The safes and vaults offer a perfect solution for securing your valuable objects or confidential documents. But with the choice of an adequate model, it is first important to determine your needs, the necessary volume, the nature of the goods,... We help you today to clarify everything, so you can make the right investment!
Index
1 List of the products or documents 2 The storage capacity 3 Protection against indiscretion 4 Protection against theft and break-in5 Protection against fire 6 Protection against humidity
7 The different opening systems8 Some tips for the installation of a safe9 Overview of the norms and labels10 The anti-fire standards 11 The certificates
1 - List of the products or documents
THE VALUABLE OBJECTS
This category deals with the protection of jewelry, collectibles, IT material and firearms. It is strongly advised to insure them at the same time with a suitable policy.
THE DOCUMENTS
Identity documents, strategic or confidential documents, liquidities: these goods with a limited volume are often the most important ones, and require a good protection.
THE COMPUTER DATA
There exists specific armored furniture in order to protect your data or your supports (CD, DVD, USB keys) from fire or from any destruction of the building. They are more difficult to open than a normal cupboard and they will also protect your data against theft.
2 - The storage capacity
A small safe or an armored cupboard? Your choice will depend from the volume that needs to be stored in it. It is even better to foresee extra space, about 25% extra, for future valuable goods or documents.
THE SMALL SAFES
Safes of less than 20 L are adapted to small spaces and give you, thanks to their small size, the opportunity to protect certain confidential documents, identity papers and small objects (e.g. keys or jewelry) in all discretion.
THE MEDIUM SAFES
Safes between 20 and 50 L offer an average volume. Here, you can store administration in size A4 or laptops. They are very functional and they can be equipped with adaptable shelves, in order to meet your needs.
LARGE SAFES AND VAULTS
Safes of more than 50 L offer you the possibility to store a higher volume of small objects or important products. The different types of vaults, with a higher robustness and a capacity up to 780 L, can also correspond with your requirements.
A good study of its characteristics will help you to find a safe with an adapted level of protection. Keep in mind that it is never sufficient to put your objects safely away in a safe for a complete refund from the insurance company. These companies can impose specific protection norms linked to the level of protection.
3 - Protection against indiscretion
In order to protect your documents or your products from prying eyes and limit the access to certain authorized people, you can choose between a large assortment of products. If you don’t wish to insure your goods, you don’t need to look for a specific certificate.
For more valuable products and for a full refund of possible losses, it is indispensable to choose for approved safes, with a certificate of the insurance company, that correspond completely with the strict norms.
THE NORMS
These norms are determined after a series of tests, run by independent labs approved by the insurance companies, toward the requirements of predefined specifications (concerning the break-in method and the time of resistance).
The recognized European anti-theft norms are the norm EN 14450 for the classes S1 and S2 and the norm EN 1143-1 for the classes 0 to 5. These European norms indicate different levels of protection, in function of the time and the used tools to open the safe, but also the resistance against ruptures and detachment. Safes with the norm EN 14450 are meant for domestic use and for small and medium-sized enterprises, for the protection of goods with a small insurable value.
The locks need to be in their turn in accordance with the quality label A2P, which indicates their level of resistance after several tests in a lab, with special attention to a combination of factors, like the nature of the used tools and the duration of the break-in. The resistance is expressed in stars. The higher the number of stars, the longer the safe will resist against a break-in.
THE LEVEL OF THE INSURABLE VALUES
Once the safes have passed the quality tests and correspond with the European norms, they receive a classifying number (between 0 and 5) that indicates the level of protection, in function of the insurable value. Insurance companies can rely on this indicative classification to determine the amount of the guarantee.
Safes can be sold without corresponding with the norms, but only the certificates will guarantee you a certain level of efficiency. Only products that meet the requirements of the European norms may receive the denomination “safe”. Every class indicates an insurable amount:
Class 1 and 2: no insurable values. These are German classes, which are not recognized by our insurance companies.However, they are a real guarantee of quality for the protection against theft.
Class 0: 8000 €
Class 1: 25 000 €
Class 2: 35 000 €
Class 3: 55 000 €
Class 5: 200 000 €
Class 5: 200 000 €
In order to be insurable, the safe needs to be attached to a floor or to a plate in concrete (if it weighs less than 500 kg).
