Few are likely to know (or care, I suppose, ya gotta be a part of it) that commercial properties, stores, manufacturing plants, and the like, have and maintain great numbers of things, spaces, perimeter doors, limited access rooms where electrical distribution panels are housed, HVAC areas, even roof access, requiring locks which may or may not be openable by certain people, including employees. They use something called a "Sub-master System", meaning access to areas is grouped in blocks. Typically, the "GM" key will open every single lock in the joint; top level managers will be authorized to carry the GM, as will (sometimes), certain Maintenance people, typically not skilled-trades folks, however. The next lower level in the hierarchy of keys below the GM is a group of sub-areas, the keys being grouped by the kind of area: Electrical Equipment Rooms must be accessible by the skilled guy, for example. His say, M1 key will not open, however, some Department Manager's office for example. That Manager will have yet another submaster key, perhaps called M2, which work in his office door, most locked areas within his department, but not many other areas. He has, for example, no business in the Electrical Rooms, or the roof, or other Department Managers' offices, and his M2 master denies his access to those. Enter the poor Maintenance Guy, whose work takes him everywhere (almost) in the place. Depending on his skills, dependability, honesty, and possibly seniority, he may be granted the "honor" of access which exceeds even that level of some of the managers! Thus, the stage is set for envy, greed, hard feelings, dissent. The guy's "importance" is established by the size of his bunch of keys, displayed proudly clanking around, hanging from his belt. Two significant incidents come to mind regarding this inane topic, but you've likely had enough by now! If urged to, I'll tell of them! Frank
My new 'GM' key for work is one of these. Now I only have to carry 10 or so other 'special' keys on a ring.
This reminds me of our school. There was this janitor whom we call St. Peter because he holds all the keys to the school - classrooms, rest rooms, gate, anything that has a door lock, name it and St. Peter has it. The big bunch of keys is always held by hand for it will not fit his pocket. When a classroom is accidentally locked, everyone would be shouting the name St. Peter and the guy already knows the problem. But with the present technology, I'm sure St. Peter will lose his job if not yet. Key cards are now the in thing in hotels and in some offices they are switching to the biometrics using the thumbprint.
@Tim Burr Those would appear to be Passive Anti-theft System Transceivers, maybe. Do they also unlock the vehicle? Frank
You may be joking with that lost thumb but do you know that I am having a problem with that silly biometrics? We bought a niche in a columbarium - a storage for the ashes of the cremated. The main entrance of the building has a security guard but the entrance to the columbarium uses that automated lock system that you have to enroll first so your thumb print can be stored in the database. However, I have tried several times for the scanner to get my thumb print but it always fail upon testing. And the reason? My sweaty palms and fingers are giving the scanner a problem. Until now I still don't have my thumb print in their database.