Office Lock Problem? What to Prepare Before Calling

In short:

In office buildings, many locks belong to the landlord or building management, not the tenant. Find out who owns the lock before booking work.
Fire doors and doors on escape routes need extra care. Check with building management and your fire-safety requirements before anything is changed or added.
Decide in advance who can authorise the work, approve the quote and issue a purchase order.
Photos of the lock from both sides, plus the building's contractor-access rules, save time on the day.
Master-key and restricted-key systems usually have a nominated person and a supplier who controls changes. Involve them early.

Start with who owns the lock

At home, the lock on your front door is usually yours to deal with. In an office, that's often not true. A tenant may lease a suite inside a building where the landlord installed the locks, building management runs a master-key system, and common-area doors belong to nobody in your company. Calling a locksmith before you know who owns the lock can mean a wasted visit, or work that conflicts with your lease.

Who typically controls which office doors (check your own lease and building rules)
Door	Often controlled by	Who to ask first
Main entrance to your suite	Depends on the lease; often the landlord, sometimes the tenant	Your lease, then the landlord or managing agent
Lobbies, stairwells, shared corridors and washrooms	Building management	Building or facilities management
Fire doors and doors on escape routes	Building management, subject to fire-safety requirements	Building management before anything else
Internal offices, boardrooms and storerooms inside your suite	Often the tenant, unless they're on a master-key system	Your office or facilities manager
Doors on a master-key or restricted-key system	Whoever holds the system's records, often the landlord	The person named as responsible for the system
Doors with card readers, electric strikes or maglocks	Whoever installed and maintains the access-control system	Building management or the access-control contractor

If you own the building outright, much of this falls away, but the questions about fire doors, authorisation and master keys still apply.

Fire doors and escape routes: check before anything changes

Fire doors and doors on escape routes are part of the building's fire-safety arrangements. Their locks, latches, closers and any push bars were chosen to work with the door and the way people are meant to leave the building in an emergency. Swapping a lock, adding a bolt or padlock, or wedging a door can affect that.

Before asking for any change to a fire door or a door on an escape route, check with building management and your fire-safety requirements. Don't add extra locks or bolts to these doors on your own initiative, even for a short time. A responsible locksmith may decline work that could obstruct an escape route until building management has confirmed what's acceptable.

If you're not sure whether a door is a fire door, ask building management. Some fire doors carry a label or plate on the edge or hinge side, but don't rely on spotting one.

Authorisation: who can approve the work

Locksmithing is regulated in South Africa. Performing the functions of a locksmith falls within the definition of a "security service" in the Private Security Industry Regulation Act, and a responsible locksmith will want to be sure that the person asking for work on a lock is entitled to ask. For offices, have these ready:

The name and contact details of the person authorising the work: usually the office manager, facilities manager or a director.
Written authority where the lock belongs to someone else. An email from building management or the landlord confirming the work is often enough, but ask what's needed.
Identification for the person who will meet the technician on site.
Who will receive and sign for the keys to any new lock, and who will hold the spares.

Expect to be asked for more if the request is to open a locked office or cabinet, especially outside working hours or when the person asking isn't the person who normally holds the key.

Purchase orders, quotes and invoicing

Companies often have their own buying rules. Sorting them out before the visit avoids a technician standing at a door while someone looks for a signature.

Purchase orders. If your company needs a purchase order before work starts, say so when you book, and ask what the locksmith needs to quote against it.
Supplier registration. Some companies ask new suppliers for registration documents before an order can be issued. Find out whether yours does.
Written quotation. Ask for a written, itemised quotation if the work is planned rather than urgent. Our article on what affects the price of a mobile locksmith visit in Sandton explains what a clear quote should show.
Invoice details. Give the company's registered name, address and any reference the accounts department needs.

