A hundred and twenty plus years ago, the definition of key control took on all new meaning with the invention of the pin/tumbler lock cylinder so prevalent in industry today. Suddenly there was an economical way to build and service thousands of different combinations that would allow us to control who could gain access to what.

Simple free enterprise, however, then caused secondary manufacturers to enter our industry mass producing key blanks and making them readily available to anyone who might want them. To the more security conscious end user, this accessibility to keyblanks forced our industry to recognize and develop an enhancement, an upgrade, that eliminated this potential security breach. Thirty plus years ago, we began to see the introduction of the ?high security? cylinder that, in addition to its pick/drill resistance could now offer limited distribution of key blanks making unauthorized duplication difficult.

Now, as we enter a new century, it is this author?s belief that the definition of key control is taking yet another major leap ? a leap that, quite frankly, security directors all over the country are demanding.

It?s one thing to know that those 10 keys we just cut can?t become 11 because someone duplicated one without authority or proper records control. It?s yet another thing to have developed a cost-effective method of analyzing the risk and developing the administrative mechanism to rekey when a lost/stolen key resulted in those 10 keys becoming 9 keys. But, today?s security director, in addition to those assurances, needs to know where those 10 keys are. Who has them? Where have they historically been? Exactly who has access to what ? in a ?real time? mode? How can he/she conduct a periodic audit? How can he/she prove total control over mechanical keys?

All of us as locksmiths, security directors, facilities managers, etc. have spent years trying to gain and maintain control of those key records of ours. Some of us have scrapped entire systems and started over just to be able to get our hands around it. Everyone of us has had that phone call interruption that prevented a transaction from being properly recorded (cut and distributed a key, re-pinned a cylinder and didn?t enter it in the charts, loaned a key to a vendor and forgot to get it back, etc.). The day we forget to record or follow-up on a transaction is the day that the security of our newly installed key control program begins to degrade. No matter how hard we?d work to meld the restricted keys from manufacturer X with the software of manufacturer Y and the policies/administrative procedures of our own company, we ended up with systems loaded with loopholes.

Recently, this author became aware of a new entrant in our industry ? one that has seemingly taken all the human error out of key control. InstaKey Lock Corporation has combined what is rapidly becoming considered the four critical elements of key control into a comprehensive, turnkey program that can be truly called a 21st century system.

1. Their patented ability to allow instant cylinder re-pinning literally removes the cost portion of that risk assessment we go through when 10 keys turns into 9 keys. With InstaKey we have the ability to immediately rekey a cylinder (while it remains in the lock and on the door) by inserting and using a new key in the designed bitting matrix and thus render a previously operating key useless. What?s more, that rekeying ability exists independently at all levels (user, master, grand master, and great grand master) such that rekeying a particular level does not affect the keying of any other level. Imagine having to rekey a grand master by doing nothing more than walking through the building visiting every door and turning a key ? and, not a soul knew about it because none of their current keys were affected. We could rekey when we needed to, not when we could afford to or when administrative operations would permit.

2. Their patent restricted key sections, together with their highly controlled distribution system, virtually prohibits unauthorized duplication ? 10 keys can?t turn into 11 without your knowing. InstaKey took this restricted concept a step far beyond the rest of the industry by individually serial numbering every keyblank produced (not by production batch but by individual key blank) to allow for total control of every blank -- from the day it?s produced as a blank until the day it is discarded by an end user.

3. They built a computerized, records management system that assists in the design of the program we need and used to maintain all relevant aspects of the installed system in a ?real time? mode. The programs have introduced unique methods that don?t allow us to ?not write something down? thereby helping us maintain the integrity of the very system we are controlling. Dozens of reporting options exist that offer the end user (locksmith, security manager, etc.) the ability to ask the kinds of questions they?ve always needed to ask and have the answer but a keystroke away. You can tell from the design of the software they wrote that the staff of InstaKey came from a locksmith and security background. Their years of expertise in both areas resulted in a set of tools we actually need ? tools that are applicable to today?s work environment ? tools that can significantly help each of us become better at our own jobs.

4. They didn?t forget that we, as the end users, have our own operating environments, constraints, politics and budgets to work under. As such, they combined the three major elements above with a ?total program? approach. Their focus over the years has been that of the very large end user. As such, they gained the experience to adapt the tools above to the work environment it is being placed into (Federal Government Agencies to fast food franchises, hospitals and universities to stand-alone office buildings). Some time ago, they accepted the fact that the program must become a long-term partnership between themselves and their clients in order to be effective. Extensive design and consultative expertise is brought to the table to assist the end user in making all of the tools work in unison in our specific environment. I even saw cases where the InstaKey staff had written the internal operations guides of the end user so as to insure that the installed program had all the internal administrative procedures in place to run the way it was designed to run.

It is this author?s opinion that InstaKey is on the forefront of a new definition to what we have been calling key control. For over 5 years now, InstaKey has been proving the system and the concept with large institutional clients. They have addressed it from every level of use providing all of us (locksmith, security director, facility manager, budget administrator, etc.) the tools we need to perform our function better and more cost effective, while simultaneously reducing security risk.

The program may not be for everyone, but we owe it to our profession and our individual development to understand where key control is obviously heading in the 21st century.

Mr. Serani is the President of InstaKey Security Systems where he has directed the company?s focus on mechanical key programs for the last 20 years. Considered today to be one of the security industry?s experts in this cornerstone niche of security programs, Mr. Serani has published numerous articles and is often asked to speak to Loss Prevention forums in a variety of industries and government venues. He is most noted for his entertaining methods of relating real world key control issues to practical/proven solutions.

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