Tip of the week: Monitor 30-second manual release for access-controlled locks
Hospital Safety Connection, December 19, 2007
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One of the key pieces of hardware that access-controlled locks must feature is a manual release device.
Access-controlled locks, which the Life Safety Code (LSC) permits under certain conditions, don't limit people leaving a room, but they do offer greater security against people coming in. A motion detector releases the lock in the direction of exiting, while on the entry side, these locks often have a keypad or card swipe to allow authorized people in.
Should the motion detector fail, the manual release device lets people open the door by interrupting the locking system's power supply, says Peter Leszczak, a fire protection engineer for Network 3 of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in West Haven, CT.
The manual release must keep the door unlocked for 30 seconds. If the door immediately relocks after someone stops pressing the button, then it is an LSC violation, Leszczak says.
Leszczak spoke during an HCPro audioconference about door-locking provisions in healthcare facilities.
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