Author: Askwith Safe

Your home or office safe is designed to do exactly what it says: keep your valuables SAFE.

However, much like your home appliances, your safe may need servicing or repairs over time to keep it functioning as intended.

A common misconception of home safes is that once you’ve made your purchase, it should last for years without any upkeep or maintenance.

While the kind of home safes in Perth you buy from Askwith Safe Company are durable, resilient and hardy, there are certain aspects of your safe that may need servicing or repairs – such as hinges and the locking mechanism.

At Askwith Safe Company, we’re here to dive into the top five signs that your home safes Perth needs to be looked at by a professional.

1. The Lock is Sticking

Just like the other locks around your home, your safe lock can begin to stick when you put in, pull out or attempt to turn the key or punch in the combination over time.

This can happen to traditional lock and key locks, as well as combination locks, and will generally require a professional and certified safe repairer to repair or replace the lock.

2. The Hinges Are Moving Less Fluidly

Hinges are an integral part of your safe, helping to keep your safe door securely shut.

If your hinges begin to malfunction and you put off getting your safe fixed, opportunistic thieves may prey on this weakness to gain access to your safe. Thieves often try to tamper with, torch, cut or bend the hinges instead of gaining access through the lock itself.

You should be able to open and close the door of your safe in Perth without any trouble, so tough hinges are a good indicator that your safe needs some maintenance.

3. You Need the Lock Changed

There are a number of reasons you might need to change the lock on your safe.

• You lost your set of keys or had them stolen, which had the safe key on it;
• Someone has learned your safe combination and you want to change it;
• A person who once had access to your safe is no longer part of your life and you want to ensure they have no further access; or
• You want to upgrade your lock from a key lock to a digital or combination lock.

Our team at Askwith consists of experienced safe locksmiths who can update your lock without damaging your safe.

4. The Safe Has Been Damaged

This actually happens more than you think! Sometimes, the damage can come from thieves trying to break into your safe, and other times, it could simply be accidental damage.

Other types of damage may occur if your safe becomes fire, smoke or water damaged.

A great way to avoid damage from Mother Nature is to purchase the right type of safe for your needs and environment. At Askwith, we stock a range of home and office safes, commercial safes, gun safes and more, which have varying design and safety features to keep your valuable items safe from fire damage. (Related Article: How to Get a Great Deal on Refurbished Safes)

5. You Can’t Get into The Safe

Sometimes your safe might be a little too good at keeping people out. At Askwith Safe Company, we help out many clients who have somehow been locked out of their home or business safe.

There are a number of common reasons that this might occur, such as dead batteries, a jammed bolt, issues with the wiring or even a time delay!

Regardless of the reason you can’t get in, you can rest easy knowing our team at Askwith CAN help.

Call Askwith Safe Company for Safe Repairs & Servicing

At Askwith Safe Company, we not only stock and sell the most reliable and durable safes on the market, we also offer our services for safe maintenance, repairs and servicing.

Keeping your safe maintained will not only keep your safe in the best condition – it will also save you from avoidable issues in the long run.

Contact our team at Askwith Safe Company today for a no-obligation quote on servicing, maintenance or repair for your safe in Perth.

While people may fear the threat of burglary to important documents, items, cash and other valuables, the extreme weather Australia has recently experienced is reminder enough that mother nature can completely damage all these valuables and more in a matter of moments too.

A durable fireproof wall safe or fireproof floor safe is an important and worthwhile investment to ensure your valuables are protected from opportunistic thieves, from accidental damage and from mother nature herself.

We know a thing or two about buying safes in Perth.

Read on to find out the important qualities to consider when buying your new fireproof wall or floor safe.

Ability to Resist Extreme Temperatures

Did you know that house fires reach an average temperature of around 600°C? Depending on the accelerants in the fire and other factors, some fires may even be hotter than this.

As such, when you are looking for a fireproof wall safe, Askwith Safe Company recommends you look for a safe that is heat resistant to at least 843°C.

Internal Temperature Rating

It is important to review the internal temperature ratings on any fireproof wall safe that you enquire about to ensure it is appropriate for the various items you plan to store in it.

