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Locksmith for Offices

Locksmiths have been around ever since the invention of locks and they provide an important service to both residential and commercial properties.

The locksmithing trade is a highly specialised one that revolves around security and locking mechanisms on doors, windows, cupboards, drawers, and safes.

Locks are an integral part of office security, the presence of which prevents unauthorised access into restricted areas of the workplace.

With advances in technology, the world is shifting away from traditional padlocks and are employing modern locking systems that offer a higher level of security.

These technologically advanced locking systems are not only more secure but also more complex, warranting the need for professional locksmiths who specialise in both modern and traditional locks.

Read on to find out why you need a professional locksmith for your office, the different types of services they offer, and how to choose the best one:

WHY YOU NEED A LOCKSMITH FOR OFFICES

Whether you have a small office or a big multi-storey corporation, you need to protect your property, assets, and employees at all times. This makes security a top priority for many business owners.

When talking about office security, one of the first lines of physical defence are the doors, which all require secure locks.

Therefore, in order to keep intruders out of your property and safeguard your business, you need a locksmith to install and maintain the locks.

Here are a few reasons why you may need a locksmith for your office:

Installing new locks

You may need new locks for your office for a number of reasons. It could be that your current locks are damaged or worn out or you need to upgrade to more secure digital ones. Whatever the reason, you will need to call a professional locksmith to render their services for you.

Your existing locks could be damaged due to general wear and tear, misuse, accidents, or because a burglar tampered with them.

Damaged locks are vulnerable and may make it easier for intruders to gain access. Therefore, it is very important to look out for signs of damage or deterioration and have new ones installed instantly.

Also, if you move your office to a new location, your first course of action should be to change the old locks. You must never rely on old locks for your new office because they may be of sub-standard quality and you don’t know who may still have the keys to them.

To protect your valuable office equipment from theft and damage, you must invest in good-quality digital locks, also known as keyless entry systems or access control systems, that prevent lock picking, lock bumping, or key copying.

Digital locks offer a greater level of control and eliminate the need for keys that are susceptible to being lost and stolen and instead work using access codes, access pins, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), or biometrics technology.

These locks are also much easier to manage, especially if you have several employees with different levels of access permissions.

Rekeying the locks

While replacing a lock means changing the existing lock to a new one by getting a new lockset for the door it is installed on, rekeying means changing the existing keys on the lock to new ones without changing the lock – except for a few minor adjustments to accommodate the new keys.

Simply put, when rekeying, you can continue using your existing locks but your current keys would not be able to work on them.

Instances where you might need to get the locks in your office rekeyed include you losing control of the existing keys and wanting to change them so that they don’t work on your locks anymore.

This can happen for several reasons that include the keys being lost or stolen or you wanting to restrict access for someone who owns a pair, such as ex-employees and disgruntled workers.

Other instances include you having different keys for different locks, of the same brand or keyhole, and you wanting them all to operate using a single key, aka, master keying.

Rekeying can be particularly beneficial if your office has experienced employee turnover and your ex-employees didn’t return the company keys or made copies of them. Rekeying your locks can help reduce the chances of property or inventory theft using the old keys.

Also, if you handed out your office keys to maintenance or cleaning services that come in after office hours, and you have decided to discontinue using their services, getting your locks rekeyed would be the recommended course of action.

Replacing keys or making additional ones

Keys are one of the most commonly lost, misplaced, and stolen items in the world. If you or an employee loses a key to the office, you can call a professional locksmith to provide you with a replacement one.

We recommend getting the locks rekeyed if a key set is lost or stolen since it can leave the office in a vulnerable state, giving access to whoever is in possession of the keys.

If the keys get damaged or bent due to misuse or an accident, then it seems like a good idea to get them replaced with new ones.

Also, you can use a locksmith’s services if you need additional keys to give out to new employees or for making spare keys to be used as a backup for when you misplace or break your existing ones.

Responding to lockouts

Lockouts are one of the most common issues that professional locksmiths are called for, and you’d be surprised to learn how many people lock themselves out of their homes and offices.

For obvious reasons, lockouts can be quite stressful, and if there are no backup keys to help you regain access, they can result in lost business hours and financial losses, in some cases.

As an act of desperation, quite a few people resort to forceful entry that results in more damage than any help. They either try to break the door or smash a window, both of which may result in serious damages and injuries.

It is always best to recollect yourself, take a step back, and contact a professional locksmith to open the door with minimal damage to both the lock and door.

Some common door opening techniques that locksmiths follow include lock bumping, lock picking, cylinder grilling, reprogramming, and key analysing.

Master keying

As a business owner, you need to have access to every inch of the office to ensure all is running smoothly and there is no shady business going on behind your back.

To do so, you need to have keys to all the doors in the office, and as simple as that may sound, it is actually very difficult to manage, especially if your office is a big one with several rooms and doors.

Instead of carrying a hundred keys jangling on a keychain, what you can do is call a locksmith and opt for master keying for your office.

A master key system is made up of different levels of keys that give the key owners either complete or restricted access to different areas of the business, allowing two or more keys to open the same lock.

With a master key system, specific keys are used to open a certain number of doors. This results in a reduction in the number of keys and limited circulation of keys among staff members as well. It not only offers convenience but also increased security and a higher level of control.

Switching from your current system to a master key system is an easy job for a professional locksmith who understands the technicalities of the system and takes special care to ensure that a key for a specific door won’t open another one by mistake.

