Designed by structural engineers. Load and puncture testing is done in the structural engineering lab at the University of Washington. Also real world testing including:

Implosion Simulated building collapse
24,000 pound "hammer" Vehicles Dropped from cranes
A car crusher Active shooter simulations

University of Washington Testing

A series of tests were conducted at the University of Washington to determine loading and penetration capacities of the LifeGuard product line.

A typical session involves testing slight variations on test units to improve upon performance

The testing facility has a five story press called "The Baldwin". This press has the capability to compress approximately 2.6 million pounds. It is one of the largest in the world and one of only a handful powerful enough to test LifeGuards.

Despite its massive size. The Baldwin actually flexes when testing LifeGuards. The thick steel plate on the concrete base curves upward slightly as the test units are pressed down into it.

The test units you see here are the same size as the kneehole on our largest units, the ED-76. They are less than half of the strength of a full-size unit.

How Did They Perform ?

The Maximum Strength Test:

The Baldwin was configured and the loads were dialed up.
Test unit #4 was ready. Based on past experience, the load was set to 800,000 pounds.
The results for test unit #4 = 782,000 pounds

The Point Load Test:

Another test unit was placed for testing. The purpose of this test was to test a point load on the weakest section of a new design. The weakest location is in the centre of the longest horizontal beam.
The results for point loading = 291,000 pounds







Actual Field Testing Video from the Oak Knoll Hospital Implosion