Construction National

Safehinge saves UK schools £20 million as concerns mount over costs

A Scottish company is making a major contribution to the problem highlighted by a recent Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) report on the amount of cash being wasted on school buildings in the UK.

While the RIBA study concluded that costs of £150 million could have been avoided if schools had been better designed, Glasgow company, Safehinge, has revealed that its products have saved an estimated £20 million in life costs for British schools since 2009.

And the company, which is the UK market leader in durable finger guards for doors, believes that savings to the public purse could be even greater as it builds on its work in the education sector and moves into new areas such as mental health, where its robust products require less maintenance and promote faster service user recovery.

Director Philip Ross, who founded Safehinge in 2007 with business partner Martin Izod, said: "We supply 65% of the UK's local authorities with durable integral and retrofit finger guards for doors which stop children's fingers being injured and significantly reduce maintenance costs for schools – allowing money to be spent on education.

“Compared to alternative products, like plastic finger guards, our finger guards last the lifetime of the door so never need maintained or replaced. That saves a local authority more than £500 per door over its lifetime.

"When we see RIBA reporting that the Government's Education Funding Agency's new school building programme is leading to waste and poor value, it highlights how much Safehinge products have contributed to making the most of tight school budgets."

Martin Izod explained: "We have two main finger guard products: our integral finger guard ALUmax, which is suitable for new doors, designs out the problem by eliminating the gap between the door and frame; and ALUmini, which can be retro-fitted to existing doors and has a patented finger ejection system, making it impossible to trap little fingers.”

Safehinge employs 10 people and has seen turnover grow 30% in the past year. The company has made significant investments in its product development team over the past two years and has leased a workshop area to enable rapid prototyping.

For further information, contact Hamish Robertson, Head of Marketing Safehinge, Level 4, Skypark 3, 14 Elliot Place, Glasgow G3 8EP. T: +44 (0) 141 244 0085. E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.