Knowledge base · Technical note
Securing vacant units: a facility checklist
Vacant units are the softest target on any site, and the easiest place for a process to quietly stop being followed.
Why vacant units need their own routine
Occupied units have a tenant who notices something wrong. Vacant units have nobody. In most incidents, the delay is not in the response — it is in how long it took anyone to notice.
The hardware checklist
- Lock or overlock fitted, and confirmed by a second person
- Overlock sits clear of the lock body and does not foul the door anywhere in its travel
- Unit number visible from the drive aisle, not just on paperwork
- Door track and rollers serviceable — a door that will not close cannot be secured
- Hasp or latch sound; a loose hasp defeats a good lock
The inspection routine
- Walk the vacant list on a fixed schedule, not only when something is reported
- Check that the lock is still the one that was fitted — substitution is common
- Photograph anything that has changed
- Record who inspected and when
Record keeping and handover
The failure mode is a shift change. If the vacant-unit list lives in one person's head, the next shift starts blind. Keep a written list with the lock state per unit, and make it part of the shift handover.
When a unit is deliberately left open
Show units, or units awaiting maintenance, are sometimes left accessible. If that is policy, record which units and why, and put a time limit on it. An open unit that nobody remembers opening is indistinguishable from a break-in.
Confirm it on your own doors
Send a door photo, the cylinder size or the mounting dimensions. We confirm fit with a physical sample before you commit to a quantity.
What readers ask next
Writing the routine down raises its own points.
Can one overlock cover every unit type on site?
Only where the door hardware allows it. Sites with mixed door types often need two, so send the door types and we will say which ones share a fitting.
How often should vacant units be inspected?
Set the interval from how quickly your site turns over rather than copying another facility, and log each check. On the hardware side, the check has to be possible without removing the lock.
What does the handover record need to contain?
Which unit, which lock, which key and who holds it. Keep it against the keying record so a later replacement order can be matched to the unit it serves.