A Lock Checklist for Logistics Warehouses

How to use this checklist

A logistics warehouse usually has more locks than anyone remembers: shutters on the loading side, pedestrian doors beside them, offices, a yard gate, a container or two and a cabinet of keys nobody has audited in years. Problems tend to surface at the worst time, when a shutter won't lock at the end of a night shift or a padlock has seized on the yard gate before the first truck arrives.

Walk the site once with whoever locks up, ideally in daylight and again at closing time. Use the zones below, note what each lock is, who holds its keys and how it behaves, and take photos as you go.

1. Roller shutter doors: locks and the shutter itself

We work on the locking hardware on a shutter: side locks, key-operated rim locks, padlock points and the hasps or ground locks that hold the bottom rail down. We also repair the shutter itself: the curtain, the guides, the springs and the motor.

Shutter designs differ. Trellidor, for example, offers a key-operated rim lock as an option on one steel model to secure the closed curtain, while its anti-lift models are designed to resist lifting without physical locks at all. Find out which kind you have before assuming a lock is missing.

• Does every lock or padlock point line up with its keep when the shutter is fully down?
• Is the bottom rail straight? A rail bent by a forklift can stop a lock or padlock point aligning.
• Does the shutter run smoothly, without straining, dropping on its own or catching in the guides? If not, don't adjust the springs yourself: they hold a lot of tension.
• Are keys for each shutter labelled and accounted for?
• On a motorised shutter with a manual lock, does everyone know to release the lock before running the motor? Opener makers such as Genie tell owners to keep manual locks disabled in the unlocked position where a motor drives the door; a motor pulling against a locked door can damage it.

2. Dock doors and the doors beside them

Modern logistics units are often built with dock levellers and sectional doors, plus a pedestrian door near the docks for drivers and staff. That pedestrian door tends to get the most use and the least attention.

When a cylinder needs replacing anyway, it's worth asking about an attack-resistant one; see anti-snap cylinders.

3. Escape doors: secure, but never locked in

Security and fire safety pull in opposite directions on escape doors, and the law settles it. Regulation 13J of the General Safety Regulations under the Occupational Health and Safety Act requires every door of a room where people may be present, and every door on the route out, to be kept clear and capable of being easily and rapidly opened from inside.

Check that each escape door opens from inside with one simple action, that nothing is stacked against it, and that it locks again properly once closed.

4. Yard gates and padlocks

A yard gate padlock sits outside in sun, rain and dust, and gets handled by drivers, guards and whoever opens up. It's usually the first lock on site to seize.

• Grade. Padlocks tested to EN 12320 carry a security grade from 1 to 6 and a corrosion grade; grade 3 corrosion resistance is the one meant for outdoor use.
• The whole chain of parts. The hasp, staple or chain should be as strong as the padlock; a strong lock on a thin hasp moves the weak point, it doesn't remove it.
• Exposure of the shackle. The less shackle that's exposed, the less there is to attack.
• Alignment. If the gate has dropped and the padlock has to be forced into place every night, fix the gate or the bracket.
• Care. Use only what the padlock maker recommends. ASSA ABLOY's care guidance, for example, specifies graphite powder for padlocks and warns against silicone-based lubricants, which get tacky.

If the gate itself or its motor is the problem rather than the padlock, we work on that too.

5. Containers in the yard

Storage containers are easy to forget because they rarely open. When they do, the padlock has often rusted solid or the keys can't be found.

• Label each container and record which padlock is on it and who holds the key.
• Use an outdoor-grade padlock that fits the container's locking points without leaving a long length of shackle exposed.
• Open each container now and then so a seized padlock is found in daylight, not on a deadline.
• Check the door hardware too: a padlock does little if the bar or handle it secures is loose or rusted through.

If a padlock is seized and the keys are lost, we can help: proof that the container and its contents belong to the business is asked for before anything is opened.

6. Keys and the key register

Most warehouses work shifts, use contractors and see staff come and go. Without a register, nobody can say how many keys to the dock door exist.

Lock makers build key control into their systems: Abloy, for instance, offers levels where extra keys need a registration card or a signed order from an authorised person, and keys can be numbered in sequence. We don't do key cutting or copies; new cylinders and padlocks come with keys from the manufacturer. When someone leaves with keys, change the cylinders or padlocks those keys open. For a site with many doors, see master key systems for small businesses.

After hours, through the business-park gatehouse

Many logistics units sit inside secured business parks. In Jet Park, which agents describe as one of the most established industrial nodes on the East Rand, some parks advertise access control round the clock, perimeter fencing and CCTV. That's good for security and slow for a locksmith who isn't on the gatehouse list at night.

• Agree with the park who may authorise a contractor after hours, and keep that person's number in the closing-up file.
• When you call us, also phone the gatehouse, give them Mobile Locksmith Boksburg as the contractor and tell them which unit we're going to.
• Have someone with authority on site: a manager or key holder who can show that the premises are the business's.
• Send photos of the lock and shutter on WhatsApp so the technician knows what to expect.

We're open 24/7. The R250 call-out fee. The technician assesses the job on site and gives you the price before any work starts. Nothing is done until you agree. Payment is by EFT, cash or card. Our commercial locksmith page covers warehouses, factories, shops and offices, and the Boksburg mobile locksmith homepage lists every service. For doors that are faulty rather than locked, garage, side and back door locks covers common faults.

Need a locksmith to look at it?

If this hasn't solved the problem, our commercial locksmith service covers it. We're a mobile locksmith in Boksburg, so we come to your door. Areas where this comes up often include Jet Park.

Sources and further reading

• Trellidor: Roller shutters, commercial Rollerstyle range (brochure) — Optional key-operated rim lock on the SS76 steel shutter; anti-lift LDS65 models resist lifting without physical locks.
• Genie: Garage door opener safety — Remove or disable door locks in the unlocked position when an opener is used; don't adjust springs or parts fastened to them.
• General Safety Regulations, 1986, regulation 13J: Fire precaution and means of egress (Acts Online) — Doors of rooms where persons may be present, and exit doors, must be kept clear and capable of being easily and rapidly opened from inside.
• UNION: EN 12320 padlock standard — Security grades 1 to 6; corrosion grade 3 for external use; tests on shackle and body attack.
• ASSA ABLOY: Product care and maintenance — Graphite powder for cylinders, lever locks and padlocks; avoid silicone-based lubricants.
• Abloy: Master key systems and key control — Key control levels with registration cards, signed orders and sequentially numbered keys.
• Anvil Property: Warehouse 3, Equites Park, Jet Park — Jet Park logistics unit with dock levellers, sectional and roller shutter doors; 24-hour access control, perimeter fencing and CCTV in a secure business park; Jet Park described as an established industrial node on the East Rand.