABORATION
WITH VEKA UK AND MODPLAN
» ERA’S UKAS ACCREDITED TESTING
laboratory plays an important role in the
company’s new product development. It
also offers an invaluable service to ERA
customers developing their own new
products too. The facility demonstrated its
market-leading credentials recently as part
of a UK first for the fenestration industry
that involved a high level of collaboration
involving VEKA UK and Modplan.
The outcome of this unique collaboration
between PVCu systems house, trade
fabricator and security hardware expert is a
4-pane patio door that has achieved PAS24
2016 accreditation without the need for
additional locking devices or points. The
PAS24 2016 standard is more onerous than
previous iterations of it and is therefore
more difficult to achieve. VEKA’s Imagine
4-pane patio door was fitted with ERA’s
Fab&Fix Pembroke locking patio door
6
handle and its Fortress 3* Euro Cylinder. The
project saw Modplan, a well-established
fabricator and key customer of VEKA UK
make the test frames that were required.
Steve Bakewell, Head of Product
Management at VEKA UK said:
“We have been very pleased with the
service we have received from ERA in
this project. We believe this to be the first
4-pane patio door to be physically tested
to PAS24 2016.”
Modplan’s Engineering and
Compliance team added:
“The close collaboration on this project
has resulted in accreditation that will
help us to differentiate ourselves from our
competitors going forwards. Teamwork
was the key here.”
Both 2-pane and 3-pane versions of this
product have now also been tested and have
also achieved the same accreditation.
ERA’s purpose-built premises on the i54
business park just outside Wolverhampton
does not only house its UKAS accredited
testing facility. The 135,625 sq ft site is also
home to the company’s state-of-the-art
research and product development hub,
design team, manufacturing, warehousing
and training facilities.
Visit www.eraeverywhere.com or
contact the sales team on 01922 490 000
or email [email protected]
NOV/DEC 2019
locksmithjournal.co.uk
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