The Locksmith Journal Nov/Dec 2022 - Issue 83 | Page 13

Notice Board
Bent Door Alignment Center 1 . Remove glass
2 . Gently bend back , door now straight as new
3 . Reinstall
Power a heater , A / C , key machines , tools , lights , chargers ,
2200 watts , quiet & clean . Run 8-10 hrs on less than a tank . No risk to van electrical system .
I have been witness to , and part of , the forward progress the automatic doors have made . In the past four decades , there are , like everything else , a lot of ‘ plug and play ’ electronics and designed to operate safer , and run longer without breakdown than their former counterparts . Emptying a huge air compressor of 10 gallons of milky white water every two weeks , or kneeling on a mat for two hours drilling out rusty screws out of mangled mat trim , ( years before cordless tools ) is almost a distant memory . The door operating systems now are electro mechanical operators powered by digital control boards , all self-contained in a header box above the door . These things are incredibly intelligent , accurate , efficient , and easy to work on once you have your foundation under you .
Let ’ s face it , most locksmiths , or as I call us ‘ door guys ’ learn most of the trade as it comes . We can ’ t say , “ oh I ’ ve never worked on that before , so I can ’ t do this job ” or we would starve . Obviously , you ’ re not going to service a medeco biaxial system on your own , in a government facility in your third week on the job . However , with each job , we make an immediate assessment on what the situation is and what is the shortest path to returning the situation to normal . So , whatever training or studying we get to do for career advancement is generally by ourselves , on our own time and money . The great thing is , if you want to learn safes , dig up all the courses , books and videos on safes you can find , and you ’ ll get better with safes .
Generally , if we feel it will benefit our toolbox , we are a group who will find the means , make the time , and immerse ourselves in whatever the new skill may be . The extra income is obvious , but as I dig deeper , I know I just never liked the aspect of not being able to do the complete job . It is a great feeling , knowing you have the combination of skills to save your customer money , time and the headache of needing to call other companies in , waiting for a repair to get done .
My career has been more of an automatic door guy , adding the locksmith hat than the other way around . Either way , a solid locksmith adding automatic doors to their toolbox is the creation of , an unstoppable hybrid technician . For my first 10 years or so , as an automatic door tech , I would show up to a customer ’ s place in the morning , and the manager would say to me , we had a locksmith out here last night but he said it ’ s a “ door problem ”. There were also a few calls where I myself had to say , I ’ ve done all I could to repair your door and lock , but you still need to call a locksmith . One day I just said to myself , “ Why not learn locksmithing ?” That was about 20 years ago and now I am a solid locksmith and licensed in my state .
I am not sure how things are in the UK , but here in the United States , there are automatic doors , low or full energy , to enter every public building , it is impossible to drive 100 yards and not go by a dozen or more doors . There are many automatic doors throughout the buildings as well . The ADA ( Americans with Disabilities Act ) has made it legally-required for a person in a wheelchair to have access to any public building and once in the building , there are offices , cafeterias , certain spaces , and even restrooms that are also automated by Low Energy doors . From what I understand , we have the most stringent safety requirements for automatic doors to abide by .
I spent just under six years building and putting this curriculum together . The program can be taken two ways , Low Energy doors by itself , which is 16 videos ( 22 hours of training ), or one may chose the entire curriculum , 57 videos , containing approximately 60 + projects . The projects are Low Energy , Full Energy and Sliding Door Systems covered from the first step , to job completion .
By viewing these projects and retaining the lessons in them , there is no doubt that a competent Locksmith can grow his customer base as well as generate more revenue in no time . Of course , anyone looking for a new job skill can also benefit from this program , immediately upon completion .
As a locksmith , look back six months at how many commercial buildings you have been called into to service a lock , safe , maybe some kind of hardware , an exit device , a strike , door closer etc . In the time you were in that building , how many low energy doors had push plates , dangling on the wall by one last screw , from being abused all day , how many low energy doors were opening too fast , or not at all even though you activated the push plate switch . How many doors banging into the wall behind the door , or slamming into the frame . How many doors were dangling on hinges or pivots , just a day away from falling off ?
Why leave it for someone else ? If you can fix a lock , you can fix these doors . That ’ s what this program is , a foundation for your business entry point into low energy doors , or perhaps a full time position , with all automatic doors , where your locksmith skills will shoot you to the head of the pack . Any way you look at it , if you ’ re trying to find more money as a locksmith , or just adding new skills to your toolbox , the above shows a very clear path towards both of these .
www . brucecloneydoorinstitution . com
NOV / DEC 2022
13
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