Whats New In Locks?

Aug 1, 2003 12:00 PM, By Corrina Stellitano

When it comes to letting the good guys in and keeping the bad guys out, the first level of defense is doors and the devices that lock them.

Industry experts urge lock shoppers to consult a locksmith and to survey the industry's varied offerings. Help is available from online tutorial products by manufacturers that allow buyers to tailor lock and access control solutions for an entire facility. Some websites, such as IR Security and Safety's Systemizer, calculate power requirements for each added lock. Depending on the criteria for each door, most buyers will choose between a mechanical lock, an electromagnetic lock or some form of electrified builder's hardware — powered versions of the mechanical mortise or cylindrical lock.

Mechanical Locks

Most mechanical locks (excluding electromagnetic locks and electric strikes) are generally comprised of two types: mortise and cylindrical. The higher-strength mortise lock case, as its name suggests, is mortised into the door and normally features a latchbolt, auxiliary latchbolt and a deadbolt, depending on the desired function.

The standard door preparation for a cylindrical lock is a 2⅛-inch hole through the door in which the latch and locking device reside; this lock most resembles those found on residential door locks. Cylindrical lock latchbolts are either plain or deadlocking. Deadlocking latchbolts are designed to deter vandalism, such as being pried with a credit card.

In mechanical locks, a key or pushbutton keypad permits retraction of the latch. If an employer wishes to retain for his employees the familiarity of using a key, he must consider how he will control or manage their access. Keys have become less revered as a security credential because they can be lost or stolen, and easily copied.

Today, several options exist to increase the security of the traditional machined key. Patent-protected keys offer the ability to control who may duplicate issued keys. In this system, only the manufacturer and selected locksmiths possess blank templates for the patented key.

Keys may also be tagged with a serial number and inventoried regularly. The numbered key sets can be managed using specialized software or online programs.

“The fundamental psychological difference is the keys are serial numbered. Keyholders are now being made responsible. We're giving importance to keys,” says Scott Serani, president of Denver-based InstaKey Lock Corp.

InstaKey offers patented numbered keys and key tracking software to its clients, paired with another benefit — the ability to re-key locks using a new key. Each client company is issued several stages of keys. If a key is lost, the next stage key will rearrange the pins in the lock, effectively rekeying it.

Cutting down on the keys carried by employees may also reduce loss. Padlock manufacturer Master Lock offers padlocks that accept electronic or mechanical door cylinders, so office keys may have additional uses.

Many of today's employers would like to forgo keys altogether. Mechanical push-button locks require users to enter a code into a push-button keypad before entry is authorized. Many of today's push-button locks can be changed from right- to left-opening on-site, and can be paired with biometrics, card readers or panic devices.

Additional functions allow for increased security and convenience. For example, a storeowner can use the passage mode to keep a store's front door unlocked by day, and protected with a numeric code by night. By using the lock-out mode, the manager counting cash drawers can restrict entry — even by those who know the pass code.

In addition to these security features, mechanical locks offer another benefit, says Charles Hayes, product manager, mechanical pushbutton locks, Kaba Access Controls. “The good thing about mechanical locks is that parts can be replaced and repaired,” he says. “You're dealing with something that we build to last 20 years or more.” The cost for endurance? Mechanical locks range from $110 to $800 per door retail.

Locks With Power

Controlling which doors lock and unlock, at what time and to which users, is the basic application of any access control system. Traditionally, electric door strikes and electromagnetic locks have been used to link doors with an overall access control system. Today, standalone, battery-powered locks are also gaining popularity as flexible, cost-efficient access control solutions.

When choosing among the many electromagnetic and electrified lock products, users should make several determinations, says Marilyn Collins, marketing manager for Open Architecture and Core Products for Forestville, Conn.-based Locknetics. First, they should decide how they want the door to perform in the event of a power outage. Powered locks are either fail-safe or fail-secure. When power to the lock fails, a fail-secure lock stays in the locked position; a fail-safe lock stays in the open position, allowing egress.

A second decision is, how will the selected lock be monitored and integrated with the facility's existing access control system? More and more locks provide some way to audit who has attempted entry and exit through the door. This information can either be transmitted by network wiring (or more recently, by radio wave) to a central command post, or it can be downloaded on an incident-only basis.

Electrified locks — or locks that use some form of power to secure the door or to retract the locking mechanism — can be divided into three major categories: electric strikes, electromagnetic locks, and electrified builders' hardware. In order to control both access and egress, these three devices are often combined with each other or with other mechanical hardware.

