What is LPS 1175?
LPS 1175 is a Loss Prevention Standard overseen by the Loss Prevention Certification Board (LPCB). The LPCB is accredited by UKAS (the United Kingdom Accreditation Service).
The LPCB sets a series of standards which are used to describe the level of security that a door, grille, shutter or other equipment, will provide to the consumer.
Basically, cutting through the jargon, the LPCB use LPS 1175 to assess the effectiveness of security equipment. This is done by testing the equipment in a laboratory. Various tools are used in an effort to breach the equipment by trained safety personnel. The effectiveness of the door is then rated on an eight point scale, known as a security rating. This is best explained by looking at the different levels of LPS 1175.
Under LPS 1175, doors that can be breached by opportunists using category A tools such as pliers, knives or screwdrivers, are classified as Security Rating (SR) 1. SR1 doors will resist such attacks for at least one minute.
SR2 doors can be breached by determined opportunists using category B tools, in addition to category A ones. Such tools include drills, hammers and bolt cutters. SR2 doors will resist attacks of this nature for at least three minutes.
SR3 rated doors are not considered able to withstand deliberate and prolonged forced entry using category C tools, as well as category B equipment, which include gas torches, crowbars, chisels and short axes. They will resist attacks of this nature for at least five minutes.
It takes category D tools to get through an SR4 rated door, including jigsaws, disc grinders, steel wedges, sledgehammers and felling axes. SR4 doors will resist tools such as this for a minimum of ten minutes.
SR5 doors can only be breached using top-end battery-powered tools of the kind used by the Fire Service and by other professional rescue teams. For example, the extremely powerful 750W reciprocating saw, fitted with specialist blades. SR5 is a massive jump in security from SR4 and state-of-the-art tools are required to breach it. SR5 rated doors will resist even these awesome machines for a minimum of ten minutes. Having said that, there are no restrictions on who can buy such tools so if the intent is there, even SR5 doors can be overcome.
SR6 and SR7 doors will resist mains-powered industrial cutting tools for at least ten minutes. While SR8 rated doors will provide 20 minutes of resistance to the same tools. SR6 and above doors are serious pieces of equipment and are also extremely expensive.
SR1 and SR2 doors tend to be used in domestic and commercial applications. SR3, SR4, SR5 and SR6 tend to be found in commercial situations with SR6 doors usually protecting very high-value stock. SR7 and SR8 rated doors are usually found in situations where security is absolutely vital, for example, in government buildings and bank vaults.
LPS 1175 allows doors, and other building equipment, which are made by a range of different manufacturers, to be directly compared. For example, SR3 rated doors may differ in their design, or in what they are made from, but they will all provide identical levels of security.
From time to time, the LPCB will alter the standard slightly, in response to new technologies or a change in other, related standards. LPS 1175 Doors are currently on its seventh version.
As well as providing comparability, the LPS 1175 standard is also recognised by insurance companies. The insurance premium for a building protected by SR3 doors is likely to be significantly lower in price than for the same building fitted with SR1 doors.