The Construction Products Act is the umbrella legislation governing specifications and fitness for purpose of products and materials used in building and construction. In order to comply fully with the Construction Products Regulation, products must be CE marked and clearly the specifiers job is made easier and risk-free by specifying only CE marked products.
Safety-related products can only be CE marked as a result of independent testing and accreditation. Until recently, the only CE marked fire exit security products have been those complying with BS-EN 1125 and 179, for panic bars and paddle operated latches respectively. Both products groups are invaluable in their place but neither is designed to offer high levels of security or any deterrent to use in non-emergencies.
In order to avoid stagnation of innovation and product development, European legislation allows for the development and approval of bespoke testing and accreditation standards for individual products. Warrington Certification Ltd has developed a standard (known as a European Technical Approval - ETA) for Kingpin that has been approved by EOTA, the European Standards authority. As with BS-EN 1125 and 179, test criteria for this ETA include design, strength, durability and corrosion resistance.
Kingpin has been tested by Warrington APT Laboratories against this bespoke standard and Kingpins existing users will not be surprised that all tests were passed with flying colours.
As a result, Kingpin has been awarded the CE mark, the only product of its type to be thus approved.
Kingpin has also been tested for security and withstood a force of 5000N, exceeding grade 4 provisions of BS-EN 1125 and 179.
Specifiers therefore now have a choice of CE marked products when considering fire exits security:
- - Panic Bars - for mass use buildings such as cinemas
- - Push-pad Latches - for fire exit doors that double as everyday entry/exits
- - KINGPIN - for situations calling for high security and/or a deterrent to casual use
