Government Office Key Management Policy

It’s important to enforce office key management solutions, policies and protocols when working with/in the government sector of your country. TelKee Lockable Cabinets Australia knows this requirement and its importance, especially so that the product catalogues including models and accessories take these factors into account to offer personnel tasked with physical security of persons and assets the convenience of using key lockable cabinets or office cabinets.

First and foremost, the objectives of creating Key and Lock Management Policy for your government office should be identified and highlighted. These may include;

• Enforcing/maintaining maximum security of premises with reasonable usability of physical assets
• Maintaining strict control over government office key and lock systems including Master keys & duplicates as well as distribution amongst key authorities/personnel
• Measures taken to record chain of accountability for key issuance and use/management of lockable key cabinets

The general rules and protocols should also be clearly stated, such as offices and building will need to be locked outside of normal working hours  in order to maintain safety of physical assets on premises, it’s content in terms of intellectual property and personnel (inclusive of persons on premises that are tasked to secure the compound/premises). It’s always a good rule of thumb to assign a division/cost centre the authority over key control and management. This could be the Security department or Occupational/Workplace Health & Safety committee. Usually, with concern to government offices and key management, this falls under the Security Department’s purview. They will be responsible for providing access to the infrastructure as well as opening restricted areas and more.  Depending on the access control solutions that have been utilised, your lock and key policy should define the keys that will be the care of the department and their respective people in charge. You can also breakdown the policy into the types of keys – keys to vehicles, cabinets, lockers, desks and more, to ensure that accountability is present at all times. It’s also important to document the issuance of keys as well as trace back to whoever has dispatched or utilised a key if an unfavourable event/circumstance arises.

Classifying your keys and the levels of keys (Great Grand Master Key, Grand Master Key, Building Master Keys, Department Master Keys, Individual Door Keys, Vehicle Keys, Desks, Cabinets, Lockers, etc) and the approval authority (in the event the keys are required during afterhours) and the issuing entity from their respective lockable key cabinet is important, in order to create an accountable flow with proper office key management.

Therefore, your government office key control policy should include the following sections for your reference.