Mantraps have traditionally been associated with ultra-high-security applications – data centers; secure government facilities such as federal reserves and military R&D installations; and sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities, where sensitive information and conversations take place.
However, uses have expanded and increasingly, mantraps can be found in everyday life applications. Head over to your local bank and you can see one first hand. You will notice that you have to enter through two sets of doors before actually stepping into the bank.
In fact, many banks place ATMs inside the first set of doors. During the off-hours, you are required to swipe your debit card and provide your pin in order to gain access to the ATM. The interior set of doors are locked during these off-hours. That’s a mantrap.
Beyond banks, there are numerous applications for mantraps that span a variety of industries. The increased use and applications of mantraps is good news for integrators who may be looking for an additional or new revenue stream.
Those applications include:
- Cleanrooms where contamination to individuals and or experiments are not acceptable. The addition of door interlocks not only assures the cleanroom meets the necessary ISO classifications by enforcing clean air control, but can also add a level of security within the controlled environment of the cleanrooms.
- Casinos and gaming facilities in areas where cash is handled. For example, Dortronics worked with several casinos that use a field-programmable mantrap controller with a card access system to provide secured entry into the money counting areas. Visual indicators are also supplied for traffic control. The systems are field programmable to allow for any number of secured rooms with multiple doors and may be adjoining with shared doorways between rooms.
- Armored car facilities to control vehicle entry into the facility and cash transfer from receiving to secured counting areas.
- Prisons and police stations for transporting detainees through the facility in a secure manner.
- Medical facilities for patient transport and deliveries. In a hospital that wants to limit access into the mental health areas, mantraps can provide access to two sides of interior and exterior doors. The mantrap prevents the second door from being unlocked while the first door is unsecured. A door prop alarm is used at every secured door to insure that each is properly re-secured after an authorized access. Each door is also monitored can be monitored by a controller that will sound an alarm if the doors have not been re-secured in the allotted time period.
- High risk wholesale and retail establishments where expensive merchandise such as jewelry is exchanged
- Check cashing facilities to monitor individuals entering areas where cash transactions take place
- Schools where access to entrance lobbies and administration areas require added security
- Laboratory and pharmaceutical facilities where cleanrooms are utilized. Dortronics works with many pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities that employ mantrap controls to ensure a sterile environment. Magnetic locks with door position switches were installed on 2-door mantraps. While the doors are normally unlocked, the mantrap controller will lock the opposite door when any door of the mantrap is opened. The second door can only be opened after the first door has been closed.
Door interlock systems provide a unique form of protection not afforded by conventional access control systems that can more easily be compromised using lost, stolen or replicated credentials.
There are numerous commercial and industrial access applications for door interlock systems with as few as two doors or several, as are their use for highly specialized vehicular applications like armored cars or prison carriers. In any case, door interlock systems provide a highly efficient and effective solution for security and environmental control applications, and can be a solid way for you to create additional revenue streams and to increase your client base.
