In short:
- Walk the premises and list every lock: outside doors, shutters, gates, internal doors to stock, cash or server rooms, cabinets and safes. Most problems come from locks nobody remembered.
- Key control matters more in a business than at home. Know who holds which key, get keys back when people leave, and consider a restricted-key or master key system.
- Locks on escape routes must still let people get out. Check the fire-safety requirements for your building before fitting anything that needs a key from the inside.
- Read the security conditions in your business insurance, and decide now who will deal with a lock failure after hours.
Start with a walk-round
Take a notebook or your phone and walk the building from the outside in, as if you were locking up for the last time. For each point, note the type of lock, who has keys, whether it works smoothly and whether it's actually used. A simple register like this is the basis for everything else on this page.
- Perimeter: pedestrian gate, vehicle gate, padlocked side gates and any chained gates.
- Customer and staff entrances: shopfront doors, glass doors, security gates in front of them, rear and staff doors.
- Shutters and loading doors: roller shutters, sectional doors, loading bay doors, and the padlocks or locks that hold them.
- Internal high-value rooms: stock room, cash office, server or comms room, records room, medicine or chemical store.
- Furniture locks: filing cabinets, pedestals, key cabinets and lockers.
- Safes and drop safes: who knows the code, who holds the key, when the code was last changed.
- Escape doors: every door people would use to get out in an emergency, and how each one is secured.
What to check for your type of premises
| Premises | Lock points that often get overlooked | Questions to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Shop or showroom | Rear door to the service area, stock room, till drawers, the shutter or gate over the shopfront | Who opens and closes? Does the shopfront lock depend on one person's key? Is the back door kept locked during trading? |
| Office | Server or comms cupboard, filing cabinets, the door from the lift lobby or stairwell, the kitchen exit | How many keys or access cards are out? Are former employees' keys accounted for? Is the reception door locked after hours? |
| Warehouse or workshop | Pedestrian door beside the roller shutter, loading bay, fenced yard gates, tool and fuel stores, padlocks on containers | Which padlocks share keys? Who holds the yard gate key at night? Are shutter locks used, or does everyone rely on the motor? |
Small faults add up in a business. A stiff lock that only one person knows how to "work" means the door gets left unlocked when that person is off. If something on your list is already giving trouble, deal with it now: see our page on lock repairs.
Key control: who holds what
At home you know who has a key. In a business, keys pass between managers, cleaners, contractors, security staff and branch staff, and they're rarely all returned. Good key control is mostly paperwork and habits:
- Keep a key register: which key, which door, who has it, when it was issued, and a signature.
- Get keys, cards and remotes back as part of every resignation or dismissal, and tick them off the register.
- Change the cylinder or lock whenever a key can't be accounted for, especially to outside doors, cash areas and safes.
- Change safe codes when someone who knew the code leaves.
- Don't label keys with the address or the door they open; use a code that only the register explains.
- Keep spare keys locked away, not on a hook behind reception.
Restricted and master key systems
Two kinds of cylinder system make key control much easier:
- Restricted or patented keys. The keyway is protected, and extra keys can only be ordered through the maker's authorised dealers, often on production of a card. ASSA ABLOY explains that patent protection gives greater control over the distribution and copying of keys; Mul-T-Lock, for example, ties key copies to a security card.
- Master key systems. Each person's key opens only the doors they need, while a manager's key opens all of them. ASSA ABLOY's locally sold Mzansi CYS00 cylinder, for instance, can be supplied keyed alike, as a master key system of up to 2,000 cylinders, or as a grand master system with sub-master groups.
These systems are ordered and supplied with their keys. Mobile Locksmith Roodepoort doesn't cut or copy keys, so plan a system with enough keys for everyone from the start.
Escape doors: secure, but people must get out
Never lock an escape door in a way that stops people inside from getting out while the building is occupied. Padlocks and chains on escape doors, or keyed-both-sides locks on a fire exit, can trap people in an emergency.
In South Africa, fire protection in buildings, including escape routes and exit doors, falls under Part T of the National Building Regulations, with SANS 10400-T as the deemed-to-satisfy standard. Obstructing an escape route is an offence. The rules for your building depend on its use and size, so speak to your local authority's building control office, the fire department or a fire-safety consultant before changing locks on escape doors.
