SARGENT 11 Line Locksets Get Straight A’s For Durability From Lodi Unified School District

Jason Glissman, head locksmith for the last nine years with the Lodi Unified School District (LodiUSD), replaced several of the locksets used throughout the District with 11 Line bored locks from SARGENT Manufacturing Company. He’s extremely pleased to be installing such rugged and reliable locksets. He just wishes he’d turned to SARGENT a bit sooner.

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Glissman never expected that he’d have to replace the older locksets so soon. But just a short time after the original locks were installed -- mere months in some cases -- problems began to arise.

“We had several failed latches, problems with spindles, parts sticking, and many locks that just couldn’t stand up to everyday use,” Glissman said. “It was frustrating thinking that I was going to be working with these locksets for upwards of 10 years, when things were failing so quickly after installation. Sure, the locks were under warranty, but there’s no compensation for my time spent trying to fix and then replace these things.”

Glissman brought the problem to the attention of the District’s Facilities and Planning Department in early 2009, and has been working on replacing these deficient locks and other outdated locks with the SarGent 11 Line bored locks ever since.

Thousands of Locks. One Rugged Solution.

Of course, the process of replacing and installing all of these locks takes  some time. The LodiUSD encompasses 350 square miles in the central valley  of northern California, including the cities of Lodi and north Stockton, and  communities of acampo, Clements, Lockeford, Victor and Woodbridge.  The District comprises more than 50 sites, including four high schools, two  continuation high schools, seven middle schools, thirty-four elementary schools, a mail-house building and the District headquarters. Every school had many locksets that needed to be replaced; every classroom has a lockable door, and some have multiple doors. The total number of locksets for the District was well into the thousands.

Glissman couldn’t afford to make a mistake with his selection of the next lock. He needed a lockset that was not only mechanically sound from the get-go, but also rugged and durable enough to stand up to years of use and abuse in a school setting. He found just the solution he was looking for in the SARGENT 11 Line bored lock.

“Anyone who is mechanically inclined can immediately see that the 11 Line is a much better-built lock than what  we had been  using previously,”  Glissman said. “It’s built to provide a longer lifespan.”

Locksets Proven to Take the Pressure

“I was familiar with the 11 Line and the product’s reputation for durability, so I contacted them. right away, I could tell that it was well-designed and well-constructed,” Glissman said 11 Line bored locksets are specifically designed  for high-traffic and high-abuse areas; in fact, they undergo testing that exceeds 15 million cycles. The locksets feature solid cast  levers and a patented t-Zone construction design which helps them to withstand more than two times the anSI/BHMa Grade 1 torque resistance requirements at over 3000 inch pounds of  excessive force or extreme abuse. That translates to more than 750 lbs at the end of the lever, or constant pressure from seven 100-pound sixth graders.

Trouble Spots Now Trouble-Free

Glissman began his own testing process in a few different schools that were already undergoing some new construction and/or remodeling. To really test the strength and functionality of the  11 Line locks, Glissman initially focused on a couple dozen doors that were constantly being victimized by vandalism.

“After seeing the 11 Line lock in action at these trouble spots where vandalism had been a huge problem,” Glissman said,  “the durability and functionality of the SarGent locksets spoke for itself. I was sold.”

According to Glissman, the installation process of the 11 Line locksets has gone smoothly.  “Overall the 11 Line is remarkably easy to install,” Glissman said. The 11 Line lock features “out of the box and onto the door” packaging that organizes the parts, and comes complete with simple instructions and a small tool  kit. No thru-bolts are required for installation and it fits into a  standard 161 door prep.

Glissman is so pleased with the way that the 11 Line locksets  are working out that he has plans to replace more door-related hardware with SARGENT products. In fact, he’s already set this  project in motion.

“I’ve installed a couple mortise lock sets and they’re working out great,” he said. “We’re getting ready to replace all the mortise sets and panic bars with SARGENT products, as we continue to replace old or failing cylinder locksets with the 11 Line.”

Glissman feels that the money he’s spending to upgrade the  LodiUSD’s door locks and hardware is certainly money well spent.

“As the guy who maintains these things, it’s much smarter for  me to spend more money purchasing top-quality locks up front than to have to purchase replacement parts for failed parts  down the road,” Glissman concluded. “I’ve been down that  road, and thanks to SarGent and the 11 Line bored lock, I don’t have to go back.”

For more information on how the SARGENT 11 Line locksets are built to ensure a longer lifespan, fill out the form to get in touch with our team below.