The retrofit market is alive with possibilities for locksmiths and installers when it comes to door openings. Manufacturers of door and locking hardware have been addressing this segment with new technologies and engineered installation efficiencies that make upgrading healthcare doors easier while providing a better value solution for the end user.
Even with an older infrastructure, a wide array of options are available for locksmiths and installers to offer to boost security or fortify existing openings.
Upgrading and retrofitting hospitals and other healthcare facilities with technology can include delayed egress for behavioral health, as well as perimeter locking devices with motorized latchbolt and strike monitoring to shore up openings while adding the capability to manage lock power and hardware integrity in real time. Wireless deadlatches, ready for retrofit and renovation, combine electrified locking hardware with access control in standard aluminum stile doors, paving the way for access control, including mobile credentials. Inside, electric strikes and cabinet locks secure vital areas and openings, with designs engineered for seamless upgrades with existing prep kits. In aesthetics, locks and hardware blend with entrances, offering new finishes that elevate and modernize, even serving popular all-glass openings.
Healthcare modernization
Steady growth is expected in the healthcare buildings market, as the result of an aging population, increasing chronic diseases and urbanization. The average age of healthcare facilities varies and depends on the region. For example, Hawaii has the oldest healthcare facilities in the country at more than 20 years, with Washington a close second at 18 years, while Arizona has the newest facilities on average at only nine years. States in the Northeast or the West coast have higher average healthcare facility ages than other locations in the U.S.
As healthcare facilities modernize, adding new structures to existing campuses and upgrading others, there’s an emphasis on integrated building systems designed to enhance patient care, safety, sustainability and green building. Renovation costs in construction have risen significantly in recent years and for healthcare administrators, the key challenge is adding security and maintenance of systems within budget, meeting codes and regulations and keeping vital areas secure. Locksmiths need to work within that realm and with various stakeholders who might include maintenance and facilities managers, safety engineers, building engineers, IT and even code officials and other trades to define the scope and direction of the project.
Site survey and walk through
Identifying opportunities for upgrades to existing properties starts with a site survey and analysis of every opening and the customer’s ‘wants and needs’ – whether that’s added security or door accountability with new data, or interfacing entrance solutions into a systemwide access control or building management platform. The walk through is an open dialog between customer and installer to determine what’s within reach and budget and to discuss any particulars. For example, what codes and regulations need to be satisfied for the upgrade from mechanical to an electrified opening to comply? Is delayed egress allowed or necessary, or a mantrap configuration to hold people safely in an entrance area?
ASSA ABLOY Site Survey Form
An important part of the locksmith’s job is to make sure the facility maintains its code standing, and the customer must be guided and advised of compliance during the initial and ongoing consultations. Are variances or changes to the code possible to get approval for the installed upgrade? Code officials can be consulted for variances to the code and documentation on the consent of modifications is necessary when approved.
The site survey is critical in understanding the customer’s vision. This is where you as the licensed contractor assess every opening. Using a door hardware site survey worksheet, security pros document the number of buildings, openings and IBC/NFPA Code requirements. Existing hardware, such as exit bars, locksets, maglocks, power supplies, strikes and other components are noted and counted, as well as specific models and accessories. The general health of the opening is tested for functionality and current hardware, doors, frames, materials and other specific characteristics captured in detail.
The walk through is the narrative where information is exchanged, such as how the opening should function from the inside and the outside and other factors such as usage during the day (used 100 or 1,000 times a day) for wear and tear. Hospitals and healthcare facilities have many different configurations, from simple doctor visiting rooms to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) or infant nursery which requires higher security. There could also be a mental healthcare wing of the hospital, or server rooms with patient data. Healthcare facilities have higher standards for cleanliness and require additional steps by vendors providing services within the facility. A hospital may be a clean environment that requires sealing off areas from floor to ceiling. Wiring into the infrastructure or above ceilings may require special methods for sealing penetrations, additional inspections for workmanship and permits. And anytime you need to gain access to the network for software, IT will be involved. Communication with different customer representatives is critical at all stages from the original site survey to completion and inspection of the final project.
The site survey is also where installers can start to lose money if they don't gather the right information. Customer expectations are high, so vendors need to understand exactly what you will be doing (deliverables) and what they need to do to prepare for the job.
Manageable retrofit projects
Locksmiths and installers should consider the complexities and regulations required to work with larger healthcare organizations and look for potential upgrade opportunities that are a good fit. IBC (International Building Codes) codes are making it easier to add additional hardware to expand security and safety, especially within the institutional occupancy groups. In IBC, Chapter 10, Means of Egress deals with the codes which apply to mechanical and electronic locking of doors.
For example, the IBC 2021 Code, Chapter 3 Occupancy Groups I-Institutional, includes group homes, assisted living, nursing homes and adult and child day care. In these group settings, new egress exceptions allow for up to two delays in the egress path – instead of one – right in the wheelhouse of locksmiths looking to upgrade openings and add hardware.
Retrofit healthcare projects are also embracing wireless to upgrade security, and manufacturers have responded with products to protect entrances, data centers and assets. Wireless cabinet locks shore up drug dispensary doors and drawers, tools and mobile equipment such as MRI machines. This latest generation of wireless locks, readers and components offers faster signaling and encrypted communications. It operates with a centralized communication hub to provide an audit trail of users accessing controlled areas or equipment, with remote monitoring and system management allowing quick lock downs or changes in the status of devices. Wireless readers and entrance control solutions are increasingly recognized as code compliant for non-egress doors.
Interactive tools and resources
Manufacturers understand the demand for retrofit designs, focusing on product engineering made for variables and in-the-field adjustments. Standardized construction formats, installation templates and interactive guides are some of the resources available to make door locks and hardware easier to install.
Videos and YouTube animation take installers through the process of electric strike selection, understanding the codes and delayed egress. Other digital resources include a Customer Support app that connects with Electromechanical Specialists (EMS) for technical support on demand. With live stream video, in-house EMS assess and assist as they guide you through the installation process. You can also call individual brands from the app to connect with support teams at each of the manufacturing facilities.
From plan to execution, upgrading healthcare locks and hardware represents numerous opportunities for locksmiths and installers. In addition, locksmiths and installers are hardware experts and may benefit from working with other trades in the healthcare environment. As an example, an access control solution provider may need locking components to complete or maintain projects, but they may not have those skillsets in house, and may turn to other trades to assist. The possibilities for new retrofit projects are endless, as healthcare continues to update and upgrade building security with locks and door hardware.
Rodger Schmidt, CAI, AFDI, ASSA ABLOY Technical Product Trainer, provides continuing education, technical training, webinars and other instruction to the electronic security hardware, door access and locking solutions industries. He can be reached at [email protected].
