One millionth GND label placed in a door

Performance of a door easy to read

On June 17, 2022, under the watchful eye of fire specialist Joric Witlox, chairman Brandveilig Bouwen Nederland (BBN) and GND director Henk Breel, the one millionth GND label was placed in a door. Breel: "A great milestone, because this means that clients, building owners and users, inspectors and inspectors can already read what protective performance the door has in terms of fire, smoke, noise, burglary and insulation in one million doors."

The guarantee label was introduced in 2016 by the Door Guarantee Foundation (GND): a red guarantee label for a fire and/or smoke-resistant GND door and a white guarantee label for GND doors that are only soundproof, insulating, and/or burglar-resistant. The label is on the hinge side of the door. Breel: "By scanning the QR code on the assurance label, you can easily read all the performance of the door on the smartphone screen. You then immediately see the guaranteed performance guarantee. You can also immediately see whether it is correctly applied, certified door/frame elements and which manufacturer the door comes from." 

Clarity on degree of protection

BBN is very enthusiastic about the label. Witlox: "The label ensures transparency, verifiability and also a piece of awareness. With a red label many users are extra alert. You implicitly tell them that it is not convenient to leave such a door open because it has an important function in protecting against fire or smoke."

Breel adds: "The GND security label then indicates not only the fire resistance (0, 30, 60, 90 minutes) but also the smokeproof (0, Sa or S200) performance of the door. And to respond to the increasing requirements for facade insulation, the u-value can also be read from the GND security label. With this, we want to further raise awareness for the choice of a well-insulating and draught-resistant door and contribute to reducing CO₂-emissions and reduction of energy consumption."

Quality control

The GND door label is increasingly being used in quality assurance. In recent years, GND has seen a sharp increase in the use of the label. 

Says Breel, "In 2020, QR codes were scanned 16,000 times and this year we are heading toward 30,000 scans. Moreover, market research from 2021 shows that 60 percent have already used the label to check what performance the door meets. Of those, over 90% indicate that the label has added value for them." 

The labels also fit well with the Building Quality Assurance Act (Wkb), which is scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 2023. "We hope that our label will then also be included in the toolkit of quality assurance companies. That will save them a lot of work and it offers security. But the most important thing, of course, is that this will increase the safety of buildings!" said Breel.

GND is the umbrella organization of eleven leading Dutch door manufacturers and is a member of the BBN. Together, the member door manufacturers are committed to the optimum quality and performance of interior and exterior doors, promoting trust between manufacturers and their customers and social issues such as safety and sustainability.