BHMA PUBLISHES NEW STANDARD FOR HIGH SECURITY CYLINDERS

Long-Awaited ANSI/BHMA A156.30 Likely to Influence Security Policies and Building Codes

NEW YORK, NY — The Builders Hardware Manufacturers Association (BHMA) announces the publication of the ANSI/BHMA A156.30-2003 American National Standard for High Security Cylinders.

This new standard includes security performance requirements for both mechanical and electrified high security cylinders. It applies to high security cylinders, including their keys or electronic credentials; their detainers (mechanical pins, levers, discs) or electronic control device; and their cylinder tailpiece or cam or electronic output port. This important new ANSI/BHMA standard is 16 pages in length plus a 3-page appendix. It includes more than 28 definitions of terms relating to cylinders, keys, credentials and input/output. Illustrations and descriptions of the main types of cylinders and input devices are provided in the appendix.

According to Mike Tierney, standards coordinator for BHMA, the high security standard is an important step forward for BHMA. “A156.30 is not a revision of an earlier standard. This completely new standard is the culmination of a long effort on the part of BHMA member companies,” said Tierney. “This document establishes meaningful tests and performance criteria for high-security cylinder lock systems. Since these hardware systems directly affect security, this standard was written for ease of adoption in building codes and security policies for commercial, institutional and industrial buildings. As such, it is of great interest to security specialists and insurance underwriters as well as specifiers, contractors and building owners.”

ANSI/BHMA 156.30 specifies a series of destructive tests and surreptitious entry-resistance tests (i.e., nondestructive tests) that measure the security performance of cylinders. The highest rating that a high security cylinder can achieve is Security Level A, which is achieved only when it passes every applicable test defined in this standard with a Level-A rating.

Destructive tests include forced separation tests, which attempt to forcibly separate the cylinder plug from the body of the cylinder. For example, Level A cylinders must withstand a force of 2500 pounds. Similar tests involve the application of multiple impacts and torques. Another type of destructive test is drill resistance, which requires the cylinder to resist attacks that combine high-speed drilling followed by attempts to rotate the lock-driving element of the cylinder to the opening position.

Surreptitious entry-resistance tests include several criteria, including key changes, mechanical pick resistance and electrical pick resistance. Level A high security cylinders must provide for 10 million theoretical key changes. (A theoretical key change is the total number of bitting combinations, usually reduced in practice.)

Building upon the rigorous requirements for cylinders in ANSI/BHMA A156.5 Auxiliary Locks and Cylinders, ANSI/BHMA A156.30 defines new standards for key control. To obtain a Level A with regard to key control, key blanks must not be available from a second source, they must be protected by law, and only factory cut keys are provided by the manufacturer only after authorization. Similar credentialing applies to electronic credentials, in which case the manufacturer provides factory-programmed credentials only after authorization; or the credentials are based on dynamic authorization or biometric technology.

For more information, or to purchase copies of the ANSI/BHMA A156.30-2003 Standard, please visit BHMA’s web site at www.buildershardware.com. Purchased standards are available as printed documents or as electronic files (PDF) for immediate download. You can also order standards by phone by calling 800-699-9277.

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