Clearview National August 2015 - Issue 165 | Page 72

hardware& security

Security is a moving target for our industry to hit at the
moment with changing legislation confirmed and more still
on the cards. Stewart Lamb, Managing Director of VITA
looks at what hardware suppliers need to be doing to
ensure their fabricator and installer customers stay ahead.

Do you have
a Supportive
Supplier?
»»Energy efficiency
has taken up a lot of our industry’s
column inches in recent years, and
quite rightly so. But more recently,
the emphasis seems to be shifting
back to security. Of course just as
security has never disappeared as
an essential requirement, energy
efficiency is set to remain an
important issue, but security is
the current moving target that
fabricators and installers have to
ensure they hit to comply, which
has pushed it firmly back into the
spotlight.
The biggest change that most
will now be aware of, if not
familiar with, is the introduction
of Document Q: Security, which
comes into force in October. This
is the requirement for all new
build and some refurbishment
projects to install windows with
the Secured by Design stamp
or PAS24 certification. What
many might not be aware of is
that there are also proposed
changes to PAS24 which of course
will have a knock on affect to
Document Q if passed later this
year.
It’s at times like these when a
lot of fabricators look to their
suppliers for guidance. Timber
companies will need to fend

72 » AUG 2015 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M

for themselves while PVCu and
aluminium manufacturers have the
option of cascading information
down form their systems
suppliers for Document Q.
Regardless of whether customers
can or can’t use cascaded data,
they will still need to know all
of the component parts are up
to the task. Of course it’s the
whole window that carried the
Secured by Design approval, but
the hardware for example has a
crucial role to play.

Longevity – 30 years
in the business
Although the VITA brand may
not be a well-known brand in
the UK, we have 30 years global
experience (including 15 in the
UK) so there is no question
that we know what we’re doing.
Despite the fact we have perhaps
gone under the radar, we have by
no means been standing still. We
have developed a vast product
range of innovative and value for
money products including window
and door handles, door hinges,
door accessories, a stunning range
of complementary products for
composite doors and a range of
locking systems including multipoint and cylinders.