FEATURE: HARDWARE & PLUMBING DON’T PANIC!
STRAND HARDWARE MAKES EMERGENCY HARDWARE SPECIFICATION SIMPLE
Strand Hardware is taking the panic out of buying emergency exit solutions by outlining key considerations for specification. It urges customers to put ‘safety first’ – prioritising functionality, quality, and performance at the head of decision-making.
that products comply with Construction Product Regulations. Strand Hardware’s
C Antipanic
Emergency Exit and Panic range meet these requirements. In an emergency or panic situation, they release exit doors by means of a push bar, touch bar or a push pad on outward opening single or double doors. For day-to-day use, doors can be opened from the outside with an outside access device. “When an emergency door can be locked or opened from the outside, it should still be freely released from inside – maintaining security without compromising its basic panic function,” says Strand Hardware MD
E marked products for fire and escape doors are a must for architects and specifiers and best practice determines
Steve Marshall. He urges specifiers to identify suitable solutions by considering the following:
1. Product range - Strand Hardware offers PH (modular push bar/push pad range), PHT (touch bar range), PHTM (motorised touch bar range) options. Selection criteria is provided by the EN standards EN1125 and EN179 and should reflect occupancy levels. Other matters to be considered include creating clear opening requirements, how the door is intended to be used, whether it is fire resisting, the operating environment etc Aesthetics and budget will also have a place, but these are secondary to the life safety aspect.
2. Door/frame material and design - Different strikes are used to suit various door materials and construction. For PVCU doors and
frames, a range of profile related strikes are available for which the system manufacturer and profile model is needed. Glass doors require patch fittings to suit the escape device and door construction. Whether the doors are fire-resisting and how the door is hung will also have a bearing.
3. Locking latch arrangement and number - Single and three-point locking latches are available across all the ranges with the ability to convert on site from three point to two point in the most cases. Factors to be considered include whether the door is single or double, construction, material and size. For double doors requiring escape through both leaves, it is critical that whichever door leaf is operated it must open and whether the doors are rebated through the lock stile section/overlapping plates or are plain edged.
LOOKING LEAN - STRAND MAKES WAREHOUSE IMPROVEMENTS
Strand Hardware has developed leaner assembly, dispatch and warehousing processes – saving hundreds of staff hours each year – in a joint project with a crack team from Warwick University. The project with WMG (Warwick Manufacturing
Group) has optimised warehouse layout and movement for the efficient flow of picking, assembly and packing operations across key ranges. It involved measuring processes via time study and motion analysis through site visits, video capture and process flow assessment. Findings outlined cycle times and mapped the movement of people. The resulting report outlined a series of
recommendations to improve process capacity, including quick wins and minor modifications to warehouse and workstations layout to introduce time savings. This has led to the introduction of mobile Kanban shelving within the assembly area to allow components to be picked and assembled more efficiently. The double-sided racks allow bins to be
14 DIY WEEK NOVEMBER 2022
restocked by a dedicated person who conveys stock between Strand’s warehouse and its head office on another part of the site. Steve Marshall, Managing Director of Strand
Hardware, says that the project had been “thorough and exacting.” “Strand Hardware has grown over 30 years. Like most companies, while scaling up, we have focused on customer requirements and day-to-day business operations. We felt that the time had come to review what we were doing and whether we could be doing it more efficiently, which led to the opportunity to work with WMG.”
Above: Strand Hardware supplied motorised touch bar panic devices in satin stainless-steel finish through Allgood plc for the Auchmuty High School project in Fife Scotland.
4. Outside access - External access can be provided by a mechanical outside access device, using a key, push button digital combination and in most cases either a lever handle or knob. Again, thought needs to be given to how the door is to be used. Most electronic access control can be accommodated by use of an internal motorised touch bar.
5. Size of door - Door widths and heights should be checked before ordering as many wider and taller doors can be catered for from stock by use of wider crossbars, wider model touch bars and extra-long rod kits.
6. Finish - Powder coated white and black finishes are available from stock along with the standard silver grey, which have the option of a green cross bar. A decorative plated satin stainless steel finish and simulated polished brass are available for many ranges. Where a high degree of corrosion resistance is necessary the DFine grade 316 stainless steel is available. Many other finishes can be provided to special order.
About Strand Hardware Strand Hardware is a family-run business with a wealth of experience in architectural ironmongery. It supplies high-quality window and door hardware, combining locally manufactured products with sole UK distribution for top European brands, including Athmer and Antipanic. For more information on Strand
Hardware’s products email: info@
strandhardware.co.uk, call 01922 639111 or visit
strandhardware.co.uk
www.diyweek.net
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