SECURITY DOORS AND WINDOWS
An aluminium curtain wall with projecting Crittall Fendor top-hung windows with standard hardware at the Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust’s Junction 17 CAMHS unit in Prestwich.
GE: “Crittall Fendor’s North East of England location provides a gateway into the Scottish Market, adds to our UK-wide resources, and enables us to better respond to clients quickly, regardless of where a project is in the UK. By collaborating closely with our colleagues at Crittall Windows, we can meet our customers’ varied requirements – through a combination of wide-ranging technical competence and expertise, and a flexible approach to providing bespoke solutions.”
JB: “Can you tell me about any new product developments particularly relevant to the mental healthcare sector? I believe one new product for which Crittall Fendor has especially high hopes is the new T60 thermally broken steel window and door system. What is ‘special’ about this new system, and where do you see it being deployed most?” GE: “Across much of the NHS estate, and indeed in many private hospitals and clinics, there are buildings that are either listed, or need windows of a specific style to meet the original building design intent; the new T60’s sightlines will sit well in these situations. In mental healthcare, of course, there are specific requirements for windows – such as anti-ligature and security, which will be developed and built in to suit client needs. The SwingVent Heritage window, for instance, uses the Crittall T60 steel thermally broken windows, along with internal mesh, to create a window that fits the ‘heritage look’ requirements of buildings, but also ensures a secure and safe environment, and simultaneously offers service-users an openable window. Sliding windows, of course, have been used for many years now, and offersecurity and safe performance, while allowing patients/ servicer-users to open windows and ventilate rooms. However, such windows often don’t meet the visual requirements of the building.”
JB: “Where was the new T60 product developed, and how long has it been in development?” GE: “Crittall has, for many years, seen a gap in the market for a thermal break window and door suite that provides improved
THE NETWORK | JANUARY 2020
Crittall Fendor says that the new T60’s sightlines will enable it ‘to sit well’ in listed buildings, or those needing windows ‘of a specific style’ to meet the original building design intent.
thermal performance. The company has – in the recent past – continued to develop the profile set with a subsidiary of its main hot rolled steel profile provider based in Italy. Our long-term relationship with the Italian supplier enables us to feed back improvements to the system, and to address new features required by the market. As the largest client in the ‘traditional’ market, the company has encouraged us for a few years to develop products and innovation for this part of the market.”
JB: “How much of a focus does Crittall Fendor put on its R&D work to keep it ahead of its competitors?” GE: “In fact it is constantly top of our agenda, and recently we have added to our Technical Department resource, as we not only consider all constructive feedback from clients, but also any requests for adaptation of our products for specific projects, where this is commercially viable. We are also looking at value engineering of our products, in response to feedback from our Manufacturing and Installation teams.”
JB: “What about any refinements or improvements to existing windows and
doors for the mental healthcare sector? What are the main drivers for improvement for your customers in this sphere?” GE: “Some of Crittall Fendor’s best developments have come about as a result of dialogue with NHS Trusts and private healthcare providers. This continues, and is exemplified by, recent developments to the SwingVent Heritage window, new options for our CleanVent window, and the development of the damage-proof Slipper Clutch. Dialogue and feedback have also led us to design and manufacture our own ironmongery to suit windows and doors. We are consistently considering further developments to existing products to future-proof them – whether thermal, triple glazing, or acoustics-orientated.”
JB: “How important is it to both the company, and its existing and potential customers, that Crittall Fendor is accredited to key industry standards, such as ISO 9001 and ISO 14001?” GE: “Crittall Fendor is not currently ISO14001 certified, but we adhere to the strictest environmental standards in whatever we do. Our ISO 9001 accreditation is vital to us, and underpins our commitment to quality throughout our
Outward-opening Crittall Fendor aluminium CleanVent windows. 23
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