Restricting windows for student safety shouldn’t be a university challenge

Now Freshers Week is now a distant memory and the latest batch of students will have settled into their new lodgings, Universities are being urged to ensure that all campus accommodation windows are suitably secure – and reminded that if they’re not, the cost and effort to make them safe is minimal compared with the potential consequences of death or injury.

Universities already have estate management maintenance teams in place to carry out inspections and undertake installations, the only budgetary cost of fitting window restrictors is for the products themselves, which is miniscule compared to the potentially tragic consequences of not having them.

“Heart breaking news reports of students falling or jumping from the windows of their accommodation are becoming more commonplace,” says Toby Staff, Managing Director of Newstar Door Controls.

“Universities have a legal and moral responsibility to ensure that window restrictors are in place and fully operational, and that windows can’t be opened beyond the British Standard span of 100mm.

“The Health and Safety Executive advise that ‘windows that are large enough to allow people to fall out should be restrained sufficiently to prevent such falls and window restrictors should only be able to be disengaged using a special tool or key’.

“It’s highly recommended to fit a restrictor that’s not only strong enough to prevent a window being forced open, but also robust and complex enough not to be unlocked by anything other than the correct key.

“The Cubelock Premier window restrictor is designed with a Triple Lock high security mechanism that provides extra student protection from attack by non-key holders, delivering the ultimate in safety and security.

“Cubelock keys have been designed with three teeth, making it almost impossible to ‘pick’ the Safe Lock Action restrictor with an alternative instrument. In addition, if the lock is tampered with to the point of breaking, it will fail in the locked position.

“Because our Cubelock window restrictors are so easy to install, with just 4 screws required to fit each one, many can be installed over a short period of time, making them ideal for a university’s maintenance team. Also, fitting a high-quality product such as the Cubelock will reduce the amount of regular inspections required, saving time in the long run.”

Certass TA, the largest trade association in the fenestration sector, has recently released its ‘Good Practice Fitting Window Restrictors 2019 Technical Sheet’, explaining best practice principles to follow.

Jon Vanstone, Chair at Certass Trade Association, says: “Using the Health & Safety Executive recommendations across the board would give appropriate protection in domestic buildings – from high-rise student accommodation to your average 3 bed semi-detached family home and everything in between.

“As an award-winning best practice association, Certass wants to ensure that every window installed is safe for occupants both present and future. These restrictors are a low-cost inclusion that has a life-saving potential.”

For more information go to www.cubelockrestrictor.com. For advice email sales@cubelockrestrictor.com or call 01474 353111.