If you’ve spent some time shopping for folding doors, then you may have noticed that many of the top folding door companies have a badge or a quote on their site somewhere that reads, “ISO-certified” or, “All doors are 100% ISO-certified.”

So, what exactly does this all mean?

Most customers completely look over this part of the buying process, as it goes over the general public’s head. Most people never learn about ISO certifications in school and it’s not something that’s commonly taught anywhere else.

In today’s post, we’ll give you a brief overview of what ISO certification is, how it applies to folding doors and some of the key ISO standards that folding door manufacturers engineer their doors for.

What Exactly Is ISO Certification?

The only people who really have to worry about ISO certification are manufacturers, architects, and engineers. ISO is short for International Standardization for Organization.

There are various different “standards” that apply to different industries. Essentially, each ISO standard is designed to ensure that manufacturers follow a precise, standardized set of procedures during their manufacturing process. This includes, but is not limited to:

• The tools used for manufacturing.
• How products are inspected for quality.
• How things are organized.
• Safety gear and procedures.
• The measurements and tests that must be performed by the manufacturer.
• …and more.

In essence, ISO standards are designed to ensure that the consumer always receives a consistent, high-quality product. They’re also designed to provide a safe, organized workspace for employees in order to facilitate a better working environment and higher-quality products.

As we mentioned, there are a number of different ISO standards that are designed for different industries. For companies that produce multiple types of products or utilize different manufacturing materials, more ISO standards will usually apply.

What’s The Advantage Of ISO Certification?

The main advantage of ISO certification is that the consumer will always have a consistent product. They can purchase products with full confidence that a standardized set of procedures was followed to create their product.

For example, let’s just say that you purchase a new iPhone from the Apple Store. You can purchase that phone with full confidence that it will work as advertised. Purchasing a brand-new phone that’s broken is incredibly rare. And if you do happen to accidentally purchase something that’s broken, you’ll be able to return it or replace it.

Now, let’s just say that you purchase a random budget “smartphone” from Alibaba or eBay. There’s a lot higher chance that you’ll receive a broken phone that wasn’t engineered with consistent standards of quality.

The same thing applies to folding doors.

If you’re going to be spending thousands of dollars on a set of folding doors for your home, then you’ll want to make sure that your doors are 100% reliable, safe, and are able to stand up to what the manufacturer says they’re able to.

Unfortunately, most people can’t go to the factory to watch their doors being made. And even if they were, they probably would have no idea about the steps that should be performed to test for quality levels.

For a manufacturer to become ISO-certified, they must demonstrate to an ISO representative that they are following all of the standards outlined by the ISO code governing the product that they manufacture. Only when they are able to demonstrate this, will they receive their ISO certification, allowing them to advertise that they’re “ISO-certified” to their customers.

Is ISO Certification Required?

ISO certification isn’t required of all manufacturers. However, when it comes to building materials such as folding doors and window systems, most states legally require folding door manufacturers to be ISO certified.
Since folding doors are often installed as exterior doorways, they need to be able to withstand certain levels of pressure, exposure to elements, and demonstrate the ability to hold up well to everyday use.

Key Folding Door ISO Certifications

So, now that you know a little bit more about how ISO certification work, let’s take a few minutes to look at some of the key folding door ISO certifications that manufacturers must follow.

Fire-Resistance

Since many of the top folding door manufacturers in the country are based out of California (an area prone to wildfires), this is a big one. Of course, folding doors don’t need to be 100% fireproof (few doors are), but they do need to be able to withstand a certain amount of temperature and thermal energy before the glass shatters or the doorframe melts.

Impact-Resistance

Impact-resistance ISO standards are designed to ensure that the glass systems, doorframe, and track are able to stand up to certain impacts. You wouldn’t want a stray tennis ball to knock your entire door off its hinges, would you?

In regards to hurricane-proof or weatherproof systems, manufacturers will need to follow ISO testing and manufacturing procedures to make sure that their folding doors can, in fact, stand up to hurricane-force winds.

System Longevity

Folding door manufacturers will need to demonstrate and test for their door’s longevity. This is part of what allows them to state a warranty period for their doors. For example, door systems (hinges, latches, door handles, etc.) should be able to show that they’re able to withstand 500,000 or 1,000,000 openings and closings at a given level of force.

Operating Forces

This ISO certification is designed to test the forces that govern operational forces that a door undergoes. For example, this could define things, such as:

• How much force is needed to close the door?
  How much force is needed to unlatch the door?
  How hard does the door have to be slammed before x-component breaks?
  How much pressure needs to be applied to the door before the lock snaps?

ISO Certifications And Legal Cases

If you’re ever in a position where you’re trying to sue a manufacturer, then one of the first things that your lawyer will look at is whether or not the manufacturer claimed certain ISO certifications. If the manufacturer claimed that they test their doors to certain standards and their doors did not live up to the pre-defined standards, then your case has a better chance of winning.

Final Thoughts

Unless you’re an architect or engineer, you really don’t need to know the specifics of ISO standards. However, as a consumer, you certainly want to look for a folding door company that is ISO-certified. This ensures that you’ll be purchasing a high-quality door system that will last a long time and cause minimal problems.