Friday 28 June 2013

There is No Science without Measurement

We all have a need to measure, we're quite happy in using Feet and Inches to measure our Height whilst the Carpenter will use smaller fractions or Millimetres to create his Work, the Engineer will use Thousandths of an Inch and in the scientific world they measure with Atoms.

Sat-Navs work by all the Satellites being synchronised to the correct time, correct to many thousandths of a Second. Compare that to Victorian Times when one Town could be 10-20 minutes different than another and we relied on the Church Clock Chimes to remind us when to start and stop work.

This is now the Modern World where Science operates at a Microscopic level and we measure Athletic success in hundredths of a second. We move forward finding, ways to do things better than before at an ever increasing pace, just when we reach the brow of the hill we find another one behind it.

The Phrase "There's No Science Without Measurement" was told to me when I was at Salford Technical College, I'm presuming that it’s an old saying but it’s true, I always have a Steel Ruler with me because I'm a Locksmith, we carry measurements in our heads, we write them down we share them with friends, we discuss them at length. We also have Digital Callipers to Measure Keys, Pins Diameters, Widths, heights, depths and lengths.

When we check a Key that isn't working correctly we measure it, then we can fix it. Running the Key through the Machine Just isn't going to work, giving the Customer their Money back means "I can’t do it, go to someone that can," it may just be that no one can, the Lock may be faulty, but through measurement we can say my Key was Perfect, do you want me to check your Lock?

Ever since the Far-East began to open-up for more business from the Western World Progressing from Hong Kong, (Formosa) now Taiwan and China, the flow of cheap locks has been increasing. Locksmiths weren't too bothered because when the public buy cheap Locks from the D.I.Y. Centre or Market, eventually the business comes back to them in the form of an Emergency Call-Out and a new and better Lock.

Locksmiths get more business when the Public fit Lower Quality Locks to their doors, the cycle of wear and tear is shortened and sometimes it fails suddenly. But the Choice of Quality is being diminished by the Avalanche of Locks that are coming from China, even our own long established Manufacturers have to get certain of their own Lock Products Made in China just to stay competitive.

Things have changed in China now, they are using western machinery and just like any other country they have their Good, Bad and Ugly. Certain Factories can produce a Good Lock and in vast quantities and they are selling and being well received by all.

If you want a Lock that will defeat Locksmith from Picking or Manipulating your Locks then you will need to choose from the following High Quality Cylinder Lock Manufacturers:

Kaba
Ge-Ge    (a Separate division of Kaba)
Biaxial
Multilock
Evva         
Assa         
Abloy

Apologies to those I missed out

So what is there for the Customer to know about Cylinder Locks to enable them to choose wisely?

This is a Table I prepared loosely based on the premise that if the Customer knew what questions to ask, they would choose a better Lock. Otherwise they will choose on Looks and Price



