Cloud access control and compliant escape doors for a Folkestone self storage facility
New Shopline aluminium entrance doors with an Abloy lock fitted at the factory, opened by an Akuvox X912K intercom using faces, PINs, fobs, Bluetooth or QR codes, and managed from anywhere in the Akuvox SmartPlus app. From inside, one push of the handle always lets people out.
The brief
A self storage facility in Folkestone wanted a smart, secure main entrance. Many different groups of people use the building, each needing its own access level and its own times of day, so the site needed new doors in place of the old ones, entry without keys, visitors seen and spoken to from the offices, and control of who can get in, and when, without calling us every time someone joins or leaves.
Above all, the doors are on an escape route, so people inside must always be able to get out, with one simple action and no button to find.
What we installed
- Shopline aluminium doors and screen. Black, commercial-grade Shopline doors from Smart Systems, built for busy entrances, with slim 50 mm frames and corrosion-resistant fixings.
- Abloy EL460 lock, fitted at the factory. The electric lock sits inside the door, so there are no maglocks or armatures bolted to the frame. When the door closes, a 20 mm dead bolt throws automatically. Abloy EL460 to EL463 data sheet (PDF).
- Single-action exit. The inside handle always opens the door mechanically, with no power, key, fob or button needed. Outside, the handle only engages when the access control says so, and a key overrides it.
- Akuvox X912K intercom, the physical keypad version of the X912S. People get in by facial recognition, PIN, fob, Bluetooth on their phone or a QR code. Visitors press to call the office.
- Akuvox S565 indoor monitor, in white, in the offices: a 10-inch screen to see and speak to visitors and unlock the door.
- Akuvox commercial cloud access control. Through Akuvox Smart Access, the facility sets up groups of people with their own access levels and time profiles, adds and removes people, and changes how each person gets in, from anywhere, in the SmartPlus app or a web browser. Every entry is logged.
More about access control · Door entry and intercoms · Another self storage project: remote CCTV monitoring · a wireless fire alarm for Folkestone Storage
Why the lock matters: getting out safely
Building regulations say doors on escape routes should either have no lock, or a fastening that people escaping can open easily, without a key, fob or code and without working more than one mechanism. In practice that means one hand movement, with no instructions to read.
Many access control installs meet that with a maglock on the frame and a green break-glass button beside the door. It’s allowed, but it has drawbacks:
- A maglock or fail-unlocked strike on an escape door should be part of an escape door system tested to BS EN 13637, which a bolt-on kit often isn’t.
- Maglocks release when the power fails, so an outside door is left unlocked in a power cut. Abloy advises against fail-unlocked locks on perimeter doors for that reason.
- Retro-fitting hardware to a fire door can affect its fire certification unless the door’s test evidence and the manufacturer’s instructions are followed.
Abloy’s guidance is that hardware with a mechanical means of escape, certified to BS EN 179 (staff areas) or BS EN 1125 (public areas), should be the first choice. That’s what this door has: the EL460 is a high-security lock with a built-in exit function. The inside handle always works, the outside handle is engaged electrically by the access control, and the lock, handles and strike are certified together as Abloy’s Package 3E for narrow stile doors.
The lock also reports back: door open or closed, handle down, bolt thrown and key used. As an NSI approved company, we’re audited against the NSI code of practice for access control (NCP 109), which expects performance-tested escape locking on any door used for escape.
Why Shopline doors
Shopline is a commercial aluminium door and screen system from Smart Systems, designed to be robust and durable in high-traffic entrances. The screens are made off site and assembled on site, with slim 50 mm sightlines, corrosion-resistant fixings and drainage trays for the British weather.
Because the doors were made new, the Abloy lock was fitted in the door at the factory and power reaches it through an armoured door loop. There’s nothing bolted on afterwards: no maglock on the head of the frame and no armature on the door. It looks better, and there’s less to tamper with.
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Questions
Why not just fit a maglock and a green break-glass button?
Approved Document B still allows it, but a magnetic lock or fail-unlocked strike on an escape door should be part of an escape door system tested to BS EN 13637. Maglocks also release when the power fails, which leaves an outside door unlocked. A lock with a mechanical exit handle, certified to BS EN 179 or BS EN 1125, is the first-choice solution.
What’s the difference between BS EN 179 and BS EN 1125?
BS EN 179 covers emergency exit hardware, such as lever handles, for areas where the people using the door are staff who know the building. BS EN 1125 covers panic hardware, such as push bars, for areas used by the public or where panic is likely. The lock, handles and strike are certified as a set.
Can you add access control to doors we already have?
Usually, yes. We look at the door first: if it’s a fire door, fitting new hardware can affect its certification, so we check the door’s test evidence and the manufacturer’s instructions before we cut anything.
Who manages the users once it’s installed?
You do, if you want to. Akuvox SmartPlus lets you add and remove people, change how they get in and set time schedules from the app or a web browser. We can do it for you too.
Thinking about access control for your entrance?
Call 01303 720282 or send us a message. We’ll look at your doors and tell you what will keep the building secure and the escape route compliant.