While the outside of your safe may be highly heat resistant, the documents and other valuables inside may not be adequately protected, causing them to combust when the heat becomes to extreme. So even if you opt for a safe with a high temperature rating, the inside of the safe may not have sufficient insulation and protection against those extreme temperatures.

Knowing what items you will be storing in the safe is key to making a choice, as items such as documents may withstand more external heat than hard drives or other digital media.

Industry Ratings

There are other ratings you can refer to in order to find the most suitable safe for you. These ratings are provided through various industry bodies and include ratings such as the amount of time a safe can withstand fire exposure, the type of explosion a safe can survive and the level of impact stress it can endure.

Time ratings generally start at 30 minutes and may extend up to 120 minutes or more. The team at Askwith Safe Company recommend opting for a safe with at least 60 minute fire rating.

Waterproof

From one extreme to another, it is also important that you choose a fireproof floor safe or wall safe that is waterproof in case of flooding or other water damage.

All homes and businesses should be aware of their flood risk, especially because 1.3 million Australian homes have a flood risk rating!

The level of water protection you need will depend strongly on the area that you live in; if you live in an area with a high flood risk, it makes sense to invest in a safe that has a high water protection rating.

Cash Rating

A cash rating refers to the general security of the safe in a burglary-type situation. Safes that have a cash rating have undergone testing, where they have been broken into under specific conditions and are marked on their resistance to the break in.

Factors that are assessed as part of cash ratings include:

• What materials the safe is made from
• What barrier materials have been used to reinforce the door and walls on the safe
• The quality of the locking mechanism and the type & quantity of the locks on the safe
• The type of re-locking devices used to prevent forced entry.

If you are hoping to store valuable jewellery, cash and important documents in your safe, you should look to purchase a safe with a higher cash rating ie. $50,000 – $500,000 depending on your circumstances.

Reliable Fireproof Wall Safes in Perth and Adelaide

Don’t leave the protection of your valuables to chance – trust the team at Askwith Safe Company to help you find the right fireproof wall safe or floor safe for your needs.

Askwith stock a range of fireproof floor and wall safes to suit your budget and circumstances, with a passionate team of experts ready to lend a hand or advice on what is best for you.Contact Askwith Safe Company today to protect your valuables with a reliable, durable and fireproof safe.

When an employee leaves your company or store, either on good or bad terms, there are a number of processes you need to follow to make it a smooth transition for both you, the ex-employee and the other employees still working.

One of the most important parts of this process is ensuring the security of the store is not compromised.

As an employee of yours, retail store employees become privy to some pretty important information, such as security codes, the location of the retail store safe and the codes associated with it.

In order to maintain the security of your store, it is important to follow these three simple steps each time an employee leaves your store.

1. Make Sure They Give Their Key Back

While some retail stores may simply have security codes to access the store, others rely on a lock and key system for access. If this is the case, each employee is generally given their own copy of the access key to the store.

However, you should ensure that these keys are “no copy” keys so that they cannot be replicated and so you are aware of exactly who has access to the store.

When an employee leaves, make them aware that is a requirement that their key is returned before they finish their final shift. In the case that an employee claims to have ‘lost’ their key, you should contact a locksmith immediately to change the locks on the store.

2. Change or Remove Security Codes & Logins

As painful as it may be to change your stores security codes and logins with each employee who leaves, it is an important step to take. These codes give an employee, and anyone they share the codes with, access to your store, to money and to priceless information within your retail store.

Some important codes to change include:

• codes to the alarm system
• codes to the door (if it is a coded door)
• any other systems you use, or logins to your systems – such as computers, POS systems etc.

These codes should be changed as soon as the employee has completed their last shift with your store to ensure they cannot gain any further access.

3. Change the Retail Store Safe Code

If the employee had a role that handled cash and required access to the safe, it is vital to change or remove the retail store safe code they were given. It is also important to find out whether they had created a separate code to the retail store safe.

To be sure that access to the retail store safe remains secure, it may be worthwhile changing the master store code each time someone with access leaves your store.

