LPS 1175 certification is awarded by the Loss Prevention Certification Board to products which meet their stringent testing criteria. It is a standard recognised by Insurance Companies, Local Authorities and Government agencies as well as many other Large Organisations.

The tests are carried out by various dedicated testing houses and the test criteria is rigorously enforced that means to the end user can be confident that security equipment tested in this way really is fit for purpose, starting at level 1, the higher the number the more rigorously the equipment has been tested.

It is a very expensive standard to achieve by the manufacturers both the cost of the test but also the amount of engineering that needs to be built into the equipment to achieve the standard, often the doors have to be re-engineered and be resubmitted for a test because they.

Customers need to be aware that there are doors on the market that purport to achieve various standards of security based on different levels of security some even claim to use the same tools to break in as used in the test, self testing by manufacturers even if using the LPS criteria mean very little and almost certainly are not as rigorous as the authorised testing.

If in doubt whether a piece of security equipment has achieved the test standard claimed then it is easy to check by visiting the Red Book online which lists all the equipment that has been tested and the security rating achieved.

Please visit:- www.redbooklive.com.

However if it is a piece of a equipment that has only recently achieved accreditation it may not appear in the book, if that is the case the manufacturer will be able to supply a copy of the Test Certificate.

The doors are put through a series of manual intervention attack tests using tools from the tool category appropriate to the products anticipated security rating.

Below is a simple chart showing the security rating, tools used, time to compromise the doors integrity and the time it took to do so.

Essentially the rating equates to the time and tools used by independent engineers to 'break in'.

TOOL CAREGORY A (level 1)

Adhesive tape

• 1 @ cable cutter -150mm long
  • Fishing line (e.g. polypropylene multi fibre)
  • Flexible plastic coupon
• 1 @ Glass cutter
  • Hexagon wrenches-120 mm long
  • Hooks
• 1 @ Knife- blade 125 long x 3 mm wide
• 1 Lever -0.7kg/300 mm long
  • Pliers (including self gripping)- selection 200 mm long
  • Punches
  • Rope
• 1 @ Screwdriver- 6.5 mm diameter/square x 150 mm long
  • Spanners -selection 150 mm long
  • Tweezers
  • Wire
  • Wood/plastic wedges

NOTE: The tools of this category are selected in order to simulate an opportunist attack by bodily physical force and by stealth using minimal tools.

TOOL CATEGORY B (Tool category A plus) (Level 2)

• 1 @ Bolt cutter -350 mm long
• 1 @ Claw hammer - 350 mm long/0.7kg
• 1 @ Drill bit (6 mm diameter jobber -HSS/HSCO/Carbide)
• 1 @ Hand drill -400 mm long/1.5kg
• 1 @ Junior hacksaw plus 2 HSS blades
• 1 @ Metal plate shears -200 mm long
• 1 @ Metal plate shears -200 mm long
• 1 @ Pipe wrench -250 mm long
• Pliers (including self gripping) - selection 250 mm long
• 1 @ Screw -7 mm diameter/square x 250 mm long
• 1 @ Screwdriver - 14mm diameter/square x 400 mm long
• 1 @ Tube - 38 mm diameter x 300 mm long

NOTE: This tool category provides a more determined opportunist attack by bodily physical force and tools of a higher mechanical advantage.

TOOL CATEGORY C (Tool category A and B plus) (Level 3)

• 1 @ Axe -350 mm long/1.5kg
  • Brick bolsters -250mm long x 75 mm wide blade
  • Cold chisels -250 mm long x 25 mm wide blade
• 1 @ Crowbar -700mm long/2.5kg
• 1 @ Drill (cordless with rotary action only) -7.2 V d.c*
• 1 @ Drill bit (10 mm diameter jobber -HSS/HSCO/Carbide
• 1 @ Gas torch (Butane/Propane)
• 1 @ Hacksaw plus 2 HSS blades
• 1 @ Pad saw plus 2 HSS blades
• 1 @ Scissor jack -750 kg capacity, 100 mm minimum retracted, 200 mm stroke Wood chisels-250 mm long x 25 mm wide blade

*Complete with a spare power pack.

NOTE: The tool category is for deliberate forced entry of well-protected premises using bodily physical force and a wide selection of attack options.