UK guidance from the Door & Hardware Federation gives a sense of the principle: any lock, latch or bolt on an escape door should be readily operable without a key in the direction of escape, and shouldn't need more than one mechanism to be worked. In practice, that usually means a thumbturn, a lever handle or panic hardware on the inside, with the key only on the outside.
Our guide to deadlocks, nightlatches and mortice locks explains the difference between locks keyed on both sides and those with keyless exit.
Insurance: read the security conditions
Business theft cover often depends on how the premises were entered. OUTsurance, for example, describes theft cover as responding to a clear incident involving forced or violent entry into or exit from the premises, notes that theft by employees isn't covered under standard theft cover, and lists replacing locks and keys where access may have been compromised among the related costs. Wording differs between insurers, so check your own schedule for:
- any minimum lock, shutter, burglar bar or alarm requirements;
- whether a lock change after lost or stolen keys is covered;
- what you must do if you discover a break-in, including reporting to SAPS.
When you change or upgrade locks, keep the invoices, and tell your broker if the change affects the security you declared.
Opening, closing and after-hours plans
- Use a closing checklist for the last person out: every outside door locked (not just latched), shutters down and locked, internal high-value rooms locked, safe locked and spun or set, keys returned to the key safe.
- Have two keyholders for each critical lock, so one person's leave or illness doesn't leave the business unable to open or lock up.
- Write down who to call when a lock fails at closing time or a key breaks off: keep the number with the closing checklist.
- Decide who can authorise work after hours. We ask for proof of ownership before opening a locked door or safe, so know in advance who in the business can provide it at night or over a weekend.
- After a break-in, follow the same order as at home: SAPS first, photos, then securing the premises. Our guide on making doors and gates secure after a burglary covers the steps.
Getting a locksmith out to your premises
We're fully mobile and open 24/7, so we come to your shop, office or warehouse, whether it's in Honeydew, Manufacta, Constantia Kloof, Florida or elsewhere in Roodepoort. Lock repairs and replacements, broken-key extraction, break-in repairs, and safe opening and repairs are all part of our commercial locksmith service.
Before the visit, send photos of the locks involved and tell us how many doors and keyholders there are; the walk-round list from the top of this page is ideal. R250 call-out fee. The technician assesses the job on site and gives you the price before any work starts. Nothing is done until you agree. Payment is by EFT, cash or card, and you'll get an invoice for your records and your insurer. You can also reach us through our Roodepoort mobile locksmith page.
Questions
A staff member left without returning their keys. What should we change?
Every lock those keys opened, starting with outside doors, the cash area and anything with stock or equipment. On cylinder locks that usually means a new cylinder only. If a safe key or code was involved, deal with the safe as well. Then update the key register.
Can you cut extra keys for our staff?
No. We don't cut or copy keys and there's no shop or counter. New cylinders and locks come with their keys from the maker, so tell us how many you need before the parts are ordered. Restricted-key systems are copied only through the maker's authorised dealers.
Can we just padlock the fire exit at night?
Only when nobody is in the building, and only if your fire-safety arrangements allow it. If cleaners, security staff or anyone else might be inside, the exit must open from inside without a key. Check with your local authority or fire-safety consultant, and make sure the padlock is removed before anyone starts work.
Need a locksmith to look at it?
If this hasn't solved the problem, our commercial locksmith service covers it. We're a mobile locksmith in Roodepoort, so we come to your door. Areas where this comes up often include Honeydew, Manufacta, Constantia Kloof, Florida.
Sources and further reading
- ASSA ABLOY South Africa: Mzansi CYS00 double euro cylinder — Keyed to differ, keyed alike, master key systems of up to 2,000 cylinders and grand master groups
- ASSA ABLOY: Standards and patent protection for mechanical cylinders — Patents give greater control over the distribution and copying of keys
- Mul-T-Lock: MTL300 Break Secure 3XP Pro — Key copies only by authorised dealers with a valid card
- SANS 10400: Part T, Fire protection (sans10400.org.za) — Part T covers escape routes and exit doors; obstructing escape routes is an offence; ask the local authority or fire department
- Door & Hardware Federation (UK): Requirements for escape doors — Escape door fastenings readily operable without a key in the direction of escape, with no more than one mechanism
- BusinessTech (presented by OUTsurance): Business insurance theft cover might not be as straightforward as you think — Theft cover tied to forced or violent entry; employee theft excluded from standard theft cover; replacing locks and keys where access is compromised