Electric strikes are electric door locking devices, usually solenoid-operated, that provide remote release of a locked door without retraction of the latchbolt. This is made possible by the releasing of the electric strike lip, a portion of the strike sometimes also called a keeper or gate. When the door closes, the beveled latchbolt rides over the lip and falls into the strike pocket.

Most strikes are available non-handed (suitable for a left- or right-opening door) in 12v or 24v, DC or AC. The familiar buzzing sound when being buzzed into a strike-protected office is the sound of the AC current. If this buzzer is not necessary, users may instead choose the quieter DC version.

Electric strikes are typically used in the fail-secure configuration, so the lock will remain locked without power. The existing lever or knob will continue to work, however, allowing egress during a power outage.

To improve upon the electric strike, manufacturers have begun to focus on monitoring functions, and improvements in the installation process. Cambridge, Ontario-based Rutherford Controls Intl. Corp.'s newest strike is multi-voltage and field-selectable, meaning installers can choose between fail-safe and fail-secure configurations upon installation. A security setting allows for monitoring of the position of the keeper.

“We're getting more requests for monitoring functions on strikes — (for example), monitoring the latch bolt and inside lever,” says Jay Woodard, product line manager, electrified products, for YSG Door Security Consultants. Monroe, N.C.-based YSG includes a number of lock manufacturers such as Corbin Russwin, Folger Adam, McKinney, Yale, Norton, and Rixson.

Other improvements are intended to ease installation. Many strikes adjust to compensate for misalignment of the door or frame. Installation times are falling; Phoenix, Ariz.-based HES' 9600 surface-mounted and 9500 fire-rated electric strikes are reputed to take only 10 minutes to install. Costs for electric strikes range from $50 to $1,800 per door.

An electromagnetic lock is comprised of a steel armature plate attached to the door which is held against a powerful magnet attached to the frame. All magnetic locks are fail-safe, meaning they need constant power to remain locked; and they work mostly with DC current, usually 12 to 24 volts, although AC powered models are available. A battery backup may be incorporated into a magnetic lock system in order to maintain security in the event of electrical power failure. Upon the loss of power, the battery backup provides continuous locking for a limited amount of time or until electricity is restored. These locks will typically require a credential for entry, and touch-sense bars or other electronic means for egress.

Depending on their security requirements, users may choose electromagnets with holding forces ranging from 300 to 1,500 pounds.

“There's no latch or bolt to stick, jam or bind. If you cut power, it will release,” says John Schum, vice-president of sales for Bristol, Conn.-based DynaLock. This fail-safe capability means that security-priority doors require a back-up locking mechanism. It is common to see an electromagnetic lock paired with a latching exit bar, or a cylindrical or mortise lock set.

Electromagnetic locks have made great strides in the area of delayed egress, experts say. Because some electrified lock functions may prevent occupants from exiting freely during an emergency, certain doors are required to have hardware which allows for free egress. To balance security with safety, the theory of delayed egress was born.

When an exit lever is pushed, the delayed egress magnetic locks will delay release for 15 seconds or longer, depending on local codes. In the case of a nuisance delay, pressure must be applied, in some code areas, for up to three seconds to trigger the delay cycle. But once the cycle begins, the door cannot be relocked until the delay time period ends and egress is allowed.

“Most building codes (also) require some sort of manual operation to reset the door,” Schum explains. “The intent of the code is to make you come to the door and check out the event.”

Compliance with state and local building and fire codes can be complicated, but is essential to successful installation of door hardware, manufacturers stress.

“How it works is the simple part. It's making sure it's a legal door closure that is important,” says Rich Hagala, customer support manager for Sparks, Nev.-based Securitron Magnalock Corp.

Like strikes, improvements in electromagnetic lock technology have helped to alleviate lock failure due to sagging or uneven door frames, and have helped to improve monitoring. “Monitoring is extremely important — especially if you are at a remote console,” Schum says.

Standard monitoring functions can include a door position switch, or a Hall effect sensor that detects whether an object — in some cases, as thin as a human hair — has been slipped between the armature plate and the magnet. Securitron's monitoring sensor assesses whether the door is closed and the lock is active and locked.

Other locks are able to detect differences in the armature plate the magnet adheres to. If someone replaces a Rutherford Control 8310IQ armature plate with another, the absence of a specialized Dallas Semiconductor chip, or chip key reader, is detected and an alarm activates.

These tools represent a trend in consumer demands, says Kevin Davison, technical services coordinator for the Canadian division of Rutherford Controls. “We're starting to see an increase in locks that can report their own status,” he says.

Electromagnetic locks range in cost from $300 to $1,500 per door.