Contact Askwith for Retail Store Safes You Can Count On

When an employee leaves, there is much more to do than to just provide a reference or to ask them to hand back a uniform; the security of your store and the safety of your employees should be a paramount concern.

At Askwith Safe Company, we are committed to keeping your store’s valuables safe with a range of retail store safes to suite your needs. As part of our service, we also undertake safe relocations, delivery & installation, maintenance, repairs and servicing.

If you’re looking to upgrade your retail store safe, contact Askwith today for a range of commercial safes that are designed with security at the front of mind.

If just once in your lifetime a secure retail store safe proved the difference between peaceful sleep and months of nightmares, you’d be forever grateful. Well get ready to sleep a whole lot easier by following Askwith Safe’s golden rules for buying a good quality safe in Perth.

Functionality

Rule 1: Define what your store safe’s purpose is.

What are you protecting and from what? Commercial property deeds? Cash? Every safe is built differently to protect against various threats, so know what’s going inside it and whether you’re protecting it from burglary, fire or internal threats.

Next, where is the safe is to be located, and we don’t mean on a shelf or freely sitting under a table! If it’s not bolted down, it’s not a proper functioning safe. It could be best under the floor, in a cupboard or in a wall if it’s a drop box.

Functionality also means room to grow. Look at the amount of items you want to store in your safe and then shift up to the next size. You’ll thank us in 10 years’ time!

(See Also: Chubbsafes vs IronGuard Safes vs ProtectAll Safes)

Security of your Retail Store Safe

Rule 2: The security level of your safe must match the importance and value of your items.

Paper burns. Cash and jewellery generate more intent to steal. The security of the items within your safe could be compromised if you don’t choose the strongest safe now.

Some cheap hardware store safes have lasted just minutes in successful cash robberies, so to secure tens of thousands of dollars, you’ll need a quality built safe. If you’re about locking away the keys to the forklift and petty cash, spending less may be an option.

When opening your safe, there are a number of secure options. Time delay locks, like the ones used in banks, are a perfect solution when storing large amounts of cash. Other locking combinations can be digital, mechanical dial and dual key and combo locks.

(See Also: How Safe Are Your Valuables)

Accessibility

Rule 3: Make the safe easy to operate and access.

How easy is it to get to your safe? A safe in the floor may restrict you when reconfiguring an office. Think about height restrictions, safety in accessing and privacy. You don’t want unwanted attention if you’re openly visiting a safe a number of times a day.

Maintenance

Rule 4: Make maintenance simple and cost effective.

Everything with moving parts needs a service. Maintain your safe and chances are you’ll bequeath it to your grandchildren.

A safe needs a check-up every five years or so. If something is not working as it should, promise you’ll call us straight away. Promise! If you struggle with a faulty safe, history tells us that we’ll be struggling to break into your faulty, beautifully locked safe instead of servicing an open door. Promise?

Find Quality Retail Store Safes in Perth

So you have some valuables. You know where they’re to be locked up and who’ll have access to them. Now let us get cracking on the security. At Askwith Safes, you can choose between five leading safe manufacturers, all with ultimate protection for documents, precious jewellery, cash and anything else you hold valuable.

Quite simply, we have the strongest safes in Perth for the most secure of jobs. A call today will make a safer tomorrow.

How Commercial Safe Can Help Your Business

What do you know about commercial safes? Your livelihood depends on your business, so you need to ensure you are taking every reasonable step to keep not only the premises of your business secure but also your valuables, data and records safe. A commercial safe is a valuable and important investment for you and your business. It provides a secure place to keep your valuables and safes do not only guard against theft, but also fire. However, as different types of safes boast different features and specifications, it’s important to pick the best commercial safe for your needs and to do this you will need to consider what you will keep in your safe.

Fire and thief protected

Safes in Perth need to come equipped with various features, and because of this they will need to be built differently. Some safes will be protected against fire and others protected against thieves. A fire-resistant safe is designed to stop the fire from affecting the contents inside the safe, however they generally have little theft resistance.

