In eight days Black Friday will be upon us. As soon as people wake up from their tryptophan induced slumbers and wipe the gravy from their chins, they’ll head out to embark on one of the newest holiday traditions.
Do you know what this means?
This means the traffic in your store, in one night, could reach numbers that usually take a week or more and this is a prime example of when you definitely do not want to skimp on your hardware grades.
Hardware grades are a set of minimum performance standards that apply to products and are developed by ANSI/BHMA. These are used to determine appropriate hardware application and will always fall into one of the following categories:
- Grade 1 Hardware – Heavy-duty commercial use
- Grade 2 Hardware – Light-duty commercial use
- Grade 3 Hardware – Residential use
Hardware Grade No-Nos
Even though it’s really clear that you’re never supposed to use Grade 3 hardware in a commercial facility, we see it way more often than we’d like. Hardware grades are given based on several factors but one of the most important factors is how many cycles a piece of hardware can withstand.
Since Grade 3 hardware is expected to be used in residential settings, they aren’t built to withstand very many cycles. This is why you’re definitely seeing a higher product replacement rate if you use Grade 3 hardware in a commercial facility.
Not All Hardware Grades Are Created Equal
While one might think two Grade 2 leversets would be the same in quality, there’s a chance they might not. Just because they have the same grade doesn’t mean you’re getting the same level of quality. The minimum set of standards only require that certain hardware only meets a certain number of cycles so some Grade 2 hardware is going to perform at the lower end of the cycle count.
Customers need to do their research to make sure the grade hardware they need is always compatible with the amount of traffic their store receives.
With only a few days left before the shopping season begins, you still have time to replace any incorrect grade hardware. Of course, if you have any questions, we have a great case study available for download here that really goes into detail here!