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Card In / Card Out Access Control

“Card-in / Card-out” refers to an access control system that is also an egress control system.  Users are required to present their credential both when they enter and when they exit.  Requiring employees to card in and out can simplify time and attendance tracking,  Requiring a credential to exit a secured space can reduce the risk of theft and help prevent unauthorized visitors from entering and exiting restricted areas.

When card-in/card-out systems are used to track employee hours, employees must present their credential to gain entry to their workplace and again when exiting to record their hours at work.  In this case there is no impediment to egress and life safety code is not affected.  When the purpose of the system is to only allow egress with presentation of a valid credential, this is where complication often sets in.

Frequently life safety codes and building security are seemingly at odds in their hardware requirements, and card-in/card-out systems can be one of those situations due to the ‘card-out’ side of the equation.  Life safety code demands that door hardware provide free egress with one motion with no prior knowledge required.  Therefore, a card-in / card-out system is potentially two violations in one, requiring prior knowledge (knowing that you need to bring your credential) and two motions (1. Present your credential, and 2. Push the door open); so it is a good idea to consult with your local Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) before installing a card-in / card-out system that impedes free egress by demanding a credential.

The components necessary to create a card-in / card-out system are:

  1. Access Control Panel
  2. Exterior credential reader
  3. Interior credential reader

If the system will allow free egress this is all you need.  Most existing access control systems can be configured to accommodate card-in / card-out operation.  If the object is to record employee time and attendance, check with your access control company to see how their software can provide your Human Resources department or payroll service with attendance data.

If the system must restrict egress, one way to do so is to program the system to sound an alarm when a user attempts to exit without presenting their credential.  The alarm provides a deterrent to motivate compliance, and the alarm event can be time-stamped in the access control audit trail record.  If video surveillance is in service at the opening, the access control system can signal the CCTV system and images of the non-compliance event can be captured.  The alarm could be programmed to reset automatically when the door closes, or only when a valid credential is presented.  There are many options.

To further restrict egress, a delayed egress system can be added.   Delayed egress systems are highly regulated by fire safety code, so all delayed egress systems behave in similar ways:  after pressure is applied to the door or device for two or three seconds, an alarm sounds for fifteen seconds and then the system allows the user to exit.  The alarm continues to sound until the system is reset.  To comply with fire safety code the system will have signage on the door:

Von Duprin Chexit door label from Chexit installation instructions.

There are some variations.  For example, instead of two or three seconds of pressure on the door, some jurisdictions allow the fifteen-second alarmed delay to begin sounding right away; with written permission from the local Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) it is possible to have a thirty-second alarmed delay instead of fifteen seconds; some jurisdictions will allow the delayed egress system to self reset, others demand that the system be reset at the door.  Consult with your local AHJ for details.

The effectiveness of delayed egress as a prevention of unauthorized egress is dependent upon how fast personnel can respond, especially if the intent of the system is to inhibit theft.  I imagine that fifteen seconds seems like a very long time to someone who has just set off the alarm and is waiting to escape with their stolen industrial secrets or whatever, but it is really not a long period of time in which to apprehend a thief.  On the other hand, if the thief had to pass a security guard after getting past the delayed egress system, s/he would be less likely to escape.





Life safety is never to be ignored.

 

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Exit Device Retrofitting Adventures

Monarch model 18

As door hardware evolves, new products emerge to replace older products. This may happen because of a design improvement, or because a company changes ownership, but in either case it means that there are older products in the field for which there are no exact replacements. Any door hardware product may become obsolete over time. Today we are talking about exit devices.

Falcon Model 25

In the mid-Twentieth Century mass production of doors was standardized so that the mortise pocket within a door that houses the mortise lock would always be the same size. Before this standardization mortise locks were available in a wide variety of sizes, but from this time forward all architectural grade lock fronts would be eight inches tall by one-and-a-quarter inches wide. Of course this affected mortise exit devices. So when I went to replace a Von Duprin 8875 mortise exit device manufactured sometime between 1897 and 1920, I found that the mortise pocket was only about six inches tall and I had a bit of cutting to do to make the new device fit.

