Tag Archive for: Duralife

Choosing the Most Secure Lock for Your School Lockers

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Lockers are meant to store valuable and extra materials, but whenever the actual lock isn’t functioning properly, these materials are left undefended against thievery. As a facility manager, you need to take the necessary steps to ensure that the lockers in your school can perform their function. It all depends on choosing the right lock and locker for your school to reduce theft while providing the right storage security for students and faculty.

Identifying Weaknesses in Your Lockers

When you’re assessing the weak points with your lockers, take notice of any prior damage that could make it easier for a thief to gain easy access. This could include any dents that can weaken the structural integrity of the locker. Another common weak point with lockers is the lock itself. Depending on which type of lock you choose, you may be making it easier for people to gain entry.

Any motivated thief will find a way in. They can utilize paper clips as a lock pick that’ll allow them to fiddle with the inner mechanisms of the lock until it snaps open. Even a persistent perpetrator will go to lengths of further damaging the locker if they feel the prize inside is worth the effort. But, while choosing the right lock is important, choosing the right locker could actually make more of a difference.

Benefits of Choosing HDPE Lockers

Metal lockers seem like the obvious choice of storage, but they’re not as durable as you might expect. They can be damaged, and even dented to the point of intrusion. Some schools have begun implementing HDPE (high-density polyethylene) plastic lockers like Duralife and Tufftec, which has yielded positive results. The solid plastic construction provides a durability that surpasses metal. It’s impervious to graffiti, scratches, dents, and any type of damage that would render it useless as a locking mechanism.

Duralife & Tufftec Lock Options

Both Duralife and Tufftec Lockers come with a variety of locking options to choose from. Duralife Lockers offer two types of locking mechanisms. The inset combination lock is secure and only students with the specific combination can gain entry. Duralife Lockers also offer the option of hasps. The benefit is that the student can choose a lock of their choice, whether a combination lock or a key.

Tufftec Lockers, on the other hand, offer a number of different locking options. You can choose the standard padlock, a key, or a coin key. The Tufftec Lockers also feature numerous in-set options like the in-door combination lock, a digilock keypad, or the digilock RFID (radio frequency identification). The RFID lock provides easy access without the need for a key or a combination. The RFID lock uses a proximity card for the locker owner to gain entry, and it’ll only open with the exact proximity card, adding an extra sense of security when leaving valuables inside.

 

Would you like to learn more about how to take the necessary steps to ensure that your lockers are up to snuff? Check out these free eBooks: Locker Replacement Checklistand The Ultimate Guide to HDPE Plastic Lockers, courtesy of Scranton Products.

Creating a Safe Learning Environment Through Facility Maintenance & Management

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One of the most important components of a person’s ability to learn is their environment. Whether it’s a young child or an adult college student, the facility in which they’re being educated directly affects their ability to learn. As a facility manager, it’s important to take the necessary steps to ensure that you’re creating a safe learning environment through facility maintenance and management.

Here are a few tips and tricks to help you make sure that your facility is well maintained and managed in the hopes of it being perceived as a safe learning environment.

Air Quality

While air quality is important to consider on all levels, it can actually have a direct effect on a person’s ability to learn. If your facility has poor indoor air quality, it could lead to students having irritated eyes, upper respiratory infections, headaches, and even sleepiness—not exactly a recipe for improved learning.

You can take several steps in your facility maintenance and management plan to increase the quality of your air. One involves having clean floors. While mopping and vacuuming can be effective, one way to stop allergens and other harmful materials is through floor mats. Large floor mats placed outside and inside can catch some of these materials and prevent them from entering the air. Be sure to have the floor cleaned at least twice a week. If you’re using a vacuum, it’s always a good idea to clean out the filter regularly.

Cleaner Restrooms

The quality of air in restrooms can be questionable. Humidity and moisture tend to build up in bathrooms, which then can result in mold and fungus. While air fresheners in your facility maintenance plan can be useful for combating the odors in the bathroom, the culprit may be your stalls and partitions.

Bathroom partitions are constantly subjected to moisture and humidity, mold can eventually grow inside the stalls, which will continuously drop the air quality. By, Investing in HDPE (high-density polyethylene) stalls  it can  help to prevent the growth of mold. HDPE is resistant to moisture and a more durable material than those found in most stalls.

Reducing Graffiti

While art is important in a person’s education, said art should only be placed on a designated canvas. Graffiti is a common scourge to facility surfaces like lockers and bathroom stalls. Painting over the graffiti is a common answer to the problem, but not only will it invite more graffiti, the paint could put VOC (volatile organic compound) emissions into the air.

In this instance, using HDPE lockers for your facility maintenance and management plan has numerous benefits. The material is resistant to graffiti and scratches, so it doesn’t require you to repaint it. Any drawing or writing can be easily wiped away without having to risk the air quality during graffiti removal.

Better Ventilation

It’s always good to check the ventilation system to make sure that everything is working properly. Discomfort can be a huge distraction when trying to learn, so providing a comfortable environment is crucial. Make a point to continuously check your heating and ventilation systems to ensure that they’re performing as expected without any waste in energy.

We hope that these facility maintenance and management tips will help to promote a safer learning environment in your school or facility. If you want to learn even more about how you can create a safe learning environment, check out our Hiny Hiders case study and learn how HDPE bathroom stalls helped the Dallas Independent School District.