Projects
Allied Locks work around New Zealand and Australia providing solutions for companies and entities large and small.
These projects represent the resolution of some of those security needs.
Please note: We respect the wishes of those clients who request that their name not be used on their project for reasons of commercial sensitivity or other.
Lots to learn from lock technology
Children can be a bit hard on door handles and locks at the best of times. And, when you multiply that by around 500, you can see the potential challenge.
Thriving Bluestone School, Kahurangi Toka, in Timaru had worn-out door handles, some “sticky” lock barrels, and a number of keys that were unaccounted for. The Principal at the time, Ian Poulter, and Property Manager Al Walker had had enough. They were looking for a security system with integrity and one which would stand the test of time.
They found it at Allied Locks and their fob-activated SALTO XS4 One Enhanced lock with a five-year battery life and industrial strength door handles.
It ticked all the school’s boxes.
Ian Poulter says the school was looking for reliability, ease of use for all staff and to avoid the costs of lost keys. “Allied Locks provided a well thought through solution. We were impressed by the quality because school locks get a hard life. Their system gave us confidence.”
“It was a quality product, at a good price, with good back-up.”
Al Walker says the new system also gave them the ability to add extra layers of security, so some areas including those containing hazardous substances or personal information were thoroughly protected, while at the lower level, members of the school community could apply for fobs granting access just to the playing fields via the gates. “The integrity of the system is intact but at the same time we can re-programme or change, as needed.”
Lost keys are no longer a problem, access can be tracked, money has been saved, and the school is once again safe and secure with the potential for technological upgrades that will take care of future generations of Timaru students too.
“Shocking” perimeter fences tamed
Keeping possums out is one thing. Giving staff a shock is another. Possums have a been a bugbear for New Zealand power companies for decades. Possums will climb almost anything and even barbed wire is not necessarily a deterrent.
In order to prevent damage and nuisance, some companies opted for a “hot” (electric) top wire to discourage the pests. The drawback to this solution was that the outward-opening metal safety gates sometimes connected with the wires giving staff an unpleasant shock.
Allied Locks considered the options and, after discounting the use of bollards to limit the arc of the gate, as that could hamper safe egress, they customised the hydraulic control arms on their Duragates to make them shorter. As a result, the metal doors avoided contact with the electrified fence wire, without compromising the integrity or safety of either the fence or the door. Chosen for durability and unshakeable performance, Duragate, with its hydraulic gate closer, latches securely every time without the reverberations which weaken locks.
Keeping trespassers out
A thriving forestry company growing, harvesting and replanting radiata pine and Douglas-fir was tired of their locks being shot-up and their property stolen or vandalised.
Whereas most people see a padlock as a clear barrier to entry, some local poachers had tended to see them as a target; their often high-powered, weapons being capable of shattering conventional locks. Further, the company’s padlocks were often used in remote areas where electronic or other methods of surveillance were impractical.
The implications of this weakness in security included; increased risk of fire, damage to gear and theft of diesel and heavy industrial batteries, along with compromised forestry worker and public safety.
Allied Locks’ answer was the ABLOY 340 Series hardened-body padlocks. The body of the padlocks is hardened steel which gives no quarter, compared with the usual brass in conventional locks.
The Southern Regional Manager of the forest said re-keying with Allied Locks had managed to stop “even the most determined” would-be trespassers. “It’s proven to be a successful strategy.” He described the integrity and performance of the locks under fire as “impressive”.
One 340 padlock had three shots discharged into it – likely from a distance of 20 to 50 metres – and still retained its integrity. They have also proved to be able to withstand being battered with rocks and attacked with a Waratah metal fence post.
Putting burners on the back burner
Not too long ago small gas burners were an essential piece of kit if you wanted to unlock a power company padlock in the South Island’s Mackenzie Country in winter. The practice was required to free the locks completely incapacitated by ice and resulted in inevitable frustrations and delays.
A very welcome permanent thaw came in the 1980s with the introduction of ABLOY padlocks. At last, the burners could be consigned to the area’s rich folklore.
The new generation locks had a bit of history themselves.