Companies pay varying attention to the ‘retrofit-ability’ of their products. Some companies make it easy to replace an old device with a new one, and some do not. As an installer it is easy to find oneself marooned out in the field, having identified an exit device by its appearance for the purpose of providing an estimate to replace it, only to find out during installation that it is the old version, and installing the new version is either going to be a lot of extra work, or extra hardware that was not on the estimate.

For example, in the late 1990’s Von Duprin redesigned their narrow stile 33 and 35 series exit devices. The rails remained the same, but the heads were completely changed. The old version did not accept a rim cylinder tail piece, and the new one does. This means the old outside trim will by no means work with the new device – a potentially expensive problem if not anticipated.

Similarly the Precision 2000 series Apex devices are not backwards compatible with the old 1000 series trims.

Monarch was bought by Ingersoll Rand and rebranded under the Falcon line of products, now part of Allegion. During these transitions the trims changed part numbers two or maybe three times. Check with your favorite hardware genius as to whether the trim you have will work with the device you need.

The lesson here is not to judge by appearances. The new Von Duprin 33 looks a lot like the old one and the Precision 2000 looks just like the 1000 series. To avoid expensive mistakes, pull the device off the door and positively identify it before you write your estimate.

Both Doromatic and Jackson responded to the need to replace crossbar devices with touch bar devices by creating touch bar versions that fit the same footprint as their crossbar predecessors. The Doromatic 1690 and 1790 devices replace the 1990 and 2090, and the Jackson 2085 and 2095 replace the 1085 and 1095 devices with very little trouble. A big bonus is that a in the case of the 2085 Jackson and the 1690 Doromatic concealed vertical rod devices, you can reuse the exiting concealed vertical rods.





Knowing what you have is the key to knowing what you want.

 

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Field Reversing the Precision E2203 SVR Exit Device

The Precision E2203 is a Surface Vertical Rod exit device with a solenoid in the head that controls the outside lever trim.  Ordered complete with trim: part number is E2203 × 4908A, specify door width, finish, handing, fail safe or fail secure.  The right thing to do is to order it fail safe or fail secure and handed at the factory for your application. 

But… let’s say for the sake of this article that you ordered the device and did not specify handing or fail safe / fail secure. You might find yourself needing to field reverse the handing.  Here is what you need to know.

Handing

Changing the hand on the basic 2200 device is not very difficult, but changing the hand on the E2200 is fairly difficult, and requires skill, patience and … tape.
For the non-electric, purely mechanical version of this device, changing the hand is not as simple as it is with some other exit devices, for example, flipping the device over, but it is not all that hard to do.  Below are the directions for field handing excerpted from the 2200 Series installation instructions from the Stanley Precision web site.   Why they have arranged the steps to be followed in counterclockwise order is a mystery to me, but I am not here to judge, just inform.

At a glance you can see that there is some disassembly of the exit device head required to change the handing of the device. But when you add electrified trim control it complicates things a bit.

In the photo below you see the wires for the solenoid where they pass through the hole in the bracket.  That bracket is an integral part of the active head and it does not move.  However, the solenoid must be installed at the other end of the active head in order to interface with the working parts of the device and the wires are just long enough to allow it to be installed where it is.  There is no play in the wire that would allow the wire to remain where it is and yet allow one to move the solenoid.

 

 

 

In order to move the solenoid to the other side of the active head, one must either cut the wires (a nightmare, do not do it) or to completely disassemble the exit device, bar and all.

Why do you have to completely disassemble the exit device to pull the wire through?  Because it is taped to the baseplate of with a piece of filament tape that runs the length of the bar.  The tape must be removed to free the wire so you can pull it out through the hole in the bracket.

I could not find the directions for changing the hand of the E2203, but here is a drawing of the solenoid placement for the E2103 rim exit device taken from the installation instructions from the E2103 Kit.

 

 

Once you have pulled the wire through the hole, changed the hand of the head, taped the wire back down the length of the bar baseplate and reassembled the device, you’re done.

Below is a picture of the E2203 with handing freshly changed and the device reassembled and ready to install.

 





Like I said: order it fail safe or fail secure… AND ORDER IT HANDED.

 

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Compatibility Issues

What’s wrong with this picture?

