Colin Campbell, CEO of Codelocks International Ltd, looks at the trends shaping access control specification – and why the right supplier partnership matters as much as the right product.
If you are specifying or procuring access control right now, you are doing so in a very complex environment. Regulations have changed and tightened, sustainability requirements are working their way deeper into supply chains, and the AI boom has pushed cyber security higher up the agenda.
None of this is going away. And as things evolve, these requirements are increasing the need for closer relationships between those procuring locks, and those producing and providing them.
Compliance, construction and the Hackitt report
In the wake of the Grenfell disaster, and following Dame Judith Hackitt's 2018 report, Building a Safer Future, the construction industry has undergone significant changes aimed at making buildings safer for their occupants. Chief among the regulatory drivers for these have been the 2022 Building Safety Act and revised fire safety regulations.
At the time the Hackitt report was published a standout figure was that two-thirds of construction products were unregulated. That may well have changed since, but today many products required for fire-safe applications are still unregulated because of gaps in the standards against which they are assessed. For example, the lock on a fire door must be CE-marked and tested to a European standard. The handle operating it does not have to be. This absence of a harmonised standard makes specifying the right solutions – while avoiding potential risks – an incredibly difficult task.
Other new standards like BS 8672 – a code of practice for construction product competence soon to be introduced – are set to place fresh obligations on the people who specify construction projects, too. The requirement will not just be that the products they choose perform: the people specifying and, crucially, recommending products must be able to demonstrate through certifications and frameworks that they are qualified to do so.
Together, developments like this are changing the calculations that specifiers and procurement teams must make when it comes to access control and compliance. They must find suppliers capable of navigating revised fire safety regulations, and who can actively demonstrate the competence of their staff within the new frameworks.
Sustainability is shaping the supply chain
A combination of national targets, stakeholder pressure, and reporting regulations mean that sustainability has for many companies transitioned from an aspiration to an obligation. Those obligations are also now starting to stretch far back through the supply chain. Procurement teams seeking to meet their own organisation’s goals now very commonly ask their suppliers to provide details like carbon reporting, packaging waste, recycling targets and more. For the specifiers managing these requirements while finding the right access control solutions, the burden is real.
One of the ways to reduce that burden is to work with lock makers who have already done the hard work of becoming compliant, and who can evidence it clearly. A manufacturer who has invested in dedicated compliance resource – one who can respond to a detailed RFI, satisfy a supply chain questionnaire, and demonstrate how their products contribute to your own sustainability obligations – is worth a great deal more than one who simply ships a box.
Repairability is a part of the picture too. End-user and facilities teams are demanding more reuse and repair for their locks, and this will start to show up more in customers’ demands. This is because hardware that can be refurbished and returned to service massively reduces waste for end users. On top of that, it also significantly lowers the whole-life cost of every piece of hardware in a building. The scale of large estates like hospitals, universities and commercial developments means that difference in cost and waste can be huge.
To build a complete picture, those specifying products shouldn’t just ask what a product costs to buy, but what it costs to maintain, and what happens at the end of its useful life. Again, the right lock supplier will be there with answers, and with repair and refurbishment schemes already in place.
Connectivity, AI and security
For some time there has been a strong pull towards digitally integrated access control. The benefits are real: remote management, audit trails, integration with building management systems and the ability to change access permissions instantly. For the right applications, these are compelling benefits.
But connectivity is also a vulnerability, and given the rise in AI, it’s one that some end-user customers are worried about. Organisations that would once have accepted a networked device without much second thought are now concerned about the risk of adding anything to their infrastructure that could be probed remotely. In some sectors, there’s active resistance to integrating access control into building networks.
Specifying or procuring access control for these environments can therefore seem like a bind, as many still want smarter controls but not the exposure that could potentially come with them. Offline coded access control handles this. A system that uses limited codes – tied to the right lock for the right window of time – without requiring a network connection offers a meaningful way to have smarter features while staying standalone.
What to ask the people you work with
The questions worth asking go beyond specification of the right lock at the right price. Can your supplier satisfy the compliance and sustainability requirements your own customers now demand? Do their people have demonstrable competence, or will their lack of evidenced experience become a commercial liability? And can they support you when your locks need repair – not just when they’re first purchased?
Codelocks has been helping specifiers, installers and facilities teams navigate access control decisions for 35 years. From specification through to repair and beyond, our team is there to help customers find the right products in an increasingly complex environment. We help with specification, compliance queries, repair schemes, and the questions that don't fit neatly into a product catalogue. Visit Codelocks to find out more.
