Surely if you have any 'touch sensitive push bars' or the like on a door to release the electronic locks-you might as well have no electronic locks at all !.

In sensitive environments ie nursing homes etc most of the inhabitants do not even know their own name let alone what a fire alarm sound is and what to do when they hear it-they will be reliant on the staff to remove them from the area surely?.

I admit it is a VERY grey area as 'visitors'etc could be present and they wouldn't need staff help to vacate the area normally.

But if the doors are designed to unlock during a fire activation !!-lots of in's and out's to weigh up.

Surely if you have any 'touch sensitive push bars' or the like on a door to release the electronic locks-you might as well have no electronic locks at all !.

In sensitive environments ie nursing homes etc most of the inhabitants do not even know their own name let alone what a fire alarm sound is and what to do when they hear it-they will be reliant on the staff to remove them from the area surely?.

I admit it is a VERY grey area as 'visitors'etc could be present and they wouldn't need staff help to vacate the area normally.

But if the doors are designed to unlock during a fire activation !!-lots of in's and out's to weigh up.

In care homes and secure units etc a lot depends on the Fire Officer and whether he's getting 'any' at home.

Some will accept reasonably secure doors, others want little to no security at all.

Remember, a lot of Fire Officers don't actually know how the systems are designed to operate and don't wan't to show their lack of knowlwdge so they err on the side of safety, overly so in some cases.

I agree Cubit, But that just proves certain points-us engineers/technicians know our job and the best way to navigate certain problems-how does a fire officer get his?.The amount of times I have been told by a 'site foreman' or 'contracts manager' to install door access equipment in a way that just would not work!-and have then had to basically take them through the complete install and workings to convince them that I am actually right!.

If I had a fiver for the amount of times that I have had to do this I would be a site foreman or manager by now!-and on ten times the dosh I'm on now.

Fitting a new job at the minute in a very secure "naughty kiddies" school (supposed to be the next stop from prison). There is access control over all external and internal corridor doors with reader in and reader out. No break glass or RTE on any door, just a set of contacts off the fire alarm next to each ACM. There are also at least 3 electronic locks on each door (heavy duty mag lock, solenoid bolt half way down, and locking hinge pivot in the floor). Apparently this has been accepted by the F.O due to the nature of the building as an exception to the norm.

Edited August 24, 200817 yr by antinode