When specifying door hardware I understand that it can be like being an kid in a candy store.  But like that kid, you may not be able to always get everything you want.   Sometimes “this” might not go with “that.” There are some examples that should be obvious, such as fire rated exit devices with cylinder dogging, since fire rated exit devices must positively latch each time they close without exception and any kind of dogging could prevent that.  But other combinations of options are less obviously incompatible.

One elusive combination of exit device options that pops up sometimes is delayed egress with electric latch retraction.  In most electric exit devices this is almost a contradiction in terms because they use the same mechanism for delayed egress as they do for electric latch retraction, except it works the opposite way.  For example, the Von Duprin Chexit uses the same kind of motor that the Von Duprin EL devices use, except that the Chexit motor pushes out on the latch mechanism while the EL motor pulls in.  What would be necessary I guess would be to build a little transmission so one could shift gears from push to pull to switch from delayed egress to electric latch retraction and back again.

But since no one has yet invented this miniature transmission neither the Sargent Electroguard nor the Von Duprin Chexit currently offer both delayed egress and electric latch retraction in the same device.  The only device I have encountered so far that does offer these two options together in the same device is Detex.  There could be others.  Check with individual factories to be sure.

Two options that are offered together in many, but not all exit devices, with varying degrees of availability, are cylinder dogging and electric latch retraction.   For example, Sargent offers cylinder dogging with electric latch retraction, but only when factory installed.   Von Duprin offers “Special Dogging” (SD prefix) with electric latch retraction.  In this case the effect of cylinder dogging is accomplished by a cylinder operated latch holdback feature in the center case of the device.  (Not quite the same as traditional cylinder dogging.)  Precision can offer cylinder dogging and electric latch retraction in the same device without complication because their electric latch retraction and cylinder dogging mechanisms happen in different sections of the rail altogether.  Corbin and Yale offer devices with cylinder dogging and electric latch retraction in the same device.   Yes, the electric latch retraction and cylinder dogging combo is all over the charts when it comes to availability.

 





As in all facets of life, when in doubt, contact your friendly door hardware genius.

 

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Von Duprin QEL Kit Diversity

qelhdqel

QEL and HD-QEL modular conversion kits.

Von Duprin offers several versions of its QEL (Quiet Electric Latch retraction) conversion kits for its 33, 35, 98 and 99 series exit devices.  The variations are:

  • Modular (no baseplate)
  • Modular, with connectors (Molex)
  • Modular with hex dogging
  • Modular with hex dogging and connectors
  • With baseplate, specify 3-ft. or 4-ft.
  • With 3- or 4-ft. baseplate and connectors
  • With 3- or 4-ft. baseplate and hex dogging
  • With 3- or 4-ft. baseplate, hex dogging and connectors

None of the modular kits come with baseplates.  Kits with baseplates offer a small ease-of-installation advantage because replacing the whole baseplate is slightly faster than field installing the modular kit onto an existing baseplate.  Modular kits can be installed in either 3- or 4-ft. devices, so if you want to have one kit on your truck, a modular kit would be the logical choice.

Which modular kit should you get?  I would suggest the HD-QEL Modular Conversion Kit with Connectors.  If you don’t want hex dogging, you can use a blank cover plate or plug the dogging hole in the existing cover plate.  If you don’t want the connectors, you can cut them off.  And since at the time of this writing there is no price difference between a modular kit with connectors and/or hex dogging, or without connectors and/or hex dogging, you might as well get the one with all the bells and whistles.  As I indicated, you can always dial it back.

While Von Duprin recommends any of their PS900 series power supplies together with their 900-2RS relay board to run their QEL devices, many installers are using their own power supplies and this seems to be working just fine.   QEL draws a 1-amp inrush.  I recommend allowing 2 amps for each QEL on a power supply, and it is always good to isolate them on their own set of contacts in the power supply if possible, using a power distribution or relay board.   If these contacts can be protected by a fuses or circuit breakers, so much the better.   A regulated and filtered power supply is also a plus.





Unlike many power supplies, I am both unregulated and unfiltered … and I like it that way.

