Lori Greene

About Lori Greene

Lori is the Manager, Codes and Resources for Allegion, and the creator of iDigHardware. With more than 35 years of experience in the door and hardware industry, in her current role she focuses exclusively on the code requirements that apply to door openings.

Are you a CDT yet?

I have quite a few letters after my name.  They won't all fit on my business card, and my email signature looks silly if I include all of them.  There are some that I can use just for joining an organization and paying my annual membership fee, which seems too easy.  But I proudly display the designations for the certifications I've achieved, because they all represent many years of experience, hours of studying, and rigorous tests.  When someone sees my business card or email signature for the first time, they often key in on the designations they're familiar with.  Those certifications immediately communicate that I have some level of knowledge about the topic - that I made the investment to achieve the certification.  Obviously the letters don't say everything about who I am, but they help with the first impression and then it's up to me.

By |2013-03-11T19:06:23-04:00February 21st, 2013|General Info|4 Comments
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Remembering the Station Nightclub Fire

I can't believe it has been 10 years since the morning I woke up, turned on the TV, and saw the aftermath of the deadly fire that killed 100 people and injured 200 others at the Station Nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island.  The recent news story below shocks me but it also underscores the fact that although we react when tragedy strikes, we often let our guard down as time goes on.  We have to remain vigilant or history will repeat itself again and again.

By |2014-03-28T16:54:41-04:00February 19th, 2013|Historical, Means of Egress|3 Comments
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School Security Follow-Up

In the months since the tragedy at Sandy Hook School in Newtown, Connecticut, there have been renewed efforts on the part of many schools to improve their security and better protect students, staff, and visitors.  While I'm very glad to see the focus on these improvements, I'm also very concerned about some well-meaning but misguided efforts that I've come across.  This post is not meant as an attack on any particular product or idea, but a reminder that as we secure these facilities, we must not forget about the other codes affecting the same doors that are being addressed.

By |2016-11-23T20:17:50-05:00February 11th, 2013|Fire Doors, Locks & Keys, Means of Egress|14 Comments
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The Tampa Bay Hotel (Interior) – Tampa, Florida

I'm back in the snowy north, hunkered down while the snow piles up.  This is my last post from my trip to Tampa.  For next week I'm working on another post about glass (yes, there's more!), as well as a post about school security - particularly the "creative" and often non-code-compliant methods I've seen a lot of lately.  If you've run into any interesting security modifications for schools, send them along!  Have a great weekend all!

By |2015-12-30T09:44:39-05:00February 8th, 2013|Beautiful Doors, Road Trips|7 Comments
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The Tampa Theatre – Tampa, Florida

This is a travel week for me - I'm in Tampa, Florida for the winter meeting of the Builders Hardware Manufacturers Association (BHMA - check out their new website!).  I have more posts in the works on school security and wired glass, but while I'm on the road, you know that I like to share the cool doors that I see with all of you.  I'll get back to the code-related posts next week.

By |2014-11-25T23:27:35-05:00February 5th, 2013|Beautiful Doors, Road Trips|6 Comments
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More Wired Glass in the News

A couple of weeks ago I started a series of blog posts about the hazards of traditional wired glass.  I showed you some examples of traditional wired glass installed where it shouldn't be, and linked to some news reports which described incidents involving traditional wired glass.  In case those didn't convince you that we have a problem, here are a couple more:

By |2013-01-28T15:22:41-05:00January 28th, 2013|Glass|2 Comments
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Kiss Nightclub – Santa Maria, Brazil

I woke up this morning to yet another nightclub tragedy - this time in Santa Maria, Brazil.  This fire shared common issues with many of the past nightclub fires - a high occupant load, ignition of flammable foam or decorations, no working sprinklers, insufficient or unmarked exits, and a heartbreakingly-high loss of life.  The death toll currently stands at 233.  I can't help but imagine the bodies of the young people lined up in the make-shift morgue, with their cell phones ringing and ringing as their friends and family search for them.

By |2016-03-16T10:29:52-04:00January 26th, 2013|News, Panic Hardware|13 Comments
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Bok Tower Brass Door – Lake Wales, Florida

On my way back from Bradenton to Orlando, I had to stop and see the gorgeous door at the Bok Tower Gardens.  The gardens have to be one of the most beautiful and tranquil places I've visited...luckily I was there early, before the families started arriving or it may have been less tranquil.  The 50-acre garden was established in 1929, by Edward W. Bok as a gift to the American people, and was designed by noted landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead Jr.

By |2013-08-01T15:25:59-04:00January 22nd, 2013|Beautiful Doors|5 Comments
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Architectural Salvage

Sorry for the interruption in my series on wired glass - I will continue it shortly.  But this is a travel week for me, and I couldn't fly to sunny Florida without a quick trip to see my mom.  Today I dragged her to an architectural salvage company to see if they had any interesting old doors and hardware.  They had A LOT of doors - some really ornate and huge, and a room full of hardware...

