The recent television programme aired on the BBC a couple of weeks ago certainly did stir the debate in this industry and our sister industry in locksmithing. It was good to see many different people from different companies voice their opinions on the programme and say whether it was good or not. One of those participants in the debate was MD of UAP David Jennings, and below is his take on the whole lock snapping situation and what can be done about it:
Has the BBC created a new market opportunity for security cylinders?
Last month the BBC programme Inside Out featured a lengthy documentary on Lock Snapping and general cylinder vulnerability. My view of this is well known as I believe it was irresponsible and the people behind this release to the BBC were not motivated by concerns over the public’s safety but just motivated by pure greed. The question of cylinder vulnerability has now been featured on 5 Live, Local Newspapers and we are advised it will feature heavily nationally on 19th March on BBC’s The One Show.
For some time now the quickest and most cost effective solution to Lock Snapping is to upgrade basic euro cylinder locks to security enhanced Anti-Snap Cylinder locks, which have anti-snap cuts on both sides of the cylinder. With an Anti-Snap Cylinder, if unreasonable force is applied to one end of the cylinder, it only breaks away to the anti-snap line and leaves the locking mechanism still inside the door (see diagram).now the official police approved scheme ‘Secured by Design’ and British Standards Institute have been working to improve door security – specifically against Lock Snapping. New standards have recently been introduced to overcome this problem, such as using Anti-Snap Cylinders like our own UAP+ Zero Lift Cylinders, in conjunction with security handles.
There are a few other cylinders options, but generally price for these is a big issue, making them unaffordable for most fabricators and the average consumer. The BS Kitemarked UAP+ Zero Lift Cylinder is one of the most popular security cylinders on the market, offering good security at an affordable price. In combination with a security handle set it is almost unbeatable.
We have seen a massive growth in sales of our UAP+ Zero Lift products in the past three weeks and this is only going to continue to increase over the next few months as the cat is out of the bag and this issue is not going away.
UAP are ideally placed to help you capitalise on this new demand. We hold huge stocks of Kitemark Cylinders. But even we can predict that on some sizes we may struggle to cope with initial demand. I strongly advise you to speak to your UAP Sales Representative (Tel: 0161 796 7268) urgently and we can help ensure we keep you in stock and up to date with information.
For those companies who offer a door to door cylinder upgrade service, we have developed a Cylinder Gauge which means you can measure a cylinder whilst the lock is in the door, quickly and easily, thereby reducing the enquiry to sales conversion to fitting time. If you would like a sample of the UAP Cylinder Gauge sent to you with your next order of UAP+ Zero Lift cylinders, please request this when you speak to your UAP Sales Representative.
In closing, by working together we can ensure that we help you maximize the current opportunity, and the new future market for cylinders.
David Jennings
Managing Director
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The problem with only having a shear line as your security for anti snapping is that its easily circumvented. A common form of attack is using a screw and a claw hammer this defeats a shear line cylinder straight away as the screw goes past the shear line and snaps the cylinder as if it was a normal cylinder. Also in most shear line cylinders the shear line comes into play against a lateral force however if you use your grips in an up and down motion it will again bypass this defence. Yes there are more expensive cylinders on… Read more »
Also please find details on the MLA Sold Secure Diamond standard here https://www.abs-secure.co.uk/ssd.asp this is much more of a real world test of door entry via the cylinder area.
You can find the home of the ABS cylinder here https://www.abs-secure.co.uk/default.asp feel free to contact our internal sales team to arrange a demonstration of the ABS or want to see how secure you current solution actually is at our test labs.
Peter
The reason Toyota sell more cars than Rolls Royce is because most people cannot afford a Rolls Royce. The same goes with cylinders and all other types of products.
The Zero Lift Anti Snap cylinder is affordable and will prevent an attack from the Hoody yobbo which is the most form of attack.
This is the reason why we sold 14,000 Zero Lift Cylinders last week alone in the UK Peter. How many did you sell?