 

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The Double Door Rim Strike – A.K.A. “The Pocket Ripper”

pocketripperOne of the hallmarks of bad hardware choices is the “pocket ripper” strike, used on a pair of doors when there is an inactive leaf with flush bolts or a vertical rod exit device and an active leaf with a rim exit device. Whenever I see this I think, “Cheap bastard,” because the only reason for this half fast solution is money and the desire not to spend it on doing the job right.

This lovely piece of hardware earned the nickname, “pocket ripper,” but hanging into the opening at a convenient height to catch the front pocket of a pair of trousers, resulting in egregious damage to said pocket and colorful language on the part of the victim.

What is the right way to secure a pair of doors? Vertical rod exit devices are the best. My second choice would be a mortise exit device with an open back strike and a vertical rod exit device on the inactive leaf. My third choice would be a mortise exit device with flush bolts on the inactive leaf.

Below are a couple of examples of the ‘pocket ripper.’   On the left is the classic Von Duprin 1609 strike and on the right an example from Ingersoll Rand in Europe.  The European version looks like it has better manners.

In the center we have the Hager 4921 strike that really looks like it could take out more than just a pocket if you catch it the wrong way.

image001image002hager

 

 

 

In addition, I find that often the rim latch stops dead before latching on the strike.  Also, depending on how you install the rim device, the latch may drag across the edge of the other leaf, scraping an ugly divot over time.  Yes, all in all a hardware choice to be avoided if you can.

 

Securitech Trident Multi-Point Deadbolt Exit Lock

Trident 4-point deadlocking exit device.

Simple and robust design helps to ensure security and longevity; single motion egress ensures life safety code compliance.  

Simple to order and to install, the Trident offers excellent security while preserving life safety.

The first thing I noticed when I unpacked the box was the small number of parts.  The second thing I noticed was how well all of these parts are labelled.  As I read the installation instructions I was struck by how easy Securitech had made the installation process, especially with the inclusion of a metal template to help get everything lined up just right.

I assume that the Trident is named for the three active bolts that secure the door on the lock side, but with the inclusion of the passive hinge side bolt it is actually a four point lock.  The hinge side bolt slides passively into its keeper whenever the door is closed.

Trident is a heavy device, so before installing it, make sure your door swings and closes properly and the hinges are in good shape.  I suggest using hinges with non-removeable pins so as not to rely solely upon the Trident’s hinge side bolt.  A stainless steel continuous hinge would be even better for both security and durability, if it is possible to use one.

Every locking mechanism of the Trident is through-bolted through pry-resistant steel plates, so casual attack using a pry bar would likely be fruitless no matter how much time the would-be burglar might have.  Each locking bolt is substantial and housed in a very sturdy mechanism.  Bending one of them would be difficult; bending all of them enough to gain entry would be almost impossible.  The main outside plate is impressive-looking with its Securitech logo and satin stainless steel finish, and since it is through-bolted to the head of the device in several

Photo by Tom Rubenoff

places, it’s pretty strong, too.

The weakest part of any muli-point locking device is the door frame.  Fully grouted (concrete filled) hollow metal frames hold up the best under attack.  At the very least, to have real security measures must be taken to ensure that the door frame cannot be either pulled out of the wall or bent away from the locking bolts.

To maximize security, I suggest not using the optional exterior key control with this device.  The presence of a key cylinder outside provides a target for burglars.

The Trident comes standard with a paddle that tells the user to push to exit and alarm will sound, but since the alarm is optional, this may be an empty threat.  Be sure to order your Trident with an alarm if you want one.

I was impressed with the workmanship evident in how the Trident is put together.  Everything worked super-smoothly and fit together perfectly.  The strong, simple design looks like it will provide many years of flawless service.  I highly recommend it for the back doors of stores, warehouses or factories or anywhere where a higher level of security may be needed.

Securitech Lexi Electrified Exit Device Trim

Great Problem Solver

The Securitech Lexi series retrofit exit device trim is available with a variety of back plates and adapters that allow it to be used with most major brands, including many surface vertical rod and concealed vertical rod exit devices.  Compatibility with a variety of vertical rod devices is a major plus.

