Following two days of filming and interviews at Architectural Testing Inc.’s (ATI’s) York, Pa., headquarters, Discovery Channel aired two segments showcasing ATI’s threat resistance assessment services on the science news show, Daily Planet. Both segments were filmed inside ATI’s Security Research Center where viewers got an inside look at Blast Resistance Testing and Forced Entry Resistance Testing. Daily Planet producers observed and interviewed engineers from Architectural Testing throughout every stage of the testing, as well as representatives from ASSA ABLOY, which donated products for the project.
Forced Entry Resistance Testing, frequently referred to as the ‘Angry Mob Test’, evaluates the resistance of security doors and windows against break-ins utilizing primitive tools and the brute force of six men.
Blast-resistance testing evaluates the resistance of a security door or window against a bomb blast event using pressures exceeding 1,700 pounds per square foot. Not unlike ATI’s Arena Blast Facility in Lubbock, Texas, which uses live explosives to generate blast pressures, ATI’s shock tube in York provides an indoor venue for bomb blast testing.
“The testing and evaluation ATI performs behind the scenes helps manufacturers ensure their products meet applicable safety standards and code requirements. Discovery Channel provided the opportunity to showcase the amount of product development required to meet the demands of this intense and challenging testing,” says Chad Buhrman, director of Business Development.
Founded in 1975, ATI is an ISO/IEC 17025 accredited building products testing laboratory providing more than 2,000 defined test protocols at one or more of its 14 full-service laboratories.