Mobile Locksmith Sandton's own arrangements: Call-out: R250 call-out fee. Quotations: The technician assesses the job on site and gives you the price before any work starts. Nothing is done until you agree. Payment: EFT, cash or card

Photos and details that help the technician prepare

Good information lets the technician bring the right parts and give a realistic quote. Send what you can:

A photo of the lock from each side of the door.
A photo of the door edge showing the lock's faceplate, which often carries the brand and model.
The door material (timber, aluminium, glass or steel) and whether it has a closer at the top.
What the lock is doing: stiff, key turns without unlocking, door won't latch, handle drooping, or damaged.
How many doors are affected, and whether any of them are fire doors or have card readers.
Whether any doors are on a master-key system, and if so, who manages it.

Be careful with photos of keys. Avoid sending close-up photos of the cut edge of keys, especially master keys or restricted keys. If the locksmith needs to identify a key, a photo of its head showing any brand name or stamped number is usually enough.

If the problem is a symptom rather than damage, our guides to a key that turns but won't unlock and stiff door locks can help you describe it.

Access for contractors in office buildings

Many office buildings, office parks and towers have procedures for contractors. Find out before the visit and pass the details on when you book:

Visitor or contractor registration at reception or security, and what identification is needed.
Where the technician can park, and whether there's a loading bay or service entrance.
Whether a work permit, induction or escort is required.
Times when noisy work such as drilling is allowed, if the building restricts it.
Which lift or stairwell to use, and whether tools need to go through a separate entrance.
The name and mobile number of the person who will meet the technician.

Telling building security in advance that a locksmith is expected avoids delays at the gate or reception desk.

Master-key and restricted-key systems

Many offices use a master-key system, where each door has its own key and one or more higher-level keys open several doors. Systems are designed as a whole, often with restricted keys that can only be supplied through the manufacturer or an authorised supplier, against a signed order from an authorised person or a key-registration card.

That has practical consequences:

Find the person responsible for the system. Manufacturers such as ABLOY recommend that every system has a nominated person who controls key issue and is authorised to order changes and extra keys. In a multi-tenant building, that's often the landlord or building management.
Don't fit an ordinary cylinder into a master-keyed door without asking. A cylinder from outside the system won't work with the master keys, which can lock out cleaners, security or building management.
A lost master key is a bigger problem than a lost office key. Tell the person responsible straight away so they can assess the risk and decide which cylinders need changing.
Extra keys come through the system's supplier. We don't cut or duplicate keys. New locks come with their manufacturer's keys, and restricted keys are ordered through the system's own process.

Electronic access control: mention it upfront

Card readers, keypads, electric strikes and magnetic locks are a separate trade from mechanical locks. If a door with any of these isn't working, say so when you call. Part of the problem may be mechanical, such as a misaligned strike, but the electronics are normally handled by the access-control contractor. A mobile locksmith in Sandton can tell you before the visit whether the job is within their scope.

Our commercial locksmith service covers mechanical lock repairs and replacements at offices and business premises.

Questions

Can we change the lock on our office suite without telling the landlord?

Check your lease first. Many leases control alterations, and the landlord or building management may need a key for emergencies or a master-key system may be involved. Getting written agreement before the work avoids problems later.

A staff member left without returning their key. What do we need to do?

Work out which doors that key opens. If it's an individual key, replacing that cylinder or lock may be enough. If it's a master key or opens several doors, involve whoever manages the system. See also lock repair versus replacement.

Can you put a padlock on our fire escape door to stop break-ins?

Don't add locks or padlocks to a fire door or escape door without building management confirming it meets your fire-safety requirements. Raise the security concern with building management so the door can be dealt with properly.

Need a locksmith to look at it?

If this hasn't solved the problem, our commercial locksmith service covers it. We're a mobile locksmith in Sandton, so we come to your door.

Sources and further reading

Private Security Industry Regulation Act 56 of 2001, section 1: Definitions (Acts Online) — performing the functions of a locksmith is included in the definition of a security service
ABLOY Master Key System Design Guide — master-key hierarchy, a nominated person responsible for the system, the right to order keys, and assessing risk when a key is lost
ABLOY UK: Master key solutions — key-control levels; extra keys only against a key registration card or signed order from an authorised person

Office lock problems: information to prepare before calling