Glass and ratings
- Attack-resistant glass
- Laminated glass rated against manual attack: hitting, kicking, thrown objects and tools. It is rated under EN 356 and is not tested against firearms.
- EN 1063 or EN 356? Choosing glass for a security counter
- EN 356
- Also called BS EN 356
- The standard for attack-resistant glass. Classes P1A to P5A are tested by dropping a 4.11 kg steel ball onto the glass; P6B to P8B by breaking it with a hammer and axe and counting the blows needed to cut an opening.
- The EN 356 classes, in full
- P4A
- The EN 356 class where a 4.11 kg steel ball is dropped onto the glass from 9 metres, three times, and must not pass through. It is the usual starting point for a security counter, and the rating on our standard pay windows and glazed screens.
- Pay windows PW1 to PW4
- Bullet-resistant glass
- Also called Ballistic glass
- Multi-layer laminated glass rated against firearms under EN 1063, from BR1 to BR7, with SG1 and SG2 for shotguns. It is thicker and heavier than attack-resistant glass, so it needs a stronger frame and fixings.
- Bullet-resistant glass
- BR4
- Also called BR4 glass, BR4 bullet-resistant glass
- The EN 1063 class for glass tested against a .44 Magnum handgun. Our bullet-resistant pay window is glazed BR4/SG1/NS.
- Bullet-resistant pay window (BRPW)
- SG1 and SG2
- The EN 1063 shotgun classes, tested with a 12-bore shotgun slug. A glass rating such as BR4/SG1 has passed both the handgun and the shotgun test.
- The EN 1063 classes, in full
- Spall (S and NS)
- Also called No spall, Splinter rating
- Whether fragments break away from the protected side when bullet-resistant glass is hit. S (spall) means small fragments may come off; NS (no spall) means nothing does, usually thanks to a polycarbonate layer on the inside face. Where staff sit close behind the glass, specify NS.
- Bullet-resistant glass
- FB4 (EN 1522)
- Also called BS EN 1522
- EN 1522 rates a complete window, door or shutter against firearms, frame and fixings included, not just the glass. FB4 is the class tested against a .44 Magnum handgun.
- FB4 bullet-resistant steel access door
- BS 5051
- An older British standard for bullet-resistant glazing that still appears in tenders. Our bulk transfer unit is manufactured to BS 5051 G2 S86.
- Bulk transfer unit (EBTU)
Counters and transfer
- Pay window
- A glazed unit that sits on a counter and lets staff serve the public without anything crossing the desk. Ours come in standard builds, each made to the opening on site.
- Pay windows PW1 to PW4
- Low-level pay window
- A pay window with the opening at seated height, so a wheelchair user or seated customer is served at the main counter rather than at a separate window.
- Low-level pay windows LLPW1 to LLPW4
- Night hatch
- Also called Flush-fit pay window, External pay window
- A pay window set flush into an external wall, so staff can serve customers outside after the doors are locked, as at a garage forecourt or 24-hour pharmacy. Ours has a flush draw transfer unit that locks from the inside.
- Flush-fit external pay window
- Transfer tray
- Also called Deal tray, Cash tray
- A stainless steel tray set into the counter beneath the screen, so documents, cash or packets pass between the public and staff sides without an open gap under the glass. Shallow, cash packet, audio and ballistic versions suit what crosses the counter.
- Transfer trays
- Cash packet tray
- A transfer tray that opens to 110mm deep, so small packages pass through as well as documents and cash.
- Transfer trays
- Shot box
- An under-counter box beneath a ballistic transfer tray, so the opening that documents and cash pass through is not a weak point in a bullet-resistant counter.
- Transfer trays
- Sliding hatch
- A glazed opening in a counter or wall that slides shut and locks, rather than leaving a permanent gap. A vertical hatch slides up; a horizontal hatch slides sideways.
- Vertical and horizontal sliding hatches
- Bulk transfer unit
- Also called EBTU
- A unit for passing items too big for a tray through a wall or counter. Its two doors are electronically interlocked, so they are never open at the same time and the secure side is never open to the public side.
- Bulk transfer unit (EBTU)
- Prepared opening
- The opening in a counter or wall that a screen, window or tray is made to fit. Our units are made to the measured opening, and the opening sizes for trays are on each tech sheet.
- Security screens and counters
Speech and hearing
- Speech transfer
- Any way of carrying a conversation through a security screen: naturally through gaps in the mullions, or electronically with a microphone and speaker on each side where a room is noisy.
- Speech transfer systems
- Speech through the mullions
- Also called Natural speech
- Passive speech transfer: sound passes through gaps in the mullions, the upright members between the glazed panels of a screen. It needs no power.
- Counter audio and speech transfer
- Electronic speech enhancement
- A powered system that picks up speech on one side of a screen and plays it on the other, for counters where the room is noisy. On our audio trays and windows it comes with a hearing loop and needs a 13amp socket.
- Counter audio and speech transfer
- Hearing induction loop
- Also called Hearing loop, Induction loop
- A system that sends sound straight to a hearing aid. In England, Approved Document M asks for a hearing enhancement system, such as an induction loop, at any reception point. Our audio trays and several of our pay windows have one built in.
- Low-level pay windows
- Melaphone
- A counter intercom that carries speech through a transparent diaphragm, so there is no opening through the screen. It suits pharmacies, surgeries and anywhere hygiene matters.
- Counter audio and speech transfer
Doors and forced entry
- LPS 1175
- The LPCB standard, published by BRE, that rates how long a door, screen, shutter or fence resists forced entry. Since Issue 8 a rating is a tool category from A to H plus a minimum delay of 1 to 20 minutes, such as A1 or D10.
- Security doors
- SR1 to SR8
- The LPS 1175 security ratings used before Issue 8, still valid as fixed points on the new scale: SR1 is A1, SR2 B3, SR3 C5, SR4 D10, SR5 E10, SR6 F10, SR7 G10 and SR8 H20.
- Security doors
- EN 1627
- A European standard for the burglar resistance of doors and windows, in resistance classes. It tests differently from LPS 1175, so one rating cannot be swapped for the other.
- Security doors
- Doorset
- A door supplied complete with its frame and hardware, made and rated as one unit. Ours are made in our Edenbridge workshop to the measured opening.
- Security doors
- Panic hardware and break-glass release
- The fittings that let people out of a secured door in an emergency. They are specified with the door and fitted with it, so the door secures the room and still lets people out.
- Security doors
CCTV and access control
- ANPR
- Also called Automatic number plate recognition
- Cameras that capture and log number plates, used at vehicle gates and car park entrances.
- Commercial CCTV systems
- PTZ camera
- Also called Pan, tilt and zoom
- A camera an operator can pan, tilt and zoom, for following activity across large open areas from a control room.
- Commercial CCTV systems
- Thermal camera
- A camera that detects by heat rather than light, for fence lines, yards and anywhere watched in the dark.
- Commercial CCTV systems
- Video management software
- Also called VMS
- The software that records, searches and displays the cameras, from one site or many. We install HikCentral Professional and Luxriot EVO.
- Commercial CCTV systems
- DPIA
- Also called Data protection impact assessment
- An assessment of the privacy risks of processing personal data, usually needed before installing CCTV that can identify people.
- CCTV and GDPR: what UK businesses need to get right
- Tailgating
- One person badging through a controlled door with a second following behind on the same credential. It is a common way round access control, and hard to evidence afterwards.
- Data centre physical security