One of our local property management companies in Falmouth had a block apartments of which most were holiday rentals needed a replacement for a failed nightlatch (commonly known as a Yale lock) on a wooden fire escape door.
The lock had failed but it was not the first time and the customer wanted to fit something more robust and suitable but it needed to be accessible from the outside as well but the customer did not want to have to use keys and then potentially keep replacing keys.
Our solution was to remove the failed nightlatch and cylinder and in its place fit a brand new Push to Exit Panic Bar system to the inner side of the door and on the outside fit a Mechanical Digital Push Button Lock where the code could be given to persons requiring it.
The lock was coded with a 4 number and 1 letter and in the event that the code needed to be changed, this could be done relatively easily. This solution also meant that keys were not having to be constantly replaced at the expense of the customer after guests either lost them or returned home with them in their pockets.
There is no real requirement for maintenance or servicing to the Push to Exit Panic Bar system and although the Mechanical Digital Push Button Lock does not require maintenance, as part of the ongoing agreement with the customer, the lock is annually checked for damage and lubricated to help insure constant correct operation and minimise the risk of failure and costly replacement.
This conversion was undertaken in July 2016 and so far we have had no failures or any reason to undertake any additional work other than a light greasing of the Mechanical Digital Push Button Lock.