A security door developed to introduce time into the access process is attracting growing interest from jewellers and other high-value retailers as businesses rethink how entrances are managed during trading hours. Birmingham manufacturer Warrior Doors has developed its TimeLock security door around a straightforward principle: controlling how quickly somebody can enter a protected premises can be as important as the physical resistance of the entrance itself.
The system introduces a predetermined delay into the opening sequence. Once access is requested, the door remains secured for the programmed period before entry can take place. For retailers handling jewellery, watches, precious metals and other high-value goods, that changes the dynamics at the shopfront. Warrior Doors Managing Director Brett Barratt said the idea grew from conversations about the practical realities facing retailers.
“Security doors have traditionally been judged by how well they withstand physical attack, and that remains fundamental,” said Barratt. “TimeLock adds another element because the retailer controls the pace of entry. That short period of time gives staff an opportunity to assess what is happening before the door releases.”
The development reflects a wider move towards entrance systems that combine independently tested physical protection with access technology suited to the way modern stores operate.
For Warrior Doors, the engineering challenge has been to incorporate the TimeLock function into a security door that can operate repeatedly throughout the trading day. The company manufactures its doors in Birmingham from stainless steel, with security products independently tested to recognised LPCB LPS 1175 standards. The technology is particularly suited to premises where customers need regular access while valuable stock remains on display. Jewellers are an obvious application, although Warrior Doors is also seeing potential across businesses handling other high-value assets.
Barratt said retailers increasingly want security measures that can form part of the normal customer journey.
“A jewellery store still has to feel like a jewellery store,” he said. “Customers expect a high-quality environment and staff need an entrance that works efficiently throughout the day. The engineering has to deliver the level of security required while fitting naturally into that setting.”
TimeLock can also form part of a wider controlled entrance arrangement, including airlock-style configurations where access is managed through successive secure doors. This gives security consultants and retailers greater scope to design the entrance around the individual premises, its operating procedures and the value of assets being protected. The approach is gaining relevance as high-value retailers examine the few seconds surrounding entry as closely as the strength of the physical barrier itself. A forced-entry attempt depends heavily on speed. Introducing a controlled delay changes that equation before an individual reaches the retail space.
For Barratt, this is where the innovation has particular value.
“Time is incredibly valuable in physical security,” he said. “If you can control the point of entry and introduce a deliberate delay, you give the people inside the premises more information and more control over what happens next. Combined with a properly engineered security door, it becomes a very effective way of managing access.”
With more high-value retailers reviewing the security of their shopfronts, Warrior Doors expects TimeLock technology to become an increasingly familiar part of entrance design, bringing access control directly into the physical security of the building.