ABLOY locks are designed and manufactured in Finland, a country that regularly has some of the harshest winters on earth. (-50º C compared with New Zealand’s lowest-ever of -26.5 º C in Otago in 1903.)
Now used extensively across the power industry in New Zealand and Australia, ABLOY locks continue to be unequalled in their ability to withstand harsh environments and extremes of temperature – hot and cold. They also lead the way in longevity, performance and meeting the challenges of underuse and over use inherent in power generation, transmission, and distribution.
Key “nightmare” over for tertiary provider
For a leading education provider, maintenance of their old key system had been a “total nightmare.” That’s according to the member of staff tasked with its oversight.
Keys were frequently lost or wore out, locks became problematic because of high use, and there was little or no over-all control.
The tertiary institution covered five quite diverse campuses with over 1,000 keys issued for the multitudes of locks.
After consultation, Allied Locks instead deployed a comprehensive, cohesive ABLOY system.
The result is a very secure and exceptionally durable system with keys which the client says now “last forever” and locks that “can’t be manipulated”.
“The key control system is top notch. And maintenance is now a non-issue.”
“We are very happy. And, for us, Allied Locks service was fantastic. It’s very smart software and very efficient. It pretty much runs itself, via my computer.”
When your product is pure gold
For a mining company working in New Zealand and the Philippines, safeguarding their hard-won and very precious product was imperative.
They were frustrated by the fact that, in the highly acidic and often harsh environments, the locks for their gold boxes were lasting just six weeks to three months. This was obviously unacceptable considering the very real potential for a significant loss of storage integrity.
The company contacted Allied Locks looking for a better solution.
The answer was the ABLOY 362 padlock – reputed to be the strongest padlock in the world. Used globally for “lock-out” padlocks and in high security, military or high needs areas where health, safety and assets must be uncompromisingly guarded, the ABLOY 362 owes its impregnability to body of hardened steel. This delivers maximum resistance against physical attack; preventing even drill bits from penetrating the lock.
Deployed five years ago, the gold box locks have already out-performed those they replaced by more than twenty times, in exactly the same conditions.
Now, sharing is nice
Traditionally, shared padlocked access has been a source of annoyance for land owners, residents, and authorised users.
Conventional “daisy-chain” locks frequently meant those needing to access the land or buildings arrived and hadn’t been able to gain entry, leading to lost time and additional costs. Daisy chained padlock access also had the very real potential to be misused and/or vandalised.
In response, Allied Locks’ designed and built an innovative, high integrity solution. ROTOLOCK™ is a rotating, shared-access lock system which allows entry for up to seven individuals to a padlocked gate. The system is secure, well-engineered, and easy to use, providing individual access without compromising group security.
Each padlock and key is unique to the particular user and the robustly-constructed rotating locking system is constructed to be accessible from either side of a fence.
If fewer than seven padlocks are needed “blanks” can be fitted to further protect the system.
Innovation from the forest floor
Allied Locks recognised the need for a new-generation people management system for forestry and remote locations.
It needed to be; robust, easy-to-use and data-rich enabling land managers and owners to concentrate on core business, while allowing pre-approved entry to authorised staff, tourists, and accredited local users.
Working closely with forestry visionaries, contractors, and access advocates, Allied Locks combined their ideas with industry expertise, and manufacturing and design excellence.
The result is RockIT™.
RockIT™ efficiently, and cost effectively, manages accredited access using a robust, keyless, fully traceable system.
All that’s needed is a single scan of a phone or fob – totally eliminating the need to pick up or drop off keys.
RockIT™ tracks every individual access and collates information in a way that is foolproof and timely. Access can be approved, revoked, and monitored by the land owner or asset manager.
With full visibility, the risk of theft, damage, fire and health and safety issues are removed. There’s even the potential to generate income. While, for trucking companies, downtime is reduced – providing cost savings.
Heat and humidity no problem
An Australian lines company had an ongoing issue with the locks on their fibreglass cabinets popping open.
This potentially exposed the public to risk and increased the threat of vandalism. Conventional locks simply weren’t suited to, or rated for, the very warm, very humid conditions within the cabinets and this led to significant issues with corrosion. There were also concerns regarding integrity.