The Word Tolerance is used in the Engineering and Electronics Industries, it means instead of being a perfect fit we will allow a certain Tolerance, because then it can be cheaper to design and Manufacture. Engineers don't like Tolerance and do everything that they can to get rid of it, Zero Tolerance is the aim and it comes at a Price. Let’s Stray away from locks and look at real life examples of Manufacturing perfection or Zero Tolerance When the USA and Russia were embroiled in a cold Diplomatic War, Exploits in Space was the arena that caught the Public imagination, a plan was made to dock a Nasa Space Craft with a Russian one this meant designing and manufacturing a Two Part Coupling Device, ordinarily this would have been made by one manufacturer, tested and then distributed to both parties. That wasn't going to happen the Russians weren't going to have an American part on their Spacecraft and Vice-Versa. So the Device was designed and each Country had to manufacture their Half of the device, the Tolerances were very fine with no room for any error, the first time it would be tested would be in Space, it had to work or lives would be lost. It did work but that small detail was lost among the jubilation of Russian and American Astronauts meeting in Space. In the late 1970's I called into a Television Sales and Repair Shop, I knew the owner, the Shop seemed a bit quiet and he told me about a change that had taken place, he had Switched to a Japanese Make "Toshiba" and they didn't go faulty! They even worked when taken from the Box. He went on to tell me the secret of their Success, every part is made without any Tolerances and all the parts are made on one-Board, in order to find that amazing you have to Know that in England Components like Resistors, Diodes and Transistors were all manufactured to a Specific design, plus or minus 5%, or plus or minus 10%. You are thinking! What happened to the ones that were perfect? Large Electronic Companies (Ferranti) and others that made Missiles or were involved in Space and Satellite Technology Bought very Large Quantities or even the whole production run of a Manufacturer, Tested them and kept the Perfect ones and sold the rest. Our TV's never had a Chance! The English way of thinking at the time was to prepare for failure of any parts by making them plug-in so the Repair man could pop a New one in, and the TV would be OK for a few weeks or Months, a Perpetual cycle of Failure. Older People will be familiar will the effects of Mechanical Wear on a circuit board with Plug-in Modules, when you switch the TV off it Cools Down and makes creaking noises while it is adjusting to a different temperature and the same when switching it on, that’s why giving it a good whack could cure problems. The Japanese had a different idea: let’s make it right and without any jointed components and use only perfect components EG... Zero Tolerance. The down side to it was that TV Rental and Repair Companies spiralled down into oblivion.

Thursday 20 June 2013

Advice on when you've lost your Keys


LOST OR STOLEN KEYS

If your Keys are Lost or Stolen what should you do?
Lets focus on where the best available advice is:

  • The Police
  • Your Insurance Company

This is general advice given without knowledge to your specific situation, the Police and Insurance Companies are always willing to advise you.


The Police give Common Sense Guidance to you about Securing your Home, Take Heed.
The Insurance Companies have a Contract with you, they only Insure you if you comply with their requirements, read the Policy carefully to check that you are complying before you have to claim.


KEY(s) STOLEN
All Insurance companies require Policyholders to Indemnify them (Insurance Company) against Loss, so if your Key for your Home has been Stolen and you do nothing about it  and your Home is  Robbed by someone using the Key, then you are not Indemnifying your Insurance Company and it is likely they will not Pay your Claim.


KEY(s) LOST
If your Key has been Lost and there is some Identification with it: 
You should Change the Lock.
If your Key has been Lost without any Identification and you don't know where you Lost it: you might have Lost it near your Home, Someone who knows you may have seen you drop it or you may have left it in the Door after you Locked it and someone has kept it.  If you don't change your lock you are taking a chance, if you do nothing it may be OK but the best advice is:
Replace your Lock(s).


MOVING HOME
You will be expected to replace external Door Locks if moving to a new Home if it has the same keys as the previous owner.
It is a fair assumption that the previous owner may have had duplicate Keys made or have left a Key with a neighbour, whether they are Honest or not the best advice is to the Replace Locks if there is a possibility that a Stranger has a Key for your Home.


INSURANCE CLAIMS
The Police & Insurance Companies have an open channel of Communication between them, which means that anything concerning an Insurance Claim that is reported to the Police, the Insurance Company will have access to that information if they require it, and vice versa for the Police.
If your Home is insecure due to an Incident, Do what is necessary to secure your Home, or at the least have a responsible Adult stay in the property until repairs are made and Always report any attempted Break-in to the Police & Insurance Company otherwise it may affect future Claims.


CRIME PREVENTION
The Police have Crime Prevention Officers in all area’s of the UK and their services are free of charge, contact any Police Station for Details or to Speak to a Crime Prevention Officer.
The Crime Prevention Officer will come to your Home by appointment and advise you in all aspects of Crime Prevention and Security.
(The Crime Prevention service is available for Businesses also)

Always be looking to improve your Security, if a Thief came down your Street looking for an opportunity would he walk past because there are easier targets? Or would he Stop.


AREAS OF SECURITY FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

  • Locks
  • Alarms
  • Security Lighting (external)
  • Security Lighting (internal with time switch)
  • Gates & Fencing