David
Yes but the difference is maybe £18-£20 not £200k so that analogy is not really relevant is it, as every single person in this country would pay the extra £20 to secure their property or would the £500+ excess be more palatable when the property is broken into.
Well the two main attacks when looking at cylinder snaps are the mole grip attack and a screw and hammer attack both of these would get through any cylinder with a shear line as there only form of prevention.
Of course the comparison is relevant…………………and your calculations of cost differences are bizarre to say the least.
They are surely its just basic maths and your quote ? Rolls Royce Ghost list price £250k Average Toyota car £25k So based on cylinders we would take the invoice price of the ABS less the invoice price of a Zero Lift cylinder (yes customers do show us your invoices as i am sure they show you ours) this then equates to the paltry sum of approx £20 can be as lower though. So in reality theres nothing bizarre about that is there…… And certainly a fabricator/locksmith etc can easily justify that small amount of money to get a cylinder… Read more »
I don’t think I will dignify your reply with a response.
I used to wonder why your lot sold so few ABS.
I now have my answer
lol your funny But let’s have some facts and honesty 1) You have no idea how many we sell. 2) Are you saying that circa £20 isnt the difference between our two products, or that the zero lift cylinder isn’t sold for between £6-£7 depending on qty the invoices you send out say that figure :-p 3) Ok let’s say you give the product away for free is sub £30 to much for a secure property? 4) You could be looking at the retail price of course, but isn’t it better that the locksmiths/installers/fabricators make some decent margin, or don’t… Read more »
what’s to stop an attack through either the toughened glass or the panel.if the lock cylinder right size it shouldn’t protrude enough to enable snap.At least without removing internally fixed handle first.
Mark the handle can be removed in seconds and i literally mean seconds even high security handles can be taken off very very quickly.
Also using another technique with a screw and claw hammer you dont even need to remove the handle.
Herberts try and not break the glass due to possible cuts and dna being left at the scene and when you can snap a cylinder and handle in 15-20 secs whats the point.
peter
I’ve boarded approx 40 jobs per week after break ins for 20yrs or so.
i can assure you most are not anything to do with bumping or snapping.perhaps you have more intelligent burglars in your area.I personally can only speak as i find.maybe the new methods of breaking in to premises will take off after all the publicity
Hi Mark Well 20% of all break ins are via a cylinder snap according to the Police so it is a common method of entry already. But yes as already discussed elsewhere in this blog it is very area specific ie the North of the country is affected more than the South, however it is a problem that is spreading as it is such an easy method of entry. But as your business concentrates on boarding up, and glass replacement etc customers that have had cylinder snaps are not likely to call you so even if it was quite a… Read more »
the majority of my calls are from the police.These locks are normally in back doors ,French and patio.So to use an engineering punch on the toughened glass in these areas will facilitate a very fast entry.Much faster than snapping or bumping.Thieves seem to move to the next point of entry anyway if they are determined enough.so failing on a lock won’t deffinitely stop them.they will just attack somewhere else.
Reply Regarding lock bumping and snapping, funny how fickle they are at UAP! it wasn’t that long ago I read an article from UAP “Dont listen to stories that go bump in the night” referring to the BSI kitemark scheme on antibump cylinders. Companies like GTV UK the first company to achieve the kitemark standard on cylinders and ABS (Avocet ) have pioneered the improvement in the cylinder locking market without cheap marketing campaigns. They have continued to develop their cylinder ranges to combat snapping and other forms of entry, to see the new GTV UK ASP Anti snap protected… Read more »
David says it was irresponsible of the BBC too air this program . does he not think it is irresponsible to advertise a very snapable cylinder as anti snap does he not think this is giving his customers a false sense of security. but he does have a point on costing as I would love to be able to fit abs locks on every job but the fact is people believe that a bs kite mark is a sign of quality . to be competitive with others who tell there customers a uap will solve the issue of lock snapping… Read more »
Philip if your an installer then maybe you should buy ABS direct you will find its not as expensive as you think.