An Australian lines company had an ongoing issue with the locks on their fibreglass cabinets popping open. This potentially exposed the public to risk and increased the threat of vandalism. Conventional locks simply weren’t suited to, or rated for, the very warm, very humid conditions within the cabinets and this led to significant issues with corrosion. There were also concerns regarding integrity.
The company approach Allied Locks who recommended and ultimately supplied, Integribolt Xtend™.
Integribolt™ and Integribolt Xtend™ were developed by Allied Locks specifically to address issues raised by Australasian lines companies regarding shortcomings in conventional locks for metal and fibreglass cabinets.
Made from high quality, non-corrosive metal components, long-life Integribolt™ and Integribolt Xtend™ have been extensively tested under the most extreme conditions including; 1000hr accelerated salt mist testing, a 1200N Bolt to end test, and a 6KN Static Loading test.
Every detail of performance and design has been meticulously thought through
right-down to the backing plates’ screws which sit flat against the cabinet wall. This means they cannot come loose through vibration while the slimline design minimises intrusion into the cabinet, maximising usable space.
Integribolt Xtend™, can be retro-fitted easily and cost-effectively replacing problem prone existing latches. Integribolt Xtend™ is also now the preferred standard fitting in new fibreglass cabinets for some of Australasia’s leading energy companies.
Fast transformation. 99.6% accuracy
A major electricity sector company chose Allied Locks to partner with in a comprehensive review and replacement of key-locks and keys and a new future-proofed master keying system.
In addition, Allied Locks’ recommended the improvements carried out to security gate designs, and door and gate hardware.
At the centre of the company’s requirements were; the need for flexible, robust, functional systems, a demonstrated understanding of the way the company operated, and exacting performance.
Allied Locks achieved 99.6% accuracy with cutting of keys and 99.7% accuracy in assembly. Further, the client described Allied Locks’ service delivery as “exceptional”. They said the highly-professional team used their experience and initiative to resolve any issue that arose. “They were always keen to provide assistance and technical advice.”
The time scale for implementation was for a roll-out over a year – including a carefully-planned transition phase. The expected minimum lifespan of the system, was 20+ years.
The substantial project ultimately included the installation of over 500 Duragates, to maintain the integrity of perimeter fencing around high-risk sites while providing robust and reliable access and egress for authorised staff.
Around 180 individual sites had an average of 17 locks each installed and around 3,500 keys were issued.
There are also 180 key safes with over 1,000 controlled keys actioning around 475,000 key transactions in nine years. 3,500 transactions were automatically logged and users notified when a key had timed-out its return and only one key was ever lost.
Return tags versus lawn mowers – return tags win
Allied Locks key return tags go through all kinds of things to get back to the people who issued them.
That includes, from time to time, lawn mowers. It can be a tough life but then, the return tags have a serious job to do.
Even with the very best systems in the world, human error is impossible to entirely factor out. That’s why Allied Locks lifetime stainless steel key return tags are created so they are almost indestructible. When they are found, they can be returned to Allied Locks head office address, which is indelibly engraved on them, postage paid. They are then re-united them with their owners who often reward the person who found them.
This completes a full circle of Allied Locks security which protects every key, every lock, every entrance and exit; every asset, and every person.
Tried and (very thoroughly) tested
One council’s selection process for padlock and lock systems to cover their sewerage, storm water, water and parks portfolio was absolutely no-holds-barred.
The council wanted to replace a cumbersome, and complex existing system plagued by missing keys. But first they wanted to be sure that the keys and padlocks would perform – no matter what – in their coastal environment.
Over three years, Allied Locks’ ABLOY keys and padlocks were exhaustively tested side-by-side against competitors.
All padlock systems were challenged by installation on ocean break walls, in hydrogen sulphide conditions on sewerage pumping well lids, on water pumping stations and in the heat and dust.
At the end of the very gruelling field trials – including full salt water immersion for hours at a time – ABLOY were the only locks which still functioned and retained their integrity.
Keys and padlocks were also supported by a very thorough recording, issuing and registering system.
The result was a happy council and, possibly, even happier council staff.
