Advanced In-House Testing and Product Assurance
At Checkmate, our world-class engineering capability is driven by our dedicated in-house test facility. This critical asset accelerates product development, streamlines certification preparation, validates quality, and ensures rigorous batch testing across our comprehensive range of safety and lifting products.
Comprehensive Testing and Innovation Capability
At the heart of our engineering capability is our in-house test house, a major asset that supports rapid product development, certification preparation, quality verification, and batch testing across a wide range of safety and lifting products. Equipped with advanced dynamic, static, environmental, and materials testing equipment, our facility allows us to develop, validate, and refine products quickly and with confidence. It is a key part of how we bring safety-critical products to market and maintain consistent performance standards. Only a limited number of facilities in the UK offer this level of in-house capability, making our test house an invaluable resource for both innovation and ongoing product assurance.
Dynamic Testing and Drop Tower Capacity
Our dynamic drop test tower offers a total height capability of 8 metres, with 6 metres below the anchor point, and is equipped with a 3.25-tonne load cell controlled through custom LabVIEW software. An additional 5-tonne load cell is also available for more advanced test setups where dual load-cell measurement is required. The tower is used for dynamic testing across a wide range of safety-critical devices, including self-retracting lifelines (SRLs), harnesses, tear-webbing assemblies, lanyards, lashing equipment, tool lanyards, dropped object products, and anchors. This stands as one of the most valuable tools within the facility, enabling fast-paced development, repeated validation, and detailed performance analysis of safety products.
Specialised Test Torsos for Global Standards
Our facility includes a range of test torsos to support testing to different global compliance standards. This includes a 100 kg EN test torso, a 140 kg EN test torso, and a 160 kg adjustable CSA/ANSI test torso. This specific range provides the ultimate flexibility for our development and verification work, ensuring all equipment meets both European and North American requirements.
High-Capacity Static and Tensile Testing
Our 85-tonne horizontal static test bed, featuring a bed length of 8 metres, is engineered for the static testing requirements of safety products as well as development and batch testing of slings up to 12 tonnes. The machine is controlled using custom LabVIEW software, ensuring accurate control, repeatability, and the precise recording of test data. Additionally, we operate a 50 kN vertical Testometric tensile machine (a vertical Universal Testing Machine with a capacity of approximately 5,000 kg). This equipment supports product development, material evaluation, component verification, and routine quality testing across tensile, compression, and flexural applications.
Environmental Conditioning and Corrosion Testing
Our environmental chamber allows products to be conditioned in extreme temperature and humidity environments prior to physical testing. Capabilities include low temperature conditioning down to -40°C, alongside elevated temperature and humidity conditions up to 85°C and 100% humidity. This setup is primarily used to condition safety products for cold and hot environment testing. For wet-condition testing, the facility features a dedicated water spray setup. When combined with salt applications and the environmental chamber, this infrastructure can also perform accelerated corrosion testing on components and assemblies.
Materials Verification and Durability Assessment
Further in-house capabilities include specialised systems for webbing abrasion testing and hardness testing. A hardness tester is continuously available for material and component verification as part of our core product development and quality control activities. These systems directly support material verification, durability assessment, and the ongoing quality control of textile and component-based products.
Why It Matters to Our Partners
Our test house is far more than a laboratory; it is a core part of our engineering, development, and quality capability. It allows us to accelerate product development, carry out meaningful in-house validation, support international certification programmes, verify production consistency, and continually improve the performance of safety-critical products.