Essential Safety Solutions for Schools

When securing a classroom door, key factors to consider include the system’s ability to function effectively under high-stress situations, its reliability in various environments, and its ease of deployment whether the door is fully closed or slightly ajar. Additionally, it should be simple enough for anyone to use, regardless of their experience, size or strength. While there are products designed to help secure doors, each one has its own design flaws or limitations. Understanding these shortcomings is crucial to ensure that the solution you choose doesn't provide a false sense of security. 

A high-stress environment is crucial to consider when choosing a security solution because, as military personnel and first responders know, when adrenaline is pumping, our thinking and fine motor skills can quickly deteriorate. In situations like a school shooting, this can have a significant impact on your ability to effectively deploy a security solution. Survivors of traumatic events have shared that once they hear gunshots, their focus narrows, and they go into fight-or-flight mode, with almost nothing else registering. This makes it incredibly difficult to perform tasks that require precision or coordination.

Training soldiers to perform even simple tasks under extreme stress takes years of preparation and repetition. In an emergency situation, you can't rely on complex actions or fine motor skills. Solutions that demand you to grab a loose piece and fit it into a slot or hole while under pressure are more likely to fail than succeed. To maximize the likelihood of success, any solution you choose should embody the K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid) mentality. The simpler and more intuitive the deployment process, the higher the chances that it will work when it’s needed the most.

Reliability in various environments is crucial when selecting a security solution because emergencies don’t happen under ideal conditions. Looking back at past incidents, it's become clear that any solution that relies on rubber to grip or hold on to the ground is often doomed to fail. In high-stress situations, people drop their drinks, lose control of bodily functions, or bleed when injured. These liquids can quickly render rubber-based solutions ineffective, as they are designed to grip dry surfaces, but lose traction when exposed to moisture.

Furthermore, not every emergency happens on a dry, clear day. Weather conditions like rain, sleet, snow, and hail are common, and as people move around, moisture and water are tracked across floors. A solution that requires a perfectly dry environment will struggle in these situations, making it unreliable when needed most. Therefore, any solution you consider must be durable and functional across various conditions, ensuring it works regardless of moisture or weather-related challenges.

Ease of deployment is crucial when selecting a security solution because emergencies are unpredictable, and the best-case scenario is not always the reality. It’s important to consider both the best and worst-case situations. For example, if a solution requires specific physical attributes like height, weight, or strength, or if it can only be deployed by certain individuals, it may render the solution ineffective when it’s needed most. What if the teacher, who’s trained to react, is unconscious or absent? Would the students know how to deploy the countermeasures?

Some solutions rely on mechanisms like loose brackets hidden in drawers, heavy bars that younger children cannot lift, or levers that require adults to press down, tasks that may be impossible for kids to manage, especially under stress. For a solution to be truly effective, it’s vital to consider whether even the youngest student could deploy it with little to no training in an emergency. Any solution that requires fine motor skills, physical strength, or the ability to understand complex steps like tying off a handle or locking it into place will likely fail in a high-stress situation, particularly if the teacher isn’t there to guide them. A successful solution should be simple enough for anyone to use in an emergency, ensuring the highest chance of success when every second counts.

At the time when I was initially asked this question, I didn’t have an answer, but I do now. The reason I can confidently recommend a solution is because I designed, engineered, tested it, and have seen it perform in action. The Holdoor Door Blocker (Patent Pending) is a simple yet highly effective solution. It was specifically tested to ensure that even a kindergarten child can deploy it with minimal effort. Holdoor can be deployed at any time and regardless of the door's position—whether it’s fully closed, partially open, or completely open.

The mechanism works by deploying a blade that digs into the ground, making it more secure the harder someone attempts to force the door open. This added resistance prevents unauthorized access and keeps those inside safe. Importantly, Holdoor has been designed to perform in any environment, from natural elements like rain, sleet, snow, and hail, to accidental spills and bodily fluids. It’s a reliable, simple solution that meets the needs of any classroom, ensuring safety under any condition.

While every solution has its limitations or flaws, the Holdoor Door Blocker (Patent Pending) was designed to minimize them, especially for school environments. It was specifically engineered for flooring types commonly found in schools, such as glued carpet tiles, glued vinyl tiles, and rubber mats. However, many schools also deploy tile flooring or concrete in select areas, which does present a challenge. To ensure Holdoor's effectiveness on these harder surfaces, a shallow hole needs to be drilled into the door threshold. This allows the blade to grab and dig into the surface without slippage, similar to the mechanism used for double crash bar doors with vertical rods.

While this solution eliminates the concern of slippage on these harder surfaces, it does come with a trade-off: you lose the ability to deploy the system at any door position. On tile or concrete floors, the door must be fully closed for the blade to sink into the hole and secure the door. This limitation is primarily relevant for areas like bathrooms and locker rooms, where these types of flooring are common. If you’re looking to secure these spaces, it’s an important consideration.

However, despite this limitation, the Holdoor remains a better option compared to solutