In short:
- Every key you can't account for is a door you can't fully trust. A simple signed register fixes most of the problem.
- Give keys by role and shift, not by convenience. Most people need far fewer keys than they carry.
- A master-key system lets one key open many doors. That's useful, and it's also why a lost master key is serious.
- Restricted or patented key systems limit who can get extra keys made, usually on the strength of a card or signed order.
- When a key goes missing or someone leaves without returning one, decide quickly which locks need changing.
How keys leak out of a business
A factory in Spartan, a distribution warehouse in Isando or a unit in a Chloorkop industrial park can easily have dozens of doors, gates, padlocks, cabinets and a safe. Over a few years keys drift: a supervisor leaves and the keys stay in a drawer at home, a contractor keeps a set "for next time", a security company changes and nobody collects the old bunch, someone gets a copy made at a kiosk because it was quicker than asking. None of this is unusual, and none of it shows until something goes missing.
Key control isn't about distrust. It's about being able to answer one question quickly: if this key went missing today, which doors are affected, and who had it last?
Start with a key register
A register can be a notebook, a spreadsheet or a page in your HR file. What matters is that every key, padlock key and safe key is on it, with a signature when it's issued and when it comes back.
- Give every key a number, and stamp or tag it.
- Record which doors or padlocks each key opens.
- Get a signature on issue and on return.
- Keep spares in a lockable key cabinet, with its own key held by one or two people.
- Check the register against the keys actually in hand at each staff change, and on a regular schedule you set.
Give keys by role and shift
Most people need far fewer keys than they end up carrying. Work out what each role needs to open, on which shift, and issue only that.
| Role | Typically needs | Typically doesn't need |
|---|---|---|
| Opening or closing supervisor | Perimeter gate, main doors, roller shutter, alarm code | Safe, management offices |
| Dispatch or receiving staff | Loading area, yard padlocks during their shift | Admin offices, stores outside their area |
| Cleaners | Offices and ablutions, at set times | Stock areas, safe, server room |
| Managers | Their own area, possibly a master key | Everything, every day: carry the master only when needed |
| Contractors | Keys signed out for the job and returned the same day | Their own permanent set |
Safe keys and codes deserve their own short list. If your safe has a time delay or dual control, the number of people who can open it alone should be small. See what to check when an office safe won't open.
Master-key systems
In a master-key system, each lock has its own key, and a master key opens a group of locks. ABLOY describes the simplest form as individual keys for each lock with an overriding master key, and larger systems add levels, with several masters overridden by a grand master key. Cylinder ranges sold in South Africa offer this: ASSA ABLOY lists its Mzansi CYS00 euro cylinder for master-key systems and grand master systems with sub-master groups.
A well-planned system means managers carry one key instead of a heavy bunch, and staff can open only their own areas. The flip side is that a lost master key affects every door it opens. Keep master keys few, signed out, and never on a ring with car keys or a home address.
Systems need planning when they're designed, including room for growth: adding a new unit or door later is easier if the original plan allowed for it.
Restricted and patented keys
A standard key can be copied by anyone with a blank and a machine. Restricted key systems are designed to stop that. ASSA ABLOY explains that where a key is protected by a patent, others can't legally make copies without the owner's authorisation, and that for its patented systems, extra keys are cut only by authorised locksmiths on presentation of the owner's security card and code. ABLOY describes several levels of key control, from a registration card held by the owner up to keys that can only be ordered with a signed written order from authorised signatories, sometimes with sequential numbering so you can trace each key.
For a business, the practical points are:
- decide who in the business is allowed to order keys, and keep the card or authorisation somewhere secure;
- ask how long the patent or protection lasts, since patents expire;
- record restricted keys in the register like any other key.
We don't cut or copy keys of any kind, restricted or standard. Extra keys for a restricted system come through the system's authorised supplier.
When a key goes missing or someone leaves
| Situation | Sensible response |
|---|---|
| Employee leaves and returns all keys | Sign them back in. If the keys could have been copied, consider changing the main outside cylinders. |
| Employee leaves without returning a key | Change the locks or cylinders that key opens. |
| Ordinary key lost | Change the affected locks. With a register, you'll know exactly which. |
| Master key lost | Treat every door it opens as affected, and plan the change across the system. |
| Padlock key lost | Replace the padlock; see padlocks for warehouses and yards. |
Insurance is a good reason not to delay. A BusinessTech article on business insurance notes that standard theft cover typically responds to forced or violent entry, while thefts without forced entry may need extra cover, and that some policies can pay for replacing locks and keys if access may have been compromised. Check your own policy wording.
Business parks, gatehouses and shared access
Many units in Isando, Spartan and Chloorkop sit inside business or industrial parks. Property listings describe parks such as Kelvin View and Ergon Park in Spartan with on-site security, and Riverside Park in Chloorkop with strict access control. In a park, your own keys are only part of the picture: there may be gate tags, remotes or a guardhouse list. Include those in your register, and tell the park's management when someone leaves so their access is cancelled too.
When you book a locksmith for a unit in a park, tell us who will meet the technician at the gate and what the park needs to let a contractor in.
Getting the locks changed
Our commercial locksmith service covers warehouses, factories, offices and shops, and lock replacement covers changing cylinders, locks and padlocks after a staff change or a lost key. We ask for proof that you're authorised to have work done on the premises, such as a letter from the business or the lease.
We're a fully mobile locksmith in Kempton Park, open 24/7, covering business areas including Isando, Spartan and Chloorkop. There's an R250 call-out, the technician quotes on site before any work starts, and payment is by EFT, cash or card. If keys went missing as part of a break-in, see securing your premises after a break-in.
Questions
Do we have to change every lock when one employee leaves?
No. If your register shows which keys they had and all were returned, you may only need to sign them back in. Change the locks those keys open if any weren't returned or could have been copied.
Can you cut extra keys for our master-key system?
No. We don't cut or copy keys. Extra keys for a master-key or restricted system come from the system's authorised supplier, usually against the owner's card or a signed order.
Is a key cabinet enough on its own?
It helps, but only with a register. A cabinet tells you where spare keys live; the register tells you who has the rest.
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 Kempton Park, so we come to your door. Areas where this comes up often include Isando, Spartan, Chloorkop.
Sources and further reading
- ABLOY UK: Master key systems — individual keys with an overriding master key, grand master keys, levels of key control, signed orders and sequential numbering
- ASSA ABLOY: How important is key copy protection to you? Understanding patent protection — patents protect key function; authorised copies against the owner's security card and code; patents are time-limited
- ASSA ABLOY South Africa: Mzansi CYS00 double euro cylinder — keyed to differ, keyed alike, master-key and grand master systems with sub-master groups
- BusinessTech: Business insurance theft cover might not be as straightforward as you think — theft cover and forced entry; replacing locks and keys if access may have been compromised
- Newpoint Property: Spartan area profile — large industrial precinct; Kelvin View Business Park and Ergon Park with security
- Newpoint Property: Chloorkop area profile — industrial node; Riverside Park with security and strict access control
- Newpoint Property: Isando area profile — industrial hub with warehouses and factories for manufacturing, logistics and distribution