A safe or a vault can not only offer protection against theft and break-in, but they can also give you a supplementary guarantee: the protection against fire.
The fireproof safes and vaults have stronger walls and will protect your documents and valuable goods in case of fire, by delaying the rise of the temperature on the inside of the safe. The anti-fire safes will only apply to the basis of the assortment, while the fireproof products offer a better level of protection.
A fireproof safe is larger than a traditional safe, as it is reinforced with stronger materials. It is available in different volumes. As this safe is often very heavy, it is not possible to move it. In most cases, it is even attached to the floor. This safe is indispensable for companies that save their documents for years, with the only reason that a fire never can be predicted.
If the fireproof safes and cupboards are not completely indestructible, they will still offer an efficient defense against the flames, as they will be able to resist against high temperatures until the firemen arrive.
THE ANTI-FIRE SAFES AND VAULTS (NORM DIN 4102)
These products are the cheapest on the market and their level of resistance against fire is neither tested, nor confirmed. Their side walls can be reinforced and covered with a better thermal isolation than with classic safes, but they are not completely fireproof and they will only delay damage caused by the fire (for about 30 minutes). These DIN 4102 models are indicated with the denomination “anti-fire” (as opposed to the “fireproof” safes).
Fireproof safes and vaults are specifically made to resist against fire. They are tested by the manufacturers, both for the time they are exposed to fire and for the temperature and sometimes also for the waterproofness. There are hence several tests, supervised by approved labs, that assure the quality of your safe. An example: products with the norm EN 1047-1 will protect your goods in the most difficult circumstances, while you are waiting on the emergency services and even at their absence.
GOOD TO KNOW: above 50°C, CDs and hard disks will start to lose data, which means that they can be destroyed in less than a minute. Paper documents burn spontaneously in less than 3 minutes, at a temperature of 177°C. Other critical temperatures for the maintenance of material: floppy disks burn at a temperature of 55°C; magnetic disks at 65°C and microfilms and microfiches at 80°C.
6 - Protection against humidity
In order to protect your goods or documents against irreparable damage caused by water infiltration, you can opt for a waterproof model. Just like the fireproof safes, these models need to pass a series of tests, run in a lab, in order to receive a certificate. The safe is for an hour long submerged under water. Just a few drops are allowed to penetrate inside the safe. Waterproof safes offer the perfect protection against humidity, on a higher level than the classic safes, particularly thanks to the presence of seals or special strips. All the objects inside the safe will be protected from water and fire during a period of at least 30 minutes, in particular during the intervention of the firemen, who can possibly spout water on the safe. Waterproof safes have, in addition, all the characteristics of anti-theft and fireproof safes.
Simplicity, autonomy and functionality are the most important characteristics of safes with a key. They can be delivered with one single or several keys, which need to be put at the same time in the lock, in order to open it. With this traditional and cheap system, it is not necessary to retain a code or to charge a battery. This device is perfect for sporadic use, and can be installed in all the rooms. However, there will always be a chance that the key gets lost.
The most traditional: the safe with a mechanical code
The safe with a mechanical code is mostly appreciated because of its efficiency. It offers a higher level of safety as opposed to the safes with a key. The code is delivered by the manufacturer and is inserted by turning the disks, in order to open it directly. This system can also be combined with a key.
The safest: the safe with electronical lock
These locks are equipped with a touchscreen or a keypad, on which a secret code can be inserted, in order to lock and unlock the opening. These safes have an excellent price/quality ratio and offer several advantages: they are simple to use, they don’t require any key and some models will block the system after a certain number of failed attempts, which limits the risk on fraud. Sometimes they accept the creation of different codes, that need to be listed by all the authorized people. Finally, they procure a high level of protection thanks to the high number of possible combinations. The disadvantage is situated in the fact that it is always easy to forget the code. These models function generally with batteries. However, most of them are also equipped with a system for a key.
The newest: the safe with biometric opening
Although the prices are still high, this is without doubt the most recent model on the market, that is equipped with the newest technologies. A scanner registers the fingerprints of the user. The safe will only open if the system recognizes these fingerprints. In theory, no other person will be able to open the safe. These safes offer an extremely high level of protection: no keys can get lost and it is unnecessary to retain (and share) a code. Several fingerprints can be scanned, in order to give several users the authorization to use the safe.
