Here’s a wake up call- New Haven, CT is the fourth most dangerous city in the United States. Your business has a 1 in 14 chance that it will have a break in. If you don’t like those odds we have some tips to help your company stay safe. Criminals see something they want in your store or office, and standard key and lock system will barely slow them down. A strong kick, pry, bump, screw driver hit, or even credit card is all it takes to bypass a simple key-in-knob lock. Your place of commerce is at risk if any front, side, or back door is protected with a key-in-knob system. One of our highly trained commercial locksmiths at All United Locksmith can find the vulnerabilities of your business where a criminal would enter and implement the right solution to keep your business safe and protected.
If you don’t already, have dead bolts installed on all exterior doors. This is a great investment dollar for dollar. Deadbolts offer much greater security and increased protection from picking, bumping, prying, drilling, and shear brute force entry. Dead bolts come with grades from the American National Standards Institute, and in order for it to be commercial grade the deadbolt has been tested open/closed 250,000 times, bolt projects minimum one inch into door frame, and it can withstand 10 direct hammer blows. All United Locksmith carries a wide variety of deadbolts and have the right level of security for your business. Our commercial locksmiths have the expertise to install the right tools for the right situation. For example, when should you install a double or single cylinder deadbolt? A double cylinder requires a key to operate the deadbolt from both sides, single can be unlocked inside without a key. You should install a double cylinder deadbolt on doors with windows to eliminate the danger or someone breaking the window and reaching through to open the deadbolt.
Rekeying your locks can also prove invaluable to protecting your businesses assets. Did you know that many burglaries happen with a set of keys? If your business ever lost a hidden key from under a mat, a spare key, or recently let an employee go (even if they turned their keys in) you should rekey your doors. Not to say your employee was a bad apple, but people do make spare keys, even if it says do not duplicate. Our highly trained commercial locksmiths can easily change the pins inside your locks and cut a set of matching keys to have your business secure again in no time.
Reinforcing the strike plate is a detail that is often overlooked. The tongue of your lock or deadbolt protrudes from the door and catches in the strike plate in the door frame. Many people believe a strong lock will keep them safe, but in reality it’s only as strong as the strike plate which anchors it. Installing heavy duty strike plates with three inch reinforced screws will strengthen the ability of your lock against break ins.
Just like the strike plate, the hinges need to be just as strong and properly installed. Weak hinges or hinges with shallow anchor screws will be the first thing to fail when the door is put to the test and the lock and strike plate are both strong. Improper installation of hinges can give criminals easy access to your business as well. If you can see your hinges from the outside when the door is closed, the pin holding the hinges together can be easily lifted and your door is open. Hinges need to be as strong as the locking system itself, anchored with three inch screws, and installed safely inside the door.
If you haven’t heard of bumping locks chances are your locks are not bump proof. Bumping locks is a form of lock picking where a key is specially cut with more teeth, placed in a lock, and when bumped and hit can open many deadbolts and key-in-knob locks. Many commercial businesses are vulnerable to bumping and don’t even know it. Fortunately, All United Locksmith carries an array of bump proof and bump resistant locks to outfit your doors and increase your safety.
The maintenance of locks, particularly keeping your locks lubricated, is often over looked by many business owners. Locks are made of metal and have many moving parts, therefor they are prone to rusting and deterioration. When you slide your key in and turn it, it pushes a series of wafers or pins which need operate smoothly. Your company’s locks, especially those on outside doors, are exposed to the elements and prone to damage from water, rust, dust, and dirt. Over time this cause the internal parts of your locks to jam and eventually cease and stop working. A little bit of lubricant like WD-40, sprayed into the keyway of your locks can diminish friction, keep pins moving freely, and extend the life of your locks.
If you would like more information on how to keep your business safe and secure please give All United Locksmith a call at (203) 901-0011.
