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BROUGHTON HIGH SECURITY LAUNCHES
SECURITY RATED TURNSTILE
Broughton Control’s rapidly expanding High Security Division has launched a new high security turnstile, the Defender 970, aimed at customers requiring unsupervised control of pedestrian access within a site perimeter.
The Defender 970 High Security Turnstile is the latest addition to a range of products from Broughton High Security aimed at front line security locations including ports, airports, prisons, police stations and government buildings as well as high risk commercial and industrial facilities such as banks and oil refineries.
Open and shut case
DOES ANYONE OUT THERE UNDERSTAND THE IMPLICATIONS OF BS12453:2001?
LAURENCE GOODE, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF ENTRANCE CONTROL SPECIALISTS BROUGHTON CONTROLS, LOOKS AT THE NEW BRITISH STANDARD COVERING POWERED GATES, DOORS AND BARRIERS.
Site security has always been an important issue, with the obvious desire to minimise the threat of vandalism and theft. Automatic gates, doors and barriers are now an accepted part of any streetscape but the publication of a new British Standard has highlighted the requirement for user and operator safety.
January 2001 saw the publication of British Standard EN12453, a document that may well change the face of the entrance control industry. The specifications laid down by the new British Standard cover every aspect of the construction, installation and operation of powered gates, doors and barriers.
Many entrance control systems, although apparently bespoke for a particular application or site, can be little more than a collection of parts, assembled and installed by a general contractor. The components may be readily available from a variety of sources but even buying the highest quality components does not necessarily guarantee a safe and effective entrance control system.
The new British Standard puts pressure onto the installer to create, test and certify each installation as well as ensure adequate instruction in the use of the equipment for the relevant personnel. This is all potential additional cost and exposes the temptation to cut corners in order to keep quotations and project costs down. Specifiers and end users will need to be careful in their choice of suppliers to ensure that they are receiving a system that will be certified and operate up to the standards required by BS EN12453.
The majority of end users and indeed a great number of installers are still largely unaware of the detail and consequences of the new Standards. The entrance control and security industry has experienced massive growth, particularly over the last five years, although it has been in a rather piecemeal fashion and with no regulation. As a consequence we have arrived at the present situation, where entrance control systems are being sold and installed by almost anyone and everyone. This of course has caused huge variations in the quality, safety and design values of entrance control equipment and it may be that the publication of the new British Standard heralds the start of some control for the industry itself. Broughton Controls, along with a handful of other system manufacturers, has stayed one step ahead of issues such as this through constant product innovation. For a long time now the entrance control industry leaders have offered a full range of safety features, often as standard fitments, on their entrance control systems. As a result, quotations from such companies have not necessarily been among the lowest to land on a buyers desk but - as the saying goes-, you get what you pay for.
Under BS EN12453:2001, anyone purchasing or specifying entrance control systems would be well advised to examine proposed specifications with care - to ensure that the systems that they order or specify are going to be fully compliant, right down to the necessary commissioning and operator training. Although, as we have already said, there is a burden of compliance very much on the system installer, in the event of an accident or injury caused by entrance control equipment, any trail of litigation would almost certainly start with the property owner or occupier. Something any owner, tenant or facilities management company can well do without.
Facilities management companies and end users of entrance control systems should not be expected to possess detailed knowledge of the new Standards. As clients and end users they should be able to rely upon professionals from the entrance control industry to provide specialist advice and systems that fulfil all the necessary obligations of BS EN12453:2001. Unless you really want to wade through it and take the time to understand the details for yourself, current advice to anyone purchasing entrance control systems involving electrically powered gates, doors or barriers is to question your potential suppliers very hard. Ask in particular about compliance details, inbuilt safety features, system testing, operator training and risk assessment. If your supplier is up to speed on the new regulations they won't mind a few extra questions but if you are not one hundred percent happy with the replies, take care - the buck could stop at your desk.
Laurence Goode is managing director of Broughton Controls Ltd of Oldham . Built up over the last twenty-five years into one of the UK's foremost entrance control specialists; With a full ISO 9001 2000 accredited design, manufacturing, installation and maintenance capability, Broughton regularly work in partnership with major architects, specifiers and contractors and have a distinguished client list including Daimler Chrysler, Jaguar, Manchester United and most recently the new Manchester Stadium - home to the 2002 Commonwealth Games.