I mean, anybody can electrify a rim exit device by simply installing an electric strike.  However, while it is possible to install an electric strike on a vertical rod device it rarely brings a good result.  First of all, in order to use an electric strike you have to first lose the bottom rod.  That just leaves one latch at the top of the door to provide all the security.  If it is a tall door or a flexible door – like an aluminum storefront door – you can pull the bottom open several inches with just that top latch holding it.  Add a little time and a little hinge sag and pretty soon you have no security at all.

The other solution is electric latch retraction, or electric latch pullback, as some manufacturers call it:  relatively expensive compared with a Lexi trim.  Also, electric latch retraction is a fail secure only solution when locking trim is used and therefore may be inapplicable to fail safe installs such as stairwells, unless passage function (always unlocked) trims are used.

I notice that right out of the box the Lexi is very self contained.  Other than a tiny box containing mounting screws, tailpiece operators, and a cylinder collar and cam, what you see is pretty much what you get.  It’s pretty hefty for its size – it is designed on the slim side so as to be usable on narrow stile as well as hollow metal or wood doors.   This does mean that the installer may have to be a little creative when replacing a larger exit device trim with the Lexi.

Installation instructions are easy to follow and short – only four pages, including the template. Something I would have liked to see in the instructions, but didn’t, was current draw.  If I am installing one of these, the number of amps it draws are not going to matter much to me.  But if I am installing twenty of them and want a centralized power source, now it’s an issue.  Yet it isn’t anything that an experienced low voltage specialist with a ammeter can’t find out in two seconds.

One of the great innovations I noticed right away is the rotation restriction clip that allows the installer to customize tailpiece rotation to the exit device.  I do not think that this is handled better by any other manufacturer.  Correct degree of rotation often determines whether a trim will work or not, and to have a trim that has degree of rotation so easily selectable is damn nice.

As mentioned in the sales literature, since Securitech’s Lexi trim is compatible with so many exit devices, if you have a facility with different brands of exit devices dispersed throughout, you can install access control and unify the exterior appearance at the same time.  And in addition to being versatile it is also durable.  Forcing the lever only causes its internal clutch to break away, and it can easily be set right by rotating it back the other way.

All in all the Securitech Lexi trim seems to be a well built, versatile problem solver.  I think you’ll find it useful in many access control installations.

Multi-function Doorways, Part Two

Secured stairwell doors are among the most basic multi-function door applications.  In most jurisdictions they must (usually)* be both unlocked and positively latched in the event of a fire.  Unlocked so that if a person, fleeing into the stairwell during a fire, finds the stairwell full of smoke, they can safely exit the stairwell.  Positively latched so that the door will remain latched closed against the spread of the fire.

Until there is a need for access control, a passage function mortise lock, cylindrical lock with UL listed latch or exit device with passage function trim are fine.  The application begins to get interesting when the need arises to lock a stairwell door.

Right up front, electric strikes are out of the question because of the unlocked/positive latching requirement mentioned above.   It is not possible to positively latch a door when the electric strike is unlocked.  There is no such thing as a fire rated, fail safe electric strike.  If you configure a fire rated electric strike to be fail safe it voids the fire rating.

Since electric strikes are unusable for this application, that leaves either electric locks or electromagnetic locks.  Both have advantages and disadvantages.  Fail safe electric locks positively latch whereas mag locks allow the installer to us the existing hardware on the door to accomplish positive latching.  Electric locks require running wire through the door and some means of getting the wire from the frame into the door, such as an electric through-wire hinge.  Not all inspectors like electromagnetic locks, so before you install them be sure to check with your local Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ ) – that is, Fire Marshal or Building Inspector.

If the stairwell door already has a fire rated exit device installed, there is probably a fail safe electrified trim available for it.  Once again, this means an electric through-wire hinge or other power transfer device would be required.  Sometimes existing exit devices are incompatible with the electrified trims available for that brand and model of device.  If that is the case, the exit device might have to be replaced with one that is compatible with electrified trim.

Alternatively, there are after market request to exit (a.k.a. RX) switches available for most exit devices.  One could be used to release an electromagnetic lock on the stairwell door.

