code locks on exit doors

[Guest]

Units in a shopping centre have fire exits which are reached through the staff office at the back of the shop. In many of the units the door between the shop-floor and the office has been fitted with a mechanical code-operated lock to ensure that only staff have access. The locks which require a 4 digit code (known only to the staff) to open them have no emergency/panic overide facility.

The management justification for these locks is that the shop-floor (small < 200sq foot) is never left unattended and there would always be staff available to open the door in an emergency. Could this justification ever be acceptable in a fire-risk assessment or should customers at all times be able to open the doors without staff assistance?

[AnthonyB]

"emergency doors shall not be so locked or fastened that they cannot be easily and immediately opened by any person who may require to use them in an emergency"

So speaketh the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations.

Of course it may be that the shop floor area and risks are such that only one exit is required, in which case the security locks are ok, but the door should not have any Fire Exit signage.

(the number, distribution and dimensions of emergency routes and exits shall be adequate having regard to the use, equipment and dimensions of the workplace and the maximum number of persons that may be present there at any one time)

An assessment would need to take into account floor area, exit width, travel distances, protection of routes, active & passive precautions, nature of combustibles and ignition sources, etc.

[Guest]

The Regs guidance as quoted by Anthony states it clearly, the doors should be available and openable by anyone who may be in the room/workplace at any time.  You would have to persuade me that the Codes/PINS for the locks were memorable by those using the doors in an emergency - if I put my psychologists hat on for a moment then in an emergency there is plenty of evidence from past studies that even the simplest of things that are committed to memory can be forgotten and if you happen to be the person and are trying to escape is it fair that you should always remember the number? ( also, it is common practice in some workplaces to change the code/PIN frequently) that adds another variable!  I think I would be looking for some kind of override or seperate emergency unlocking mechanism.