Which drawer sizes and capacities does BuildingLink offer?
KeyLink offers two drawer sizes, a “small” 140-slot drawer which has a depth of 21 inches, and a “large” 224-key drawer which has a depth of 30 inches. Multiple drawers
of the same or different sizes can be ordered and combined to achieve the total key capacity you need.
(For comparison purposes, KeyTrak also offers a small drawer, which is 17.5”-deep and accommodates 96 slots, and a large drawer which is 30” deep and accommodates
240 slots. When designing our KeyLink system, we concluded that a 21” deep drawer accommodating 140 slots would provide better value and more flexibility than a 17.5”-deep
96-slot drawer would, so we went a different route than they did.)
Which drawer sizes are best for my building, and how many drawers will we need?
While the larger 224-slot drawer takes up less space and is slightly more economical when viewed from a space/cost-per-keyslot basis than the smaller drawer (see
the Pricing page), we anticipate that many buildings will want to order multiples of the smaller 140-slot drawer instead of the larger
drawer, for the following reasons : (1) The 30” depth of the 224-slot drawer is often an issue for many buildings since the average front desk console typically
does not have a countertop that is deep enough to accommodate it either sitting on top of or mounted underneath the countertop. (In buildings that are currently
using the KeyTrak 30” drawer, you will often find them sitting noticeably atop additional desks or carts, or else mounted inside a custom-designed front desk specifically
built to accommodate a deep drawer.) (2) When installing a 30” deep drawer you must also account for leaving extra clearance on user’s side so as to leave room
for the drawer to fully extend open (2) Fully opening a 30” drawer to return or remove a key in the rearmost row imposes an extra daily strain on the front desk
staff.
We therefore expect that many buildings will choose to build their system around 140-slot drawers. For example, if your building requires 400 key slots, you can choose
to order three 140-slot drawers vs. two 224-slot drawers. The three 140-slot drawers will cost only $1,000-$2,000 more.
(Here is where our decision to provide our small drawer with a 140-slot capacity makes a big difference. To build a 400-slot system using Keytrak's 96-key small drawer
would require five drawers, as opposed to our three drawers.)
When deciding on how many key slots you will require so as to calculate the number of drawers to order, you will typically want to allocate at least one key slot
per apartment, a few extra slots for common-area or facility wide keys, and an additional 10-30 slots if you intend to make regular use of the SmartBox chambers
for the storing of temporary keys or other objects you wish to secure. .
Is it possible to mix and match KeyLink drawers of different capacities within one system?
Definitely. Just plug all the drawers you want to utilize them into a USB hub connected to the controlling PC and you're good to go.
How hard is it to add capacity later on if needed?
It's easy. Simply purchase the additional drawer(s) and SmartTags that you require, plug in the drawers to the USB hub connecting the PC and the other drawers, move
some of the existing SmartTags into one or more of the new drawers if desired, and you are done! The first time you open and close any drawer the KeyLink system
will re-inventory all drawers and SmartTags and immediately update its database of SmartTag locations.
Are you contemplating producing KeyLink drawers in any other size(s) or configurations?
Probably. It depends on what we hear from our customers about what their needs are.