Will you share your insight on these questions? I’ll choose one commenter at random to receive an iDigHardware Yeti travel mug!
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In recent weeks, school security has not dominated my news feed as it once did, but efforts to improve the security of our educational facilities continues. Some school districts, day care centers, colleges, and universities are using the unexpected facility closures to work on projects – including security upgrades – to prepare for the return of in-person classes. It was just announced that my college student will be heading back to UTK in the fall, as long as it is safe to do so.
While we have all been focused on concerns related to COVID-19, classroom barricade devices have not gone away. If you need a refresher, I recently had an article published in Campus Safety magazine called Are Your Classroom Locks Functional or Mere Security Illusions? Keeping the need for free egress and accessibility top-of-mind, work in code development has continued, as well as the monitoring of state legislation to ensure that laws intended to increase security do not negatively impact safety.
As education-related construction projects and renovations move forward, I’d love to hear more about any physical-security changes or trends you’re seeing. I know that many of you have first-hand knowledge and your insight would be so helpful.
- In addition to access control at the main entrance, are schools incorporating security vestibules? How is the glazing in this area being addressed?
- Are secondary egress doors being monitored to restrict unauthorized use? Are any schools incorporating delayed egress locks on exterior classroom doors (if allowed by code in their jurisdiction)?
- Are sidelights and vision lights in classrooms changing in size or location? How is the need for oversight and light transmission being balanced with reduced sightlines and the efficacy of hard corners/safe corners?
- Is impact-resistant glazing or film becoming more common in educational facilities? If yes, what level of impact-resistance is emerging as the minimum standard or the ideal?
- What lock functions are preferred for classroom doors? And how is lockdown facilitated in assembly spaces like the gym or cafeteria? What about lockdown in multi-stall toilets?
- Is compartmentalization becoming more common – cross-corridor doors or stair doors that can be locked during an active-assailant event (while still allowing free egress)?
Please tell us about any trends you have seen on new school projects or existing buildings…the safety of all students will benefit from shared best practices.
WWYD?
Photo: Andrea Crawford, Reading Toward the Stars
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We have a new school coming up, and waiting on the door security plan.
What I am trying to learn about is tornado shelters in schools, and the requirements for those, along with how life safety is taken care of, as far as once everyone is in and the doors having to meet a certain standard for the tornado.
Hi Charles –
I don’t know of any exception…the tornado doors have to function as required for egress – and for windstorm – and sometimes they are also fire doors.
– Lori
charles,
We’ve done a few schools in Omaha that required the tornado shelters. Basic rule of thumb that I’ve followed is that the entire shelter needs to be some sort of masonry and all tested assembled frames need to be fully grouted and seated in masonry. Not familiar on all requirements for walls/floors/ceilings. Steelcraft’s Paladin series is pretty easy to understand. If it isn’t listed as an application in the pricebook it’s a no go (Steelcraft’s call center for tech support is great at answering any questions). Word of advise is to watch your preps while pricing the Paladin with the 3-point LM9300 locks. The top/bottom latches and rods are supplied by Steelcraft and have a charge for it that can be easy to miss when pricing. All of the approved assemblies offered in the Paladin series are still valid with the life safety requirements.
Thanks
We have three different schools with three different types of shelters
My boss did the plan review and retired.
I need to get in and look at the door hardware
One school has exterior doors from the shelter,, And those require panic hardware
So is there panic hardware tested to tornado conditions?
Oddly enough the panic hardware approved by Steelcraft that are the Von Duprin 2-point latching and 3-point latching with the WS (wind storm) option are cheaper overall than the LM9300 3-point mortise lock configuration (none of it is cheap). If you have access to the Allegion Steelcraft Pricebook on page 63 they give you a pretty good list of what is approved for hardware options. One thing to note that isn’t written anywhere is that the panic needs to be on the inside of the shelter and if you do any pairs of doors with the surface bolts the surface bolt needs to extend up into the soffit and can’t be mounted on the pull side of the opening. Other items is that the undercut of the door has a very small distance from the strike to the door (most cases it’s 1/8″). Which makes coordinating with finish floors irritating especially when the bottom strike for all applications needs to be either in concrete or grouted to down. I tend to try and get fully grouted thresholds approved as it raises the door up allowing for tile or carpet to butt up into the threshold and not to have any conflict with the bottom of the door (had an issue where a school was built with flat concrete as the floor and then later in the year added a finish floor on top after our doors were installed – had to replace the door as it was now dragging and we aren’t listed to do field modifications on FEMA rated openings). Great product, just very particular (guess you’d have to be to survive 3 2x4s flung 100mph and still maintain latching). Hopefully that helps. If anything I can tell you from first hand experience that the tech support at Steelcraft knows their stuff and will sit with you to find a solution.
Compartmentalization is definitely becoming more common. Doors are normally held open on magnetic holders. Lockdown event closes doors. Question is whether or not they put them on card access. Personally I think card access is a good idea to allow first responders to move quickly throughout the building.
Thumbturns are gaining in popularity for both classrooms and common areas.
Curious what everyone thinks about lockdown in multi-stall restrooms. I’ve had this requested this a few times. There is no glazing in these spaces and they are often built of CMU or other hardened material, which is appealing as a shelter. But I worry about a thumbturn in a restroom. It isn’t a place with regular supervision. Raises concerns of bullying or worse things happening. I had a code consultant say that restroom code doesn’t permit a thumbturn capable of locking the door in a multi-stall restroom. But I have yet to find that code.
The thumbturn thing is true! It’s in the plumbing chapter. 🙂
https://idighardware.com/2016/05/locks-for-multi-stall-restrooms/
– Lori
Lori, We are prepping for a new elementary school. We recently visited a similar school 15 or 20 miles away, designed by the same architect. The main entrance, foyer, doors, and windows are all bulletproof glass.
best,
Paul DeBaggis, CBO
I am in the design and construction department of a county school system. About two years ago we were tasked with providing a means for all teachers to be able to lock their classrooms without having to open their door.
This was a huge undertaking and we took this project as an opportunity to re-key the entire school system.
We are implementing secure classroom function locks with FSIC’s. The inside core we are getting in factory black (red wasn’t available at the time) and standardizing ALL inside keys to be on a single master across the entire system. We’ve gone so far as to have the bows of these inside master keys powder coated black.
What this does is allow issuing these black master keys to all staff including substitutes without any security risk since the only core they operate is one to lock the doors.
We went this route versus the thumbturn route so as to eliminate the unauthorized locking of a classroom.
Thanks Darrell!
– Lori
I also implementing secure classroom function locks from Schlage the ND75 and they have been great we have an ASSA twin 6000 system and all the internal cylinders have only 2 common pins that work with any cut district key it worked super well for us