Burglary Rating/Protection

A high quality burglar resistant safe will have a certification plate ( see sample below ) affixed to the inside of the door that guarantees the product has been tested and graded to the latest industry standards and the appropriate rating level is given to the product based on the amount of time an intruder takes to crack open the safe.

This information plate will indicate the appropriate level of protection the safe or cabinet will provide if attacked.

The various certification tests are carried out by independent accredited institutes where the safes undergo tough analysis which will certify them for a certain level of burglary resistance . This level of resistance is given in grades starting at 0 and climbing to VI for safes and XIII for vaults .The grading system is particularly important for insurance reasons , as the contents of the safe will only be insured for the correct value if the safe carries the appropriate grade .To grade a safe ,a test must be conducted by an accredited institute . A Combination of factors are taken into consideration such as the safes specifications being the materials and security incorporated in the safes construction size – power and effectiveness of the attack tools used ,the time period , methods and skill of the technician breaking into the safe, these technicians are experienced safe engineers who are armed with an assortment of modern day power tools including high speed grinders & drills ,oxy -acetylene ,crowbars & sledge hammers and other various cutting equipment.

Burglary Protection Grades

Safes and vaults are awarded grades for burglary protection:

• • For security cabinets, there are Grades S1 and S2 (EN 11450).
  • For safes, vaults and vault doors, they are rated from Grade 0 to Grade XIII (EN 1143-1) and from class TL-15 to class 3 (UL 687 and UL 608).
  • High security locks are graded according to EN 1300 or UL 1034 and security doors sets, windows and partitions are ranked from RC1 to RC6 (EN 1127).

During the certification process, door panels of the products, bolt works, locks and handles are tested. The certification tests include an attack program that is devised so that various break-in attempts can be made using a selection of tools. A correlation between tool type and the time for which each one is used can be used to obtain a resistance score (resistance unit). The higher the score, the higher the level of resistance. Based on the results obtained, the safe is given a classification and then listed in a resistance grade.