In this interview with Joshua Sands, Owner, Key City Locksmith and Security in Kansas City, Mo., he talks about the return of the keypad, the rise of cloud-based access control, a residential security and home automation resurgence, and challenges with state licensing and hiring, to name just a few of the topics we cover.

As a locksmith with more than 15 years and vice president of education for the National Alliance of Security Professionals, Sands in dedicated to providing needed training for locksmiths interested in learning more about electronic access control, as well as other topics such as home automation, which is an upcoming class the Alliance has planned for this fall. The alliance offers monthly classes in person and on Zoom and has quarterly courses that are both hands-on and educational, with several focused on helping locksmiths learn the ins and outs of electronic access control.

Locksmith Ledger: What are some of the trends you see within electronic access control and how can locksmiths leverage these?

Joshua Sands: We're seeing a big push towards cloud-based access control, and not so much that the customer understands what they're getting, but that just seems to be what the industry is pushing now. We're an ISONIS dealer with Allegion, so I always push that first and foremost because they have a great cloud-based product that is very user friendly. It gives you great cloud coverage, and you don't have a million boxes to put on the wall for the larger scale systems, for, you know, 5,000 units, condos, apartments, or resorts.

Another big trend I am seeing is that keypads are starting to compete again within the access control space. In the past, one of the biggest drawbacks when you're trying to go into a commercial setting or even an apartment complex or something that's residential but has higher traffic, was that these keypads would not have fit the bill, because they only had like 200-user capability. But now I'm starting to see more where they're getting closer to handling up to 1000 users and more. So, residential and some of these smaller multifamily spaces are ideal for these keypads because they are still residential but can handle higher traffic capability.

Also, we are seeing more residential work and a need for home automation. And because this is such a growing area, we are going to shift gears just slightly and the Alliance is going to offer home automation training now for locksmiths. On the commercial side, it's always going to be the top tier system, with a monthly recurring revenue cloud-based system that we just talked about. That's pretty much what you have for commercial – just pick your favorite brand that you can trust and put your name behind it and go forward.

But residential work offers a lot more because the residential person wants to get into their home and then have their lights turn on when they get home and start the coffee machine when they get up and this and that. So, I'm trying to integrate more people into getting not just their front door automated but also help them turn on the front porch light so that they don't trip and fall on the way in and so on as you go into the house.

And we are seeing how systems are integrated like Schlage and Alarm.com, which are making residential smart-lock adoption easier to sell. Schlage is a big one that intertwines with Alarm.com, so when you set up your basic home alarm system, there's a spot on there for locks and Schlage is in there. So right from the app, you can arm your home, you can unlock your front door, you can give out temporary passwords. It makes it simple.

LL: Can you talk about the training you offer for locksmiths looking to get into electronic access control?

Sands: We have classes starting from electrical fundamentals all the way up to more advanced classes that involve moving to product-specific work. In the introduction class, we will cover everything from what's a volt, what's an ohm, and look at why they are important, and how does current flow work. We try to make a comparison to water, which is not an exact comparison, but it's the simplest that people can understand who have never touched electricity. So, we cover all the key areas. How to make a circuit, and how you can branch off a parallel or series – just go over the basis of electronic theory.

Once trainees have the fundamentals down, we offer some of the more advanced classes, where we will go to a distributor or a manufacturer and we will take their specific product because then that's where things will start to get into the hands-on nitty gritty. So, for example, with a cloud-based system, you can make it do everything. You can easily set up a door to always be unlocked for these people, but not these people at this time, so on and so forth.

We are also currently working with the Texas Locksmith Association (TLA) so that we can build courses together to help the people in Texas because Texas is a licensed state for everything electronic. And they do require CEUs for the different stuff they do, the locksmithing, the electronic access, etc. So, we're trying to build a curriculum with TLA.

LL: With each state having different licensing requirements, what do you tell locksmiths?

Sands: You've got states like North Carolina that will do a push and enforcement on their licensing, but then it kind of gets forgotten about. And then you've got other states like Michigan and Texas that come around and they're enforcing it left and right. I will always say it's better to have your license somewhere, even if it’s in a different state. If you're in an area that doesn't have one, find somewhere that does offer the training and get your license.

LL: Looking closer at the type of electronic access control work you are doing, can you talk about how these jobs offer more revenue and profits?

Sands: For some of these jobs, there's a lot more labor involved, especially if we have a place that has used a lock and key for 100 years and they want to switch over to electronic access control, which carries more labor cost — and more revenue — than traditional lock-and-key work. In some cases, you've got to run all the wire, and you’ve got to get the conduit. Some of this falls back into licensing and city requirements, because it's got to be done a certain way, which requires extra income or extra money to be charged for the work. You may need a sky lift, for example, as some of these places may have 20-foot ceilings and now you need to have someone who's safety trained and that's expensive. And some of these shopping centers and stores have people coming in and out, so you can't close the store just because you want to install a lock.

So, you must build that labor into the overall cost of the project and job, in addition to the cost of the new locks and access control system you are installing. And the more work I do the bigger the jobs are getting, so there are some great opportunities for locksmiths to get into this area.

LL: Is there an opportunity to build recurring revenue with these EAC jobs with maintenance other contracts or programs?

Sands: Pinpointing into maintenance contracts, even if you have three different levels, just doing maintenance contracts isn't exactly the right way to go because you're only targeting one facet. If we start thinking of larger systems like these warehouses we go to or these other industrial places we go to, they also need door and fire services for their inspection. Do they have a maintenance guy on staff that knows what to do with the 13 points of checklist? Maybe, maybe not. So, if you start offering different things into your service contract, you can certainly build up that RMR.

By structuring tiered service contracts, you can include additional recurring revenue. So, for example, I tell customers as part of this next tier of service contract, which costs more money, we will come out and inspect a handful of doors. If you want a third level, we'll inspect all your doors, things like that. And then if I find an issue with a door that’s no longer in compliance, I'll write up a recommendation because certified inspectors are recommenders; we are not the authority having jurisdiction. I will write it up and tell them this door is rusted beyond repair and needs to be replaced, or there's too many holes in here – someone tried to do the work but messed up the door. And because you are already trusted as their locksmith, many times they will ask you to do the work.

And the cloud-based access control systems are so great now that you don't necessarily have to be on site to help manage their system or fix a problem, for example. So, the ISONAS remote access system is amazing for helping the customer. They can call up at 3 in the afternoon and ask that their laundry room be open 24 hours now, not just 10 to 6, and then you can help remote in and change that, and that can all be part of a recurring monthly revenue plan.

LL: Has it been a challenge to find good people to join the team, especially as you try to grow the business?

Sands: I've gone through three different people this entire year alone, and before we even got to the electronic side of things, they did not work out. I have no idea what's going on in the employment side of things, but it is a strange time right now. We went from having no problem finding people to now ... they show interest and then they just disappear so retention and finding someone who is willing to put in the effort is challenging.

Employment right now is tough but it show must go on, right? My clients demand a certain level of service from me that I've been offering for years, and we have got to keep it going, so I am thankful for the staff I have and hoping to build and grow on what we have. At this point, I'm looking for anybody to stay. You know, we've got our base of people to keep things going and everything's fine, but we're constantly growing so it would be a little bit easier if we had one or two more people. That would certainly lighten the load a little bit.

I really feel like the labor shortage is not just specific to security. It seems to go beyond locksmithing to all areas. I see it everywhere – the food industry, everywhere is going through a rough patch right now.