Trouble With Electric Strikes In Access Control Applications.
Trouble With Electric Strikes – What can we look for during commissioning to ensure we see trouble with electric strikes before it happens?
A: Properly installed, electric strikes are reliable, highly secure and capable of delivering a high level of situational awareness to security teams via the access control and security management system supporting them.
A few things to consider – when you’re putting in door hardware ensure strike plates have a slight forward and back play when the mortise is held in the strike. This ensures an overload of the coils won’t result from lock friction.
It’s also vital that lock and striking plate are compatible and there must be proper mortise penetration. Also be sure that electric strike plates are heavy duty, with continuous operation-rated coils if required.
Installing the right lock for the job is important, too. There are applications where a strike is not your best option and using one may compromise security and/or the access control function. For instance, some doors should use electromagnetic locks or high security electronic bolts.
Even if a strike is the right choice, you need to make sure it’s correctly rated for the application in terms of fire resistance, holding force, durability, side load, pre-load, speed of operation and power draw, including sleep mode.
High security locks will have monitoring features like door status sensor and lock status sensor, considerably higher holding forces of up to 1500kg or more, extension lips to ensure they can’t snag clothing, long fire ratings and long warranties. Given the low cost of high security strikes it’s hard to imagine using anything else, in SEN’s opinion.
Installers of access control systems may not be responsible for emergency evacuation procedures of a facility but it’s important emergency exit facilities are included as part of any access control solution.
Taking this into account make sure you set electronic locking devices to fail open in the event of power loss – don’t just rely on default settings. To this end you want making this selection to be as easy in the field as possible.
You can read about high security electric strikes here and here or read more SEN news here.
“Trouble With Electric Strikes In Access Control Applications.”