Electrified builders' hardware — traditional hardware (such as deadbolts, or mortise and cylindrical locks) modified to be operated electrically — is available in hardwired and standalone versions. Lock mechanisms hard-wired to an access control system can cost between $3,000-5,000; offline openings ring in at less than $1,000, but in most cases, require a visit to the door to collect an audit of recent activities.

Overall, the way these locks interact with access control systems has changed greatly in the last two decades, Locknetics' Collins says. “It began with large access control systems that were only proprietary. Even if you only wanted to monitor several openings, you would have to spend a lot of money.”

Soon, however, the access control industry responded to customer needs by providing more cost-efficient solutions and solutions requiring less monitoring. It was an important transition, Collins says. “We went from the constraints of access control, with all of its cost-intensiveness and labor-intensiveness, to inroads and improvements in the area of credential management,” she says. “If everyone knew where all their keys were, they would never need access control technology, so it really is about credential management.”

One method devised to respond to these needs was off-line computer-managed locks. These battery-operated, standalone locks accept many users and can track those users with an audit trail. However, the audit is not in real-time. Instead, security staff members can use a PDA or other downloading module to access the audit trail as necessary. These cost-effective units have been improved upon and now use less battery power to operate. Users can present a variety of credentials — pass codes, proximity and mag-stripe cards, or biometrics — to attempt entry.

These units allow for ease of use and installation while ensuring security, manufacturers say. “Usually security and convenience are opposed to each other. Electrified products allow a way to marry the two,” says Greg Drake, AHC, national sales manager for New Braunfels, Texas-based Detex Corp.

Digital standalone pushbutton locks, like the Trilogy line offered by Amityville, N.Y.-based Alarm Lock Systems (a division of NAPCO), offer capabilities similar to those of mechanical pushbutton locks: a privacy function allows the blocking of code entry from the outside. A residency feature — handy for dorms or nursing homes — allows the door to be kept unlocked for short periods of time, until re-engaged with the inside handle. Audit trails are also available.

Some applications, like Corbin Russwin's Intellikey, actually arm the electronic key with knowledge. System administrators can read an Intellikey to identify its owner, or gather an audit of recent activity. In addition, a central control unit can program an Intellikey lock to deny access to specific keys, thus eliminating the worry over those that have been lost or stolen.

Corvallis, Ore.-based Videx's CyberLock is constructed to fit into a Schlage 6-pin cylinder. Instead of a keyhole, the CyberLock has a cloverleaf of electronic contact points. The lock itself has no power source; instead it is powered when in contact with the electronic CyberKey. The CyberLock and CyberKey also contain activity audits of the last 1,250 entry events. As an additional security option, users may be required to regularly verify identity and reactivate the key at a building entrance or centrally-located base station. CyberLocks cost about $200 per door.

Lower cost, electrified deadbolts are seeking a niche in the residential apartment market. With 18 million apartment doors across the nation (not including condos and townhomes), and 60 to 70 percent annual resident turnover in multi-family buildings, Schlage has created standalone electrified deadbolts for individual units. Schlage's Ebolt key management system includes an audit trail and sells for $150-180.

Springfield, Mass.-based Biometrics 2000 uses 4 AA batteries and a SecuGen optical reader to create a standalone lock that verifies fingerprint templates before allowing entry. With the lock only powered when a finger is pressed against the sensor plate, Biometrics 2000 vice president Phil Wright says the lock can last for 5,000 uses. The locks also can provide real-time activity monitoring and time-and-attendance functions when tied into an access control system. The units ring in at approximately $900 retail per door.

Many of the standalone units can also be wired into an online access control system, allowing constant monitoring. In the future, monitoring will only become more adept, manufacturers say.

TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

Know What You Need

Here are some important questions to consider when selecting a locking mechanism:

1. What type of locking device do I need?
2. Is the door to be protected an exterior or interior door? What other environmental conditions exist?
3. Can I wire communications and power to the door or do I need a battery-powered solution?
4. Do I need to restrict access during certain times of day?
5. Do certain devices need to be able to lock and re-lock automatically throughout the day?
6. Is convenience more or as important as security?
7. Are there life safety conditions to consider?

FOR THE RECORD

About The Companies

For information, circle the Reader Service number (listed below) or visit securitysolutions.com

Alarm Lock Systems	45
Biometrics 2000	46
Detex Corp.	47
DynaLock	48
HES	49
InstaKey Lock Corp.	50
IR Security & Safety	51
Kaba Access Controls	52
Locknetics	53
Master Lock	54
Rutherford Controls	55
Schlage	56
SecuGen	57
Securitron Magnalock Corp.	58
Videx	59
YSG Door Controls	60

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© 2008 Penton Media Inc.

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