External Key Safe

[rufmeister]

We have approx 20 staff that require access to our unit, night and day, to trust them all with keys, and alarm fobs, is costly, and hassle, as they all lose them or forget them, resulting in disruption and hassle.

Is there a solution out there for multiple users, such as the external key boxes?

They don't look hugely secure, but I see you can buy them with some accreditation/proven testing.

Would leaving a key and alarm fob in one of these be secure enough, or a daft idea given its a warehouse on an industrial estate and not actually manned 24/7.

Any other solutions?

[mickyh7]

Go digital.

[Car_driver]

We have a key box at our parents' place and the cleaner/trades/etc are given the code as necessary. There is also a ring door bell, which sees/records whoever comes to the door, so you can see who accessed the keys and when.
I suppose if there is a camera monitoring the location where you site the key box, then you can see who is coming/going.
I don't know if your insurance company would be ok with it and if you need to inform them.
Here is the one they have
https://www.screwfix.com/p/master-lock-water-resis...

[robdcfc]

What about a fingerprint lock?

[djohnson]

We’ve used them for years on furnished holiday lets, easy and cost effective way to give the customer and any trade people access. Never had any issues, albeit slightly different to a warehouse on an industrial estate.

[LooneyTunes]

robdcfc said:

What about a fingerprint lock?

Much harder to register users than if you have a key fob/code system instead. The ideal would be something like a Paxton system, and put alarm keypad inside the door with a short entry delay, but I get the impression that budget might be tight.

Key safes suffer from people not returning the key.

Yale do a basic smart lock that might do the trick but the question with this (and a key safe) is going to whether his insurers are happy with it.

[skwdenyer]

LooneyTunes said:

robdcfc said:

What about a fingerprint lock?

Much harder to register users than if you have a key fob/code system instead. The ideal would be something like a Paxton system, and put alarm keypad inside the door with a short entry delay, but I get the impression that budget might be tight.

Key safes suffer from people not returning the key.

Yale do a basic smart lock that might do the trick but the question with this (and a key safe) is going to whether his insurers are happy with it.

If you can manage DIY (or you have a handy IT person who is cheap / family / whatever), you can pick up the Paxton kit cheaply second hand. You can then implement an electronic lock system - my favourite are the CISA locks, typically available quite cheaply via eBay (but need their own PSU).

The "magic" part in my case is using Doordeck.com - link your Paxton controller to the internet and your users can unlock the door from their phones. It used to be free forever for 1 door (that's the plan I have); now it looks like "enquire for pricing" but worth an email if you have Paxton kit or fancy changing.

Once you get into the Paxton world, you can hook the door lock into the alarm system and have the system disarm on the way in. How you manage on the way out will be different, but you could I guess put up a code panel to allow users to arm the system on the way out.

As for lock boxes, I haven't found one yet that I can't "pick" in a very short while. As others have said, I'd check with your insurers if there is any restriction from their PoV on putting keys in lock boxes outside your door.

The other problem with the lock boxes is that they mostly don't reset when you close the cover - so the user can snap the lid shut, forget to spin the tumblers, and leave the whole thing exposed to anyone who wants to try to open it. I haven't found a solution to that yet.

[rufmeister]

skwdenyer said:

If you can manage DIY (or you have a handy IT person who is cheap / family / whatever), you can pick up the Paxton kit cheaply second hand. You can then implement an electronic lock system - my favourite are the CISA locks, typically available quite cheaply via eBay (but need their own PSU).

The "magic" part in my case is using Doordeck.com - link your Paxton controller to the internet and your users can unlock the door from their phones. It used to be free forever for 1 door (that's the plan I have); now it looks like "enquire for pricing" but worth an email if you have Paxton kit or fancy changing.

Once you get into the Paxton world, you can hook the door lock into the alarm system and have the system disarm on the way in. How you manage on the way out will be different, but you could I guess put up a code panel to allow users to arm the system on the way out.

As for lock boxes, I haven't found one yet that I can't "pick" in a very short while. As others have said, I'd check with your insurers if there is any restriction from their PoV on putting keys in lock boxes outside your door.

The other problem with the lock boxes is that they mostly don't reset when you close the cover - so the user can snap the lid shut, forget to spin the tumblers, and leave the whole thing exposed to anyone who wants to try to open it. I haven't found a solution to that yet.

Thanks for taking the time to explain, will look in to the Paxton range and see what’s on offer, sounds fairly complicated so may be easier to get it installed professionally if it’s the right kit.