Emergency service supported

Leigh-based ERC Testing recently welcomed members of the Greater Manchester Police Force and the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service to the laboratory, to provide assistance with it ‘method of entry’ training.

Mike Hackett, laboratory manager at ERC Testing, said: “Working with door hardware on a daily basis, trying to force and manipulate it in order to put it through testing procedures, gives us in-depth knowledge of its strengths and weaknesses.

“We’ve been using some innovative techniques to challenge the hardware and thought that, with fire safety top of the public agenda at present, we would contact our local fire and police stations in Leigh to offer to share our knowledge on the latest door lock manipulation techniques.

“This offer was well received and we were pleased to welcome Method of Entry Training Instructors from both Greater Manchester Police Force and Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service to the Lab, where we went through some examples of lock manipulation. The feedback we received suggested the information we shared with them was useful.

“The fenestration industry’s focus on hardware is mainly to deter the opportunist burglar, which means the time taken to manipulate the lock is critical. This is also true for the Emergency Services, which is why we decided to contact them.”