Whereas theft resistant safes are designed to protect the contents of the safe from being stolen. There are also safes which have both features to protect your business’ valuables from thieves and the elements. (Also Read: What You Need to Know About Fire-Resistant Safes)

Cash Rating

When researching which safe will be most suited to your business, you will come across a rating called a cash rating. This rating tells you the safe’s level of security and how much cash an insurer will cover, when it’s kept in the safe.

Types of commercial safes

There are three main types of commercial safes. These are cash-handling safes, media/data safes and storage safes.

Cash-handling safe

Cash-handling safes are made for cash-handling purposes. Askwith Safe Company offers a wide range of cash-handling safes, some which are small enough to sit on a table (Deposit Container) and others which can stand alone and boast combined fire and theft protection with a $100,000 Cash Rating (Europa GIII).

Related Article: How to Choose a Good Quality Retail Store Safe

Media/data safe

Media/ data safes are used to protect computer files, film and photos. However, as these types of files and valuables are now often kept in an offsite facility, this type of commercial safe is not as common as it used to be, however media/data safes are still available from the trusted Askwith Safe Company. (Also Read: Achieve Data Security Today with a Reliable Data Protection Safe)

Storage safe

Storage safes are deigned from basic steel construction and will have varying fire and theft deterrent ratings, depending on what you want to store in your commercial safe. However, most safes would have a fire rating of up to two hours.

Get in contact with Askwith Safe!

With over 20 years in the industry, Askwith Safe Company provides safes Australia wide. Their team will help you choose the most suitable safe for your business to make sure your valuables are kept secure from potential thieves and fire. You are in safe hands when you buy from Askwith Safe Company.

How to be a responsible gun owner

As a gun owner in Australia, you need to understand what laws and regulations apply to your gun/s. Under the Firearms Regulations 1974 firearms and ammunition must be stored in a locked cabinet or container that is made of mild steel that is 2 mm thick and extremely secure so as to ensure no firearm or ammunition can be removed while the cabinet/container is locked. The door on the cabinet/container must be internally supported and the hinging mechanisms must be designed in a way that even if a hinge was removed, the cabinet/container would stay locked. This cabinet/container must also be securely anchored from the inside to two separate surfaces. It is suggested that the gun in the safe is kept unloaded.

If you are considering applying for a Firearms Licence, you should know an applicant is required to submit a statement detailing their proposed storage keeping facilities to the WA Police and this statement is to be included as part of the application. Included with the statement must be supporting evidence that the cabinet/container has been installed such as a receipt or a photograph of the cabinet, showing the anchoring points.

It is also suggested that the position of the cabinets/container holding the firearm is kept in a discrete location. In Australia, the specifications for the cabinet/container where your gun/s are stored are extremely specific. To see these specifications, refer to Schedule 4 of the Firearms Regulations 1974 Act. Non-compliance with these laws and regulations can lead to the police seizing your firearms. Therefore, it is important you do your research before buying a safe to make sure you are buying a top-rated gun safe which complies with the laws.

Why is proper gun storage important?

Proper gun storage is important as children should not be able to access your guns. Children are extremely curious and do not understand how dangerous guns are, so not storing your gun properly could lead to a very dangerous situation. It is also important to have secure gun storage to stop anyone accessing your gun/s as someone in a poor mental state can behave unpredictably and use your gun on themselves or others.  Keeping it in a safe also stops thieves from accessing your gun to either use it or sell it.  Gun safes are also useful for protecting against natural disasters. Not to mention, these types of safes can also be used for other valuable possessions such as birth certificates, jewellery and money. (Also Read: Get A Gun Safe)

Where to buy gun safes in Perth

Askwith Safe Company is the most trusted safe company in Perth. They provide a large variety of safes nationwide and two types of top-rated gun safes: The Pistol Safe and the Protect-All Gun Safe. The Pistol Safe is small enough to be stored in a discrete place such as wardrobe. The Protect-All Gun Safe is a large safe which stands alone. It can resist hand and mechanical attack and features an electronic lock. These two top gun safes are strong and secure and will keep you, your family and your guns safe.