“Risk mitigation is essentially the deliberate process or methodology of reducing adverse effects.” instructions and take time to familiar- ize yourself with the hardware before it’s the day of the installation(s). Follow the manufacturer’s specifications. This prac- tice will not only help with callbacks but also with liability. For repairs, being thorough and delib- Figure 3. Properly educating customers can greatly be assisted by instructional videos and apps, such as the Schlage Electronics How-To app. installations. Meeting code, the customer’s wishes and a feasible, long-term solution oſten takes research and proper planning. It’s both necessary and worth it. The best installation in the world won’t last if it’s the wrong installation. Being thorough and deliberate con- tinues during the installation. Do every- thing by the book per the manufactur- ers’ installation instructions. Don’t take shortcuts or skip steps/parts you consider overkill or unnecessary. Is it a new product or perhaps one you’re not familiar with? Read the in- structions. Maybe you’ve installed hun- dreds of cylindrical lever sets across a dozen or more brands. Maybe the cus- tomer or contractor dictated the use of a cylindrical lever set new to you, but you’re sure you can figure it out. No mat- ter the hardware, don’t assume. Read the 56 KEYNOTES JULY/AUGUST 2017 erate starts the before you touch the hard- ware. Analyze the entire picture, not just what you’ve identified as the problem. The latch binding inside the mortise lock or not entering the strike fully is the prob- lem, but what caused it? Fix the cause of the problem, not just the symptom(s), or the symptom(s) can come back — and so will the callback. Finally, test, test and test. Go over your work with a final fine-tooth comb. Cycle the hardware multiple times and observe, listen and feel. I’m not trying to sound philosophical here, but you can learn a lot from observation. Use this to your ad- vantage by ensuring that the work you’ve done is going to last. Manufacturer Error Manufacturers aren’t infallible either. Unfortunately, this isn’t an error we can always control. Sometimes, we can catch problems before they start. Maybe we notice an obvious defective part and re- place it. But, sometimes, problems deal- ing with the integrity of parts or design can cause issues well aſter we’ve leſt a job site. I won’t name names, because no company is perfect, but we’re all aware of manufacturer recalls. I will say that it’s important to pay at- tention to what others are saying. Maybe that’s on ClearStar, at the local distributor counter, your shop and/or a local associa- tion/chapter meeting. No matter the set- ting, you can practice risk mitigation by learning from the experiences of others. You may hear that X “runs like a tank” or that Y “didn’t even last a year.” Use that feedback to make decisions on the prod- ucts you’re selling to the customer. That mentality goes beyond callbacks, obvi- ously, but proper product selection is key in eliminating callbacks stemming from a faulty or unreliable product. As you can see, this wasn’t an article about avoiding accountability or mak- ing excuses. It was about reinforcing a concept we either already practice daily or should strive to practice daily: risk mitigation. Risk mitigation isn’t a con- cept we should practice during only one portion of a job, but rather all facets of all jobs. From planning through implemen- tation and testing, we should perform our due diligence not only for the customer, but also for ourselves. Professional lock- smiths accomplish risk mitigation by be- ing thorough and deliberate — by doing things right. Tyler J. Thomas, CFDI, CJIL, CMKA, CRL, is a locksmi th in At lanta, GA. He maintains a physical security blog at http://asecured.life. WWW.ALOA.ORG
