The Federal Government has required rooms containing open storage of classified materials, commonly referred to as SCIFs (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities), to be secured with a combination lock that has met various stringent specifications to guard against surreptitious and covert methods of entry. Examples of such locks are Sargent & Greenleaf’s (S&G) 8400 & 8500 Series, Mas Hamilton’s X-07 and more recently the Kaba Mas’ X-08 and X-09 and the S&G 2740.

However, these locks were meant to be used on containers such as GSA approved file cabinets, safes and vault doors.  They were never meant to be used on a standard pedestrian door.

You simply cannot mount a standard combination lock to a door, because there is no way to open the lock from the secure side of the door. The above manufacturers had to develop a chassis which married the combination lock to the chassis to allow the lock to be secured or “spun off” and locked while giving the user free egress in case someone happened to get locked in. Therefore, the S&G SM50 was born followed later by Kaba Mas’ CDX07, CDX08 and now the CDX09.

These locks were and are mainly secured while a room or space is unoccupied.

When a room is occupied, these locks are set in a “Passage Mode” (or more commonly known as Life Safety Mode) and the user is allowed entrance into the room using a cipher lock such as a Unican 1000 series or electronic access control such as a badge reader and/or PIN pad releasing an electric strike, electrified lockset and/or magnetic lock on the door.

However, this creates another problem.  There are now potentially two or three motions required for egress. For example, it is not uncommon to see a SCIF door equipped with a cylindrical key-in-lever lockset, an electric strike and a CDX09 lock installed above the cylindrical lock. These doors are typically alarmed with a Balance Magnetic Switch, which is shunted by a Request to Exit (REX) button mounted next to the door within the room.

If all these systems are secure and active the user would have to have the knowledge of the following three operations to exit the room:

• Turn and hold the small release knob on the CDX09
• Turn the lever on the cylindrical lock
• Push the REX button on the wall in order to exit the room.

This is not an easy task for the user especially in an emergency situation and a Life Safety Officer’s or Fire Marshall’s nightmare.

LockOne™ LKM7000 Lock Series

In 2002, Lockmasters introduced the LockOne™ LKM7000 Lock Series – the first Life Safety & High Security  Pedestrian Door Device. This lock was designed from the ground up as a true SCIF lock. It is not designed around a specific combination lock, meaning it will accommodate any standard “footprint” combination lock without modification to that lock. It is also electrified so that any 12 or 24 volt access control system can be integrated into the lock system. The lock’s internal solenoid retracts then extends when a badge and/or PIN is presented into the access control reader. 

The lock’s bolt monitoring switches allow the user to monitor the position of the combination lock bolt as it is extended and retracted. It also monitors the deadbolt as it enters and exits the strike. The most important attribute is that all of these features are integrated into a single lock on the door, eliminating the need for multiple locks as described above while allowing single motion egress. The lock series additional benefits include Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance and an Underwriters Laboratories 90 minute fire rating.

The bolt monitoring switches can also be used to visually monitor the position of both the combination lock and the deadbolt of the LKM7000 or remotely monitored through a central alarm station. The deadbolt switch can also be used to replace the “Request to Exit” button.  As the user pushes or pulls the handle, the deadbolt starts to retract and as it exits the strike the switch is made and the door alarm is shunted all in the same motion.

Levels of Security

The LKM7000 Lock Series provides the following tiers of security.  First, the combination lock such as the X-09 must be dialed open. Then the electronic access control is used to allow access into the room, which also provides audit capabilities if required. An optional key override version, the LKM7003, is also available which allows the user to override the electronic access control system by a mechanical key in case of a power failure or malfunction. However, this does not override the combination lock, so the security of the combination lock is never compromised. Egress is never impeded.  The LKM7000 Lock Series’ handle on the secure side of the door can be pushed or pulled to allow single motion egress no matter the condition the combination lock and access control system.  More importantly the user doesn’t need “special” knowledge to exit the room. 

All versions of the LockOne™ LKM7000 are surface mounted rim devices, meaning that they are non-handed and can be used on single or double door applications. A variety of surface-mounted strikes are available so the lock can be installed on hollow metal, solid core wood and acoustical doors and frames with regular or reverse bevels.

The LKM7000 Lock Series meets Federal Specification FF-L-2890A for Pedestrian Door Devices and when it’s integrated with a lock that meet Federal Specification FF-L-2740A satisfies all requirements to secure rooms with open storage of classified material.

For more information on the LKM7000 Lock Series, installation and certification classes contact Lockmasters Inc. at 1-800-654-0637 or visit our website at www.lockmasters.com