By |2013-01-19T23:19:08-05:00January 19th, 2013|Beautiful Doors, Means of Egress|8 Comments
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Recent Announcement from Ingersoll Rand

A few weeks ago, Ingersoll Rand announced plans to spin off the combined commercial and residential security businesses into a new standalone publicly held company.  I immediately started getting calls and emails from blog readers asking what this meant to me and to our other employees, the brands, and this website.  One hardware distributor said, “I can’t imagine the hardware business without Schlage, LCN, and Von Duprin in it!”  I was very touched by the concern for our people and products.

By |2013-01-04T07:02:50-05:00January 4th, 2013|General Info|4 Comments
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WWYD? Gate Operator

This is a tough one.  It's for a project currently nearing occupancy, so I would love any comments or thoughts you have on a solution.  An automatic operator is required because of maneuvering clearance / level landing issues.  The gate is already in place.  A low energy operator is preferred.  The gate is exposed to the weather.  Any ideas?  If you need more information, ask away!

By |2013-02-13T18:46:26-05:00January 3rd, 2013|Gates, WWYD?|10 Comments
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Starry Night

I think this is the longest I've gone without posting!  I hope you all had a great New Year's Eve!  I figured I could get some good relaxation time in during the holiday week, then I promptly injured a ligament in my ankle, which led to a major bout of sciatica that flattened me for days.  I'm hoping 2013 gets better!

By |2016-11-23T20:17:40-05:00January 2nd, 2013|Beautiful Doors, Locks & Keys|10 Comments
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Early Christmas Present

I'm pretty sure I asked for a PAIR of boots for Christmas, but Santa must have misunderstood.  I ended up with one walking boot after falling off of running fountain while trying to take the perfect photo of a door for y'all.  OK...actually I stepped off a little lip in a walkway while checking into our hotel in the dark and did some ligament damage.  We won't know the extent of the damage until the swelling goes down.  BUT - I did get a photo.

By |2012-12-24T17:53:39-05:00December 24th, 2012|Fire Doors, Means of Egress|25 Comments
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Happy Holidays

For the last 8 years, I have coordinated a holiday gift drive along with my coworkers, family, and friends for the residents of our local family shelter and other families in need.  This year we provided gifts for 75 kids and parents!  When I went to the shelter with a load to drop off, I saw the sign below.  I asked the director if they had a close call and she said, with a very grave look in her eyes, "more than one."

By |2013-12-04T23:49:42-05:00December 14th, 2012|Door Closers, Videos|5 Comments
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A Closed Door – The Best Ally in a Home Fire

I know I just posted some news stories a few days ago, but Zeke Wolfskehl sent another one that I have to share.  It appeared in the New York Times on November 27th.  Considering how difficult it is to make people understand the value of their fire doors and why they should be kept in working order, I think this article does a great job of illustrating the importance.

By |2016-08-31T10:59:52-04:00November 30th, 2012|Fire Doors, News|2 Comments
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Boston’s Old City Hall

This week I've been spending some time with Karina Guadencio, an Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies specwriter from Brazil.  In addition to lots of discussion in the office, we've been to a Boston Chapter CSI meeting, had lunch with the master specwriting team at Kalin Associates, conducted a punch list at Harvard Law School, and visited Columbus Door (thanks everyone!).  It's been a whirlwind tour!  Add the cold and last night's snow, and I think she's ready to head south (especially since she's having dinner with my family tonight! :D).

By |2017-11-11T17:30:24-05:00November 8th, 2012|Beautiful Doors, Historical|2 Comments
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WWYD? Sliding Door

I've stayed at several hotels lately that had a sliding door on the bathroom within the hotel room.  This solves some coordination issues involving the door swing and the method of stopping the door, but creates questions of its own.  What type of sliding door hardware do you prefer for a solid core sliding door?  And what type of latch do you use for privacy?

By |2012-11-06T16:52:15-05:00November 6th, 2012|Sliding and Folding Doors, WWYD?|11 Comments
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Los Sostenedores de la Puerta

I'm getting ready to head home from Arc-US in San Diego (which has been a fabulous conference!), and wondering how long it will be before someone tweets a photo of me singing on stage with the Dueling Pianomen.  Until then, here's some signage the likes of which I've never seen before.  I'm in favor of signage to prevent door abuse.  Save the doors!

By |2013-02-14T14:45:33-05:00November 4th, 2012|Road Trips, Signage, Stops|5 Comments
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WWYD? Secure Pair

I recently visited a facility where security is their top priority.  Many of the doors are set to sound an alarm if they are left open for more than 6 seconds.  This presents a challenge when carts are being moved through the opening, because the doors need to stay open long enough for the carts, but need to close before the 6-second mark.  There are 10,000 employees on-site during a typical day, and leaving a door unsecure / not locked or latched can result in termination of their jobs.  Many of the doors are fire doors, which adds some extra complexity to the issue.  Almost all of the doors have access-control.

By |2013-02-14T14:46:04-05:00November 2nd, 2012|Electrified Hardware, WWYD?|15 Comments
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