Safes Melbourne

There are a multitude of factors you need to consider when you’re installing locks for your business. These include:

How many people need keys or access to the locks? You’ll have to consider the business’s security needs. If you have relatively few employees, it could be easy enough to track keys and who has a copy. If you have many employees, high staff turnover or contractors or external stakeholders accessing your building often, a lock with a password that can be changed regularly, or a control access system with swipe cards that track who is present may be a safer way to secure your business.

Safety and planning issues – There are strict regulations on the types of doors and locks for commercial buildings. The Building Code of Australia specifically states that safety takes precedence over security. This does not mean you can’t create very secure premises, but you must take care when planning things like emergency and fire exits (see below for more information). The type and position of the doors – The size, weight and type of door will all affect what lock will be most suitable for your site. Heavy-duty locks often require thick, heavy doors, and these doors may also need higher-powered door closing mechanisms. The material your doors are made from may also determine the type of locks that can be attached, with different locks suited better to metal or wood surfaces. Some locks, such as ADI Bolts can be affixed to both swinging and sliding doors, others are not so universal.

Power – Some digital password locks require batteries, most strike and magnetic locks require AC or DC power. You will have to consider if you want your locking systems to be powered, and if so, what will happen to them if they lose power – you may want them to automatically unlock or lock in a blackout or when there’s a flat battery. A commercial locksmith can assist you to select the right solution for your business needs.

There are national and state regulations on not just the emergency exits to a building, but also any doors that open in to the area that an emergency exit door services (these are known as path of travel doors). As mentioned above it is law that safety takes precedence over security, and all doors in commercial facilities must be reasonably easy to access for people with disabilities, and in emergency situations. These laws mean businesses can’t have multiple locks on doors, they must all be lever access (or a push bar, they cannot be door knobs) and must all be within a certain height range (between 900 and 1100mm from the finished floor level).

Fire doors, such as those that open into a fire-proof stairway or tunnel, must be fitted with automatic door-closers so they don’t have to be shut manually in an emergency escape situation.

The laws surrounding emergency exits can be ambiguous, and are often open to interpretation. – there are references to doors being openable for people with burns, or wet or sweating hands, and for someone carrying or dragging an injured person. A consultation with an experienced commercial locksmith for your business can ensure all your doors and exits fit within the regulations for your local council in Melbourne, as well as complying with state and national laws.

When you’re looking at electronic or digital locks, you will often come across these two terms. They determine what happens to your locks during a blackout or after a battery runs flat.

• Fail-safe (which is sometimes called fail-open, or power to lock) means the lock requires power to lock the door. If power is lost, the door will remain unlocked, which you may want for doors that need to be accessed in emergency situations.
• Fail-Secure (or power to open) locks require power to unlock the door. If power is lost, then the door will remain locked.
• Often magnetic door locks will be fail-safe, and strike locks will be fail-secure, however some models are flexible and allow you to select between the two options.

Speak with our commercial locksmiths for personalised advice.

We are available seven days a week and offer emergency services outside business hours, so we can complete urgent work on commercial locks on weekends or whenever your business in the Melbourne region requires.