Locksmith and its traditional role
When you are locked out of your house, you would usually look for a locksmith because it is never easy for an untrained person to open the lock. Even a newly trained locksmith can take longer to pick a lock than an experienced locksmith. Both experience and skill are important when it comes to picking locks.
In the past, locksmiths not only pick locks, they also repair locks and duplicate keys. However, today key duplication is frequently performed by neighborhood stores and lock repair is often not economically feasible because it is inexpensive to replace a lock. Thus, the task of the locksmith has been reduced in recent years to opening locks.
Lately, more people are getting rid of their mechanical locks and replacing them with digital locks. Why are more and more people replacing their locks with digital locks? What is the replacement rate for such locks? Would this have an effect on locksmiths for years to come? Would they be able to continue their trade?
From the Conventional Lock to the Digital Lock – Locksmith to Adapt or Remove
With the introduction of a digital lock and its popularity, the locksmith has to learn a new set of skills (ie opening the digital lock for home and office as well as the safe deposit box).
Looking at the high adoption rate of a digital lock, a locksmith service is likely to shift towards opening such locks in the coming years. May 23, 2017 “Growing Adoption of Biometric Systems in the Enterprise” article provided by Transparency Market Research, there is strong adoption of a digital door lock system in end-user industries including residential, industrial, government and trade with Asia- The Pacific market is expected to lead in terms of growth rate. The research estimated that the global market for digital door locks was valued at US$1,161.7 million in 2016 and would continue to grow at a tremendous rate.
In Asia and around the world, we are seeing more and more households installing digital locks due to their convenience and ease of use. Locksmiths who refuse to evolve with the digital age and acquire the new skill of opening these types of electronic locks may be forced to retire in the next 10-20 years. It is a choice that must be made i.e. adapt or perish in this changing world where digital adoption is accelerating at such a tremendous rate.
