Why should I choose a master key plan for my business?

Does your office manager have to carry a very large bunch of keys around? Do you keep losing track of who has access to what in your building? Then a master key system may be what you need to balance ease of access and increase the security of your property and business at the same time. 

A master key system is a simple and effective solution to balance high levels of security and ease of access to a property as it allows authorised personnel to open a defined set of doors and locks with just one key.

What are the benefits of a master key system?

• Convenient. You will be able to lock and unlock several doors without carrying a large bunch of keys. For example, landlords or business owners will be able to open all the doors in a building or property with just one key.
• Access control. Master key systems also work as modern mechanical access control systems. You can give employees access only to their department or may have one key for your office manager which opens the cleaners cupboard and all of the conference rooms—but not the director's office. Furthermore, if you combine a master key plan with a patented cylinder system, nobody will duplicate your keys without your permission.
• Enhanced Security. Access control means you will track who has access to which door inside your building. For instance, you will know exactly who has access to the servers or who can open the files room.
• Cost-effective. With a master key system, you will save money by not handing out multiple keys to every employee thus minimising the risk of lost and stolen keys. And if an employee loses their key, you don’t have to rekey the whole building but only the set of locks they had access to.
• Flexible. A master key system is a great way to increase your business security because it can be integrated with electronic access control solution. You can also add more doors and locks to the original master key.

How does a master key system work?

Let’s have a look at how the hierarchy system works in a master key plan:

• Grand Master Key. Often shortened in GMK, it is the key that opens all the locks and doors in the plan. This key will open every master system under it, and the subsequent sub-master keys under those systems. For example, it may be given to the business owner so that they can access the whole building or property.
• Master Key. Shortened in ‘MK’. It would be given to a floor manager to access all the departments on their floor. In smaller systems, this can be the highest-ranking key.
• Sub Master Key. Often shortened in SMK. It opens all the doors in a specific sub-suite. It may be the key given to the head of a department to access all the offices in that area of the building.
• All other keys handed to employees will only open one specific lock or a set of keyed-alike locks.

If you want to discuss how we can create a master key system to suit your business requirements, please contact us either by sending an email to sales@keprint.co.uk or calling 0131 555 0909.