For the best choice regarding the protection, you need to consider several factors.
In order to protect your goods efficiently, you need to be able to use the safe daily. The lower the rate of accessibility, the less frequently you will use it. At the hour of the installation, you need to opt for user-friendliness and accessibility.
The vaults or the large safes offer a big storage capacity and are often equipped with two doors, but they are pretty heavy and voluminous. They will occupy more space on the floors, and it is also important to check the rotation angle of the doors.
It is recommended to seal smaller safes into the wall. But It will be a lot harder for people with bad intentions to open the ones with larger dimensions. In these cases, it is necessary to check the pressure on the ground. It is preferred to add a plate on the ground, in the rooms where you will install the safe (of approximately 1 ton), in order to spread the weight and increase the resistance.
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9 - Overview of the norms and labels
Knowing the signification of the different norms and labels is primordial at the purchase of a safe. These indications will influence your choice. The norms, that can be defined as the specification sheet used by the manufacturer, are confirmed with a label. These norms and labels will guarantee together the quality and the capacity of the safe.
Norm EN 14450: for a resistance lower than class 0. It concerns the classes S1 and S2. The safety level is expressed in SU (Security Unit). The higher the units, the higher the safety level. These products will resist against non-professional burglary, with a limited number of tools, in a relatively short period of time. Due to their short time of resistance, these safes are rather interesting for private persons or small companies, and for goods with a lower value.
Norm EN 1143-1: for safes with convincing results on the test. Their resistance is situated between the classes 0 to 5. This level of resistance is determined according to the criterion of the resistance units (RU): the higher the number of RU, the higher the resistance. The French A2P certificate (which indicates the resistance time of the locks at an atempt of break-in) or the German VdS certificate complete these norms.
10 - The anti-fire standards
In order to take the difference in resistance between the various supports (paper, CD, cassette) into account, several protection classes have been created.
THE PROTECTION CLASSES (P, D and DIS)
As paper will not offer the same resistance against heat as a multimedia support, every safe will receive a special ratification, linked to the type of document that is supposed to be put in the safe.
Classification P: furniture that protects paper documents and files, against temperatures lower than 165°.
Classification D: furniture for magnetic strips and heat-sensitive paper.
Classification DIS: furniture for multimedia and magnetic supports (CD, DVD, videos…), sensitive to temperature and humidity.
Every class is divided in 3 categories, that determine the storage time of the documents before the emergency services are present (1, 2 or 3 hours).
THE ANTI-FIRE NORMS
The anti-fire norms are followed by information of the resistance time of the product.
Norm EN 1047-1: the most demanding norm for Europe. During the tests for this norm, the safes are submitted to extreme circumstances. It is the most important norm concerning fire protection. Two series of tests are executed: a duration test in the event of fire and a test against electrical shocks (in case of an explosion), followed by a test for resistance against falling (in case of a collapse).
VDMA norms: for paper documents (S 60P or S 120P) and for IT supports (S 60DIS or S 120DIS). The VDMA procedure is developed by German industrials and it tests the resistance against fire and the consequence of a fall from a height of 9 m, in order to simulate the collapse of a floor. When the safe passes the test, it will get recognition for a resistance of one hour (S60P and S60DIS) or of two hours (S 120P and S120DIS), before the papers and the IT supports will be destroyed.
11 - The certificates
The certification aims to determine the real resistance capacity of a productt and will assure their safety and conformity.
The A2P certificate
This certificate is delivered by an independent organism and is granted to products that passed a number of extreme tests on the resistance against break-in. The assignment of the certificate is also subject to a yearly edit of the manufacturing site.
The ECB-S certificate This European label allows an evaluation of the safety level, the resistance level, the protection class, the locking class and the resistance class.
The VdS certificate
It is one of the most demanding certificates in Europe. It is delivered by independent, German organisms and is recognized by the general union of insurance companies in Germany.
The SBSC certificate
This certificate was created in 1997 by a Swedish association for fire protection. The certificate guarantees a large protection level against fire.
The LPCB certificate
This prestigious, British certificate is granted by an independent institution and guarantees already more than 100 years the efficiency of products in terms of protection against fire and break-in.
