UL Named BHMA-Approved Testing Lab for BHMA Certification Program

UL (Underwriters Laboratories), a world leader in advancing safety, today announced it has been accepted as an official testing laboratory for the Builders Hardware Manufacturers Association (BHMA), a trade organization setting industry standards and testing requirements to ensure today's commercial hardware products are made with quality and designed for safe usage in the a majority of the nation's commercial and institutional buildings. BHMA's membership, comprised of more than 80 percent of all U.S. manufacturers of builders' hardware, will now have the ability to choose one of the many UL laboratories for testing and evaluation of door hardware products and systems.

In collaboration with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the BHMA has developed more than 31 industry-accepted standards for the manufacturing and performance of commercial hardware products such as locks, hinges, door controls and exit devices.  ANSI/BHMA standards are the written descriptions and criteria that precisely define the appropriate operation, performance characteristics, test values, usage parameters, and safety criteria of specific types of builders' hardware products.  For a product to be included in the BHMA Certified Product Directory, a manufacturer must submit that product to a BHMA-approved independent testing facility for comprehensive testing against ANSI/BHMA standards prior to receiving potential certification.  In addition to hardware testing, UL also has the ability to test products for security, signaling, fire and forced entry for a complete testing and certification offering.