On the Nov. 11 session of Wayne Winton’s Locksmith Live video series, ASSA ABLOY Academy lead trainer Guy T. Robinson gave an overview of the hands-on training opportunities available to locksmiths through ASSA ABLOY Academy.
According to Robinson, the ASSA ABLOY Academy was started to serve the needs of locksmiths and quickly advanced as new electronic technology came on the scene.
“In the last 15 or 20 years, there have been monumental changes in the industry – power over ethernet locks, networked access control, locks that pull down an IP address, wireless locks, intelligent cylinders and keys. So we have all of this new technology coming on the market fast and furious … and we said wait a minute. Whenever you push products on the market fast and furious, you kind of leave a glitch in the marketplace. Who knows how to work on it? Who knows how to service it? Who knows how to install it?”
ASSA ABLOY Academy was started to teach about the new products. Then, the companysaw the need to offer training for many more locksmith tasks – anything that deals with the security of an opening.
The first location was the Ontario, California, training facility, set up to teach “everything that deals with the security of an opening,” Robinson said. Texas and Connecticut locations have been added, with more to come.
Classes are small and hands-on, with six hours of instruction each day for optimal learning, spread out over multiple days. State-of-the-art tools are provided.
The Locksmith Academy
The Locksmith Academy was created based on demands from locksmith companies in need of new employees. There are three levels: apprentice, journeyman and master.
The longest course, Apprentice, is designed to take someone with zero experience to a level of apprenticeship in 10 days.
Curriculum includes keying, masterkeying, key labeling and system generation, basic architectural hardware, installing deadbolts and cylindrical locks, a full day of Adams Rite servicing, how to pick and impression cylinders and cutting keys with code machines.
On the last day, Robinson gives them a three-level masterkey system to design, along with the plans for a combined school/church/office. They are to label it, cut keys, key up the cylinders using a multiplex system, either Accentra, Sargent or Corbin Russwin. That’s the final exam, and Robinson says they typically do a great job.
Access Control
The Networked Access Control Class teaches the technicians how to install integrated Wiegand products. Students learn how to install the mortise lock, levers and the reader. They also core the door, route out for the hinge to make all the connections for the transfer hinge and then run the wires.
To learn access control or basic wiring, students need to understand the names and function of every component. Repetition and step by step practice are essential. “With access control, you’re creating a circuit. If the circuit is not created, things don’t work. It’s as plain as that,” Robinson noted.
The access control wall, Robinson’s creation, features six stations, each with one board for series wiring, one board for parallel wiring. Like a real-life situation, there are LEDS, timers and switches connected, with power supplies mounted above.
“When I give them different scenarios -- wiring up different keypads, wiring up different switches, wiring timers into it, hooking everything up in the power supply -- I want them to feel like it’s a real-life situation,” Robinson said. “By the third day, I’m just shouting out scenarios and they’re just going right through it.”
Watch the full video for details on Winton’s experiences, visiting the Ontario training facility and taking the Hollow Metal Doors and Frames class.
How to get started
Potential students should go to www.assaabloyacademy.com and enroll for free to see the class schedule. Multi-day classes are offered across the country and specialty classes can be scheduled on request. Most classes are free, except for the hollow metal door and frame course. The 10-day Locksmithing Academy is $295, including food and tools.
Watch Locksmith Live programs at https://wayneslockshop.com/locksmith-live/ or catch the replays on his YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/@waynewinton.
Emily Pike | Managing Editor
Emily Pike is managing editor of Locksmith Ledger International.
