Restricting Key Duplication: Restricted Keyways

Naturally many businesses have reason to be concerned about the use of keys to their premises, and who has access to keys at any given time.  Controlling who has a key to your building can be difficult and time-consuming, and invariably, mistakes are made and keys get lost by employees.  Restricted keyways may be the answer for business owners who need to maintain control over keys to their properties and access to locks.

Restricted keyways are keyways (the part of the key cylinder that the key is inserted into) and key blanks which have strict limitations on use and distribution.  When a business owner purchases a restricted keyway system, he is actually purchasing a certain level of security because key copies can only be made under very specific circumstances and only by certain companies.

The purchaser of this system orders a particular number of keys which will open the building’s locks.  The number is usually up to the purchaser, though minimum orders may apply depending on the manufacturer.

Once the initial keys have been ordered and the locks installed, new keys cannot be made by the local locksmith.  When the purchaser needs to obtain new copies of his or her keys, he has two major options, depending upon the agreement made with the manufacturer of the keyway system.  He must either:

* Present an authorization card to an authorized locksmith.  This card is issued by the lock system’s manufacturer.  The locksmith must contact the company that issued the authorization card to get permission to copy the key.  A restricted keyblank will be sent to the locksmith who will then make the duplicate.

* Send away for duplicate keys.  In this type of agreement, no locksmith is able to duplicate a key.  Instead, the owner must contact the supplier of the lock system with his or her key number (which is stamped on the key), and the supplier sends the duplicate key(s.)

The restricted keyway is a good idea for business owners who don’t require complicated and expensive security systems, but rather simply need a way to control who can make copies of keys to his/her locks/premises.  The restricted keyway makes it extremely difficult or impossible for employees to make unauthorized copies of keys.  Business owners have peace of mind knowing that when an employee leaves and returns his/her key, the employee has not made extra copies for him/herself or others.