Door Industry Journal - Winter 2015

Also online at: www.dijonline.co.uk THE door industry journal winter 2015 building hardware feature Finding a more secure solution to the traditional lock and key More and more people are looking for alternative solutions to the traditional lock and key after a recent study found that more than 6,000 burglaries in 2014 were committed using keys that were either stolen, lost or left hidden outside a property. Fortunately, there has been an influx of innovative security solutions that have been brought to market which offer increased protection and help reduce the threat of intruders. With this in mind, Martin Smith, product manager at IronmongeryDirect, takes a look at some of the new technologies available. Research has shown that criminals regularly gain access to buildings using keys found hidden outside the property or if a key is left reachable through a letterbox or open window. As such, there is becoming an increased demand amongst both commercial and residential property owners for more secure alternatives to the lock and key system to help improve the overall security of a building and act as a deterrent against intruders. To respond to this increasing demand, new arrays of keyless locks have gained a foothold in the security market. These technologies can be fitted to all manner of doors to grant access to a building without the need for a lock and key. The mechanisms on these new locks can ensure that the door locks automatically when someone leaves the building, which further increases the overall protection. In order to be able to recommend alternatives to the lock and key, tradespeople should familiarise themselves with the range of options available that provide property owners with increased protection and peace of mind that their property is secure at all times. To provide buildings with the highest level of security, tradespeople might recommend installing biometric lock technology. These types of locks can deter intruders and drastically increase the overall protection of the property, as they require a scan of a user’s unique fingerprint to authorise access. These sophisticated devices are a secure option for warehouses and offices with a large football that require around the clock surveillance, as the technology can also record who has gained entry to the building and at what time. The Biometric Fingerprint Codelock* is an example of one of the biometric locks currently on the