Providing security safe services

Professional locksmiths provide services for all kinds of locks including security safes, file cabinets, and secure drawers.

Business safes play a big part in protecting your valuables against theft, fire, and flood and are designed to open using various authentication methods to prevent unauthorised access of your guarded assets.

Some common safes found in offices include office safes, data or media safes, deposit or drop safes, and gun safes, that can be accessed using key locks, combination locks, electronic locks, biometric locks, or dual locks.

As is with regular doors, you can lose the safe’s keys, forget the code, or experience malfunction, all of which can lead you to be unable to access its contents.

By design, these safes are very difficult to bypass and will not budge no matter how hard you try, unless you attempt to physically damage them, which is something that shouldn’t even be considered.

A professional locksmith has the expertise and skill to gain access to most safes and restore them to full working order.

Installing alarm systems

Since many alarm systems are linked with door locks, their installation requires useful help and insight from professional locksmiths.

Burglar alarms are one such example that work using various sensors to detect any unusual activity around the office. The sensors are placed at all the entry points and are linked to an alarm that, when triggered, makes a noise usually accompanied by flashing lights to get people’s attention.

In addition to the alarm being activated, some systems are programmed to automatically lock all the unlocked doors and windows to ensure the intruders stay away and find no way to break in.

Fire alarm installation is another instance where professional locksmiths can offer their services by linking all the digital door locks to the fire alarm. This way, as soon as the fire alarm is activated, all the main exits are automatically unlocked to speed up the evacuation process.

BENEFITS OF COMMERCIAL LOCKSMITHS FOR OFFICES

Commercial locksmiths are trained to work with and around the security issues faced by businesses and understand commercial and industrial security standards needed to give the best recommendations to their clients.

An office space is likely to encounter issues with the locks, keys, safes, and file cabinets, and has a lot of valuable property and assets to protect. Due to this reason, it is very important to build a good relationship with a commercial locksmith who you can rely on in your time of need.

Professional commercial locksmiths:

  • Have the necessary skill, expertise, and experience to work with all kinds of locking mechanisms.
  • Will run a risk assessment on your existing locks and security measures to understand your requirements.
  • Have adequate knowledge to recommend tailored solutions for different types of offices.
  • Are always up-to-date with the latest lock technologies and familiar with quality products.
  • Provide a holistic package that includes not only installation but a variety of other services as well, including maintenance and repair.
  • Offer emergency callout services and can be counted on to respond to them.
  • Carry specialised tools needed to carry out the job in the least amount of time with no or minimal damage to existing locks, doors, or windows.
  • Offer insurance which means that any damages done to your locks or doors will be covered.
  • Have clear prices and quotes and will always give invoices with the cost breakdown according to the labour, material, and time.
  • Provide services of the highest standards because they have a professional reputation to protect.

HOW TO CHOOSE THE BEST LOCKSMITH FOR YOUR OFFICE

With so many people pretending to be experienced professionals, it can be a little difficult to find someone you can trust with your office’s security.

When choosing the best locksmith, here are a few things to consider:

Proper identification and accreditation

Proper identification and accreditation are key factors in singling out legit businesses from fake ones.

Make sure your commercial locksmithing service has a proper brand name and an online presence with a website and reviews that you can read.

In addition to that, always hire a professional locksmith who is accredited by a recognised authority and renowned organisations since it would mean that they follow the proper guidelines and code of practice when rendering their services.

24/7 services

Emergencies can happen at any time. You could be locked out of the office, you may be unable to access the contents of your safe, or you may have a key jammed into the lock in the middle of the night.

For this reason, you must hire a locksmith who offers a 24/7 service and would respond to your calls regardless of the time of day (or night).

State-of-the-art services

In this time of technological advancements, you can’t have outdated locks in your office, can you? Not only are they unsafe but also extremely inconvenient.

You must hire a commercial locksmith who is updated with the latest technologies in locks and security systems, and will offer state-of-the-art services to protect your workplace against unauthorised access.

CONTACT CALDER SECURITY

You need to be able to trust the locks you have on your property but you also need to be able to trust whoever installs them. You need to know that they are skilled in the task and that they are honest and trustworthy tradesmen.

We at Calder Security are members of the Master Locksmith Association (MLA) since 1976 and can work on a wide range of locking mechanisms.

We are specialists in wooden, UPVC, and aluminium doors and the official suppliers for leading lock brands including Chubb, Yale, Securikey, and Garrison. Our team of experienced professionals can advise on the best types of locks for your residential and commercial needs.

In addition to installation services, our professional locksmiths offer repair services for when the locks become damaged or develop faults, and are also fully conversant in business master key systems.

Our qualified locksmiths have an in-depth knowledge of all kinds of locks and can often repair them on site. We can also access locks that have become jammed, including safes, and can respond to your calls quickly which can be very useful if you’ve locked yourself out.

We also offer expert key cutting services from our Lock & Safe Shop in Wakefield where you can get your keys cut while you wait.

Using our state-of-the-art digital equipment, we can cut virtually any key including cylinder keys, mortice keys, dimple keys, Mul-T-Lock keys, padlock keys, locker keys, and safe keys to a high degree of accuracy without having to send them away to be cut.

Contact us here or call us at 0800 612 9799 to talk to our professional locksmiths right away!

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