COMMERCIAL SECURITY
Commercial VS Domestic and the Way Forward
Louise Frost , the Search Manager at Door Controls Direct , sat down with her colleagues Mike Drayton and Jordan Holleley to take a deep dive into their collective 50 years ’ experience of locksmithing in the UK .
» WHO BETTER TO TALK WITH ABOUT the key differences between commercial and domestic locksmithing than two Master Locksmith Association locksmiths who have worked for years on diverse projects , fitting , repairing , and replacing an assortment of products to a range of door types ?
Managing expectations
With domestic work there can be an understandable tension around spend . It ’ s never usually planned work , so it is an unexpected cost , like car repairs . It ’ s not a pleasure purchase so whilst individuals are thankful for the work being done , there ’ s not a huge amount of gratitude because it ’ s money they ’ d rather not be spending . A quicker response is needed when there is a physical security issue at a domestic property . Customers expect 24-hour call out services with someone on site ASAP , and need reassurance that products meet their requirements and that of their house insurance .
Commercial jobs are covered by a company budget rather than an individual ’ s funds so is a reconcilable cost ; budgeted on a quarterly or annual basis , with contingency for unplanned works ; some level of maintenance or upgrade work is expected and anticipated . Commercial work is frequently scheduled ahead of time ; this suits our business model as we predominantly carry out commercial bench work that ’ s booked in advance . There are still some time and access restrictions such as an installation in the famous Stone Henge Visitors Centre that dictated a pre-dawn visit before the centre opened to the public . Those are few and far between though !
Preparation and considerations The time required to prepare varies as domestic residential properties have easy access and minimal standards and regulations to be aware of . BS EN 3621 and BS EN 8621 , along with BS EN 1303 will cover most domestic entrance doors , alongside PAS24 .
Commercial premises are covered by a greater number of building regulations , fire safety standards , an awareness of general and site specific COSHH and health and safety details . They may also involve a schedule of works , a risk assessment or evaluation statement such as RAMS documents .
Whilst more predictable products are found in commercial and industrial facilities , the application can be more varied . Considerations need to be made for escape routes , final exit doors , fire compartmentation , use of spaces , and users . Layer this with budget , matching existing hardware , compliance , and time frames and commercial projects can be fairly involved compared to domestic jobs .
People problems
With domestic work , experience has shown it can be the people rather than the nature of the work that can be a little more problematic . Whilst issues are more run of the mill , such as a swollen door , a broken gearbox on a multipoint lock , or wear and tear on a cylinder barrel , how these issues are communicated can be tricky , but in recent years technology has certainly helped address this . Once such common problem is cams spinning on the cheaper end of products , which for someone with no lock or locksmithing experience , would be difficult to describe over the phone .
Working on sheltered housing or in mental health institutions over the years we ’ ve both experienced instances of verbal abuse , and on one site , being physically engaged with by a patient . And there has been bad press around ‘ cowboy ’ locksmiths , charging through the nose and conducting substandard work .
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MAY 2024
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