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Laidlaw offers a range of cylinder solutions according to the type of cylinder required, the need for master keying and the level of security required. Additional functions can be incorporated within the cylinder to increase security or safety, or to provide specific applications dependant on the environment.
A few simple factors should be considered when considering locking cylinders:
Laidlaw’s range of cylinders specify which cylinders allow duplicate keys to be cut locally vs keys to be ordered only from the manufacturer. The security of any key system can quickly and easily be compromised if there is no control on who can supply duplicate keys.
Ideal for situations where an occupied room is left unattended without supervision. The room can be locked from outside to prevent unauthorised entry while having peace of mind that the door can always be opened from inside. The cylinder however, can never be locked from the inside.
Some circumstances require a room to be lockable from inside but always allow access from the outside. The anti-barricade function isolates the internal turn from the external key function making both mechanisms independent of each other. The function allows the key to unlock the door from the outside even if the internal thumbthurn is being held in the locked position from the inside.
It is normal practice during the construction process of a building to allow ownership of the keys to be given to contractors so they have unlimited access. The security of the building can be compromised if a key is inadvertently lost, stolen or not returned. With construction keying, a special pin is incorporated during the cylinder assembly which allows a single ‘construction key’ to be issued to the contractor to allow them full access during the construction process. All remaining keys are retained until the building is handed over to the client, at which point the client should insert and rotate the building master key into all cylinder, this will then render the construction key inoperable thereby ensuring the security of the building.
Bumping is a method of physically manipulating a cylinder to gain unauthorised access to a room or area with the use of an unauthorised key. Where this could be an issue, a system with an anti-bump feature should be used.
Some situations lead themselves to keys being left inserted on the inside of a double cylinder. Standard cylinders will not allow another key to operate from the outside. However, cylinders supplied with a key override function allow the cylinder to be operable from both sides even when a key is inserted in the other side of the door.
Ideally suited where there is a steady turnover of key holders such as rented properties. This function enables the key holder to be changed without the need to change the cylinder. If a user issued with key 1 fails to return all key 1 keys, there is an obvious security risk. However, once key number 2 is rotated 360 degrees in the cylinder, this then makes key 1 invalid. Key 3 will invalidate key 1 and 2. This functionality can save the property owner time and money replacing cylinders.
It can sometimes be impractical to have a different cylinder for every door, creating potentially hundreds of keys for the main keyholder to be responsible for.
Master keying is a means by which an organisation can control who has access to which doors, through the careful design and organisation of the key profiles and pin arrangement of the cylinders within the system. A hierarchy can be developed to allow access to individual doors, groups of doors, all the doors on one floor or ultimately all of the doors.
A simple master keyed system is ideal for a block of apartments in which each occupant is issued with a single key to pass their own apartment door, plus all the communal doors such as the main entrance door, bin store, garage and laundry. The master key is held by the building manager/superintendent.
More complex applications where different groups of individuals require access to more specific groups of doors. Cylinder systems capable of such complexity can be set up with zones controlled by sub-master keys with levels above them of master keys and grand master keys.
Find out more about Locking Cylinders on page 94 of the Laidlaw Big Red Book or talk to one of our cylinder specialists below