An electromagnetic locking facility introduced in stackable commercial doors by The Australian Trellis Door Company (ATDC) will enable safe egress of building occupants during a fire emergency.

With the electromagnetic lock wired to the building’s fire alarm, a fire event will trigger the alarm, which automatically cuts off power supply to the electromagnetic lock, thereby unlocking and opening the door for a safe exit.

The same locking mechanism can also be used as an electronic lock for greater access control in high security applications such as banks or jewellery stores. Access in these instances can be controlled using restricted swipe cards or even digital keypads.

ATDC will, where required, build these special locking mechanisms into their doors; however, the actual wiring and access control are arranged by other access control specialists.