Allegion Schlage D Series, Manual

Page: 101 / 573

Three parts to key control
Schlage • Primus service manual • 41
Three parts to key control
How do you account for issued keys? How do you know who
has keys to areas of your building or campus? Facilities with
proper key control procedures in place know the answers to
these questions.
To help facility and security personnel to know who has
access to the mechanical locks in their buildings, Schlage
offers a three-part solution.
1. Key issue policies
Without a sensible key control policy backed by top
management, security can deteriorate quickly. The key
control policy should specifically define who may authorize
keys to be cut.
Issuing master and grand master keys must be done based
on actual need. After all, it does little good to prevent keys
from being duplicated externally if many “legitimate” copies
of the top master key are issued, increasing risk of loss or
theft.
Consider the following ideas which may be utilized (and
modified as needed) if deemed appropriate for your facility:
• Establish suitable management levels (department head,
shop foreman, etc.) to authorize keys to be cut or issued to
employees. Control high level access by requiring higher
level approval for master and grand master keys.
• Collect a deposit for all keys issued.
• Require employees to sign a receipt stating that his/her
final paycheck will be withheld until all keys are returned.
This requires coordination with the Human Resources or
Accounting Department.
• Have the key holder or the department manager sign a
receipt making them responsible for the cost of rekeying
any areas operated by the lost or stolen key.
• Serial number all keys to track multiple copies of the same
key issued to different persons. This allows the key control
center to trace any key to the rightful key holder.
• Include language on a key receipt that forbids lending of
keys to other employees.
• Conduct periodic spot checks to make sure employees
have their issued keys.
• Do not store quantities of unused master keys. Destroy
them or provide secure storage if necessary.
• Trades, contractors, and maintenance personnel should
turn in their master keys at the end of their shifts and pick
them up again the next day.
• Enforce adherence to policies with consequences.
2. Track issued keys with SiteMaster 200
Implementing a system to track each
and every issued key is critical to provide
immediate information about who has
access to any given area at any
given time. Schlage SiteMaster
200 helps provide this critical
information.
SiteMaster 200 has fields for key
holder name, key symbol (code), serial
number of key, door name, number, etc. Once
the data has been entered you can sort it in a
variety of ways to produce reports or simply look
up an individual person, key, door, etc.
To be effective, one person should be designated
responsible for maintaining the database, with
backup personnel designated as necessary. Too
many people with access to the database can
lead to a breakdown in the integrity of the information.
3. Use patented keys
Be sure Parts 1 and 2 are in place.
Install Primus or Everest Primus patented keyways and you
can be reasonably sure that your keys won’t be copied. It
would be difficult, time consuming, and a violation of federal
patent law to make an unauthorized copy of a Primus XP or
Everest Primus XP key. A person who makes an unauthorized
Primus XP or Everest Primus XP key could be subjected to
legal action from Schlage.