Usually it is required that all electric locking devices on stairwell doors be controlled by the fire alarm panel.  When the fire alarm is in a state of alarm, it unlocks all the stairwell doors.  Two conductor wire is run from the fire alarm panel contacts to a special fire alarm relay in the power supply that powers the electric locks on the stairwell doors.  The alarm panel opens the circuit, causing the state of the fire alarm relay to change, thus powering down the fail safe locks and thereby leaving them unlocked.

An important detail:  technically speaking, according to most building and life safety codes, fire rated doors can only be modified in a fire rated shop.  Therefore if you field cut a raceway for an electric wire through the cross members of the door, for example, you are probably voiding the fire rating.  I have never heard of anyone being called on this, but it is good to keep in mind.  Just like it is good to keep in mind that the AHJ has total authority over what you can or can’t install.  Best make sure you’re on the same page with her or him, otherwise they do have the power to make you remove what you installed and replace both door and frame to repair the damage.

Happy hardware and good luck to you.


*Some jurisdictions specify that not all stairwell doors need be unlocked in the event of a fire, only certain doors.  For example, I have known some places where code was the door had to be unlocked at every fourth floor.  Check with your local AHD to find out what the rules are for your location.


Multi-function Doorways, Part One

As seen in Doors and Hardware Magazine.

Whenever something is invented, humans find more uses for it.  This is certainly true for door automation and electric locking.  It was not long after people realized a door could be unlocked remotely using an electric strike and a door could be opened automatically using a power operator (automatic door opener) that they began using these devices together.   Of course this combination of devices was soon interfaced with intercoms.  Exit devices with electric latch retraction and electromagnetic locks were thrown into the mix, as well as access control, delayed egress and/or security interlock systems.  Any of these systems alone is sufficient to complicate an installation, but when you start to use several on one opening, that’s when things really start to get interesting.

A hospital can be one of the best places to run into a doorway that needs to perform many functions (pun intended).  Hospitals seem to have more varied reasons to keep different people out at different times, or to let them in or out by different means.  In addition to standard life safety and security issues, hospitals also have to anticipate the needs of patients who may be under the influence of medication and/or mental disorders and/or have physical limitations.  Some patients must be kept inside for their own safety while all patients must be able to exit swiftly and safely in the event of a fire.

Let’s use as an example a hospital emergency ward entrance used primarily by ambulance drivers.  The hospital wants only ambulance personnel and the security guard  to be able to activate the power operator, and to control access by use of a remote switch operated by the security guard  for the general public and an access code by hospital employees (other than ambulance personnel).

Since it is a pair of doors, concealed vertical rod exit devices are the most efficient, safe and secure way to lock them and provide reliable free egress in the event of an emergency.  However, since there is a power operator involved, these devices must be equipped with electric latch retraction; and since use of the power operator was to be limited, a second electric means of opening the door would be required.

A simple way to solve the problem of the second means of unlocking is by using electrified exit device lever trim with one of the concealed vertical rod exit devices.  Persons not requiring the power operator can get in by using the access control, or the security guard  can “buzz” them in using one of two remote buttons.  Because there will be two means of unlocking the door electrically, the security guard  will need a small desk unit with two buttons:  one that activates the power operator and electric latch retraction and one that activates the electric exit device trim.

Below is an amateur wiring diagram (made by me) of how, basically, the system works.

Central to the concept is an access control device with two relays and a request to exit input.  This allows several of the connections to be made through the access control system.  If the access control system on site does not provide more than one relay, the same functions can be accomplished by using additional relays in the power supply.

The system as shown in my illustration above works like this:

Ambulance personnel activate the power operator using the access control system.  The access control system signals the power operator via contact closure in Relay #1.  The power operator triggers the relay in the power supply to retract the latches of the exit devices, then opens the door.

Other authorized hospital personnel use the access control system to unlock the lever trim.  The access control system changes the state of Relay #2, triggering the relay in the power supply to unlock the trim.  They turn the lever, pull the door open and walk in.

Injured people arrive on foot at the Emergency Room entrance.  The Security Guard sees them (or is notified by intercom, not shown) and lets them in by pressing the red button, activating the power operator, or by pressing the green button that unlocks the exit device trim.

There exist many possible variations of this system.  Knowledge of access control systems and door hardware are required, but the most important principal in play is the use of contact closure to signal multiple devices.



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