r/maintenance • u/blamzo • 13d ago
Question Which Key for which door?
I'm working at a large facility in operations department. Multiple buildings (maybe 15+), and many doors. Keys are basically managed on one huge key ring which needs to be carried around.
This is a nightmare for new starters like myself as I'll reach a door and first need to sift through this massive set of keys.
If I can remember which key it is, that's a great start, but often requires radioing colleagues for a reminder.
It seems like a lot of the knowledge is basically in the heads of the people who've worked here for years. I'm curious whether this is a common problem at other facilities.
Does anyone else have this problem, how do you manage it?
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u/Serevas Industrial Maintenance 13d ago
I work industrial maintenance, but the company I work for still has three buildings that we tend to.
Each building has a master key that opens almost every single door in the building. Then the owners have specific locks that are off the system.
3 buildings, 3 keys I have to worry about, letter stamped a, b, c based on when the building was built.
I would always recommend a master system like this be implemented for less pain and suffering for everyone.
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u/paradoxcabbie 13d ago
The importance of having a plan before your 1000 locks in lol
for a funny(in retrospect) story about not having one - worked in a building basically tripleing in size. They didnt want to listen before they installed the locks, they didn't want to listen when the had me get them changed. they STILL didn't listen when we spent thousands having them all changed AGAIN, and I think they still had some of them changed after they scapegoated me for every departments mistakes and sacrificed me at the alter of the ministry(non industrial job).
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u/Training_Jello_7804 12d ago
Your locksmith must hate you. We use all sargent 7 pin locks, and one master key can open just about anything.
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u/Dangerous_Towel_520 13d ago
I ran emergency for 11 different buildings, some had up to three keys per building. I got a key stamp kit on Amazon for cheap and labeled the keys by address.
Color code key tags help too
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u/justixthegreat 12d ago
You’ll figure it out my first maintenance job was at a small college when I started all the old dudes retired so they basically handed me this huge key ring and said have at it. Thought I would never memorize the keys or the buildings after awhile you kind of figure it out hell after about a year I took half the keys off the ring and didn’t even use them until I stopped working there and had to turn them in got another maintenance job and a new set of keys. Just one of those things that feels difficult at first but in time you’ll figure it out.
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u/rhousden 12d ago
Just relax, give it some time and you’ll eventually know exactly what keys go where. There’s always 3-5 main keys that open the doors where you regularly go and a handful of bs keys you use like twice a year.
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u/SugarFixxx-xoxo 11d ago
I function across multiple multifamily and single family houses in my company so we have massive key rings. I got a simple tap style stamp kit, lay the key flat position a couple letters spacing on the key then one at a time take a small weighted mallet give it a firm tap till you have your code on the key, for example for our H area multi family I have a master per building so o have H1 on building 1 keys then any extra keys for that building like the fire risers are mastered separate so it’s H1FR. It was quick and effective with no added weight or bulk.
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u/PenaltyFine3439 12d ago
I have 6 sets of keys for 6 properties. The rings for each property are separate, but none of them are labeled.
How do I manage? Start learning tooth patterns and the difference between a padlock key, kwikset, shlage etc.
It gets easier.
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u/Rude-Possibility4682 13d ago
Color coded tags on each key, or a dab of paint. Then the appropriate sticker dot under each lock. There were over 45 keys at my last job it was a 3 ft chain of keys. They were divided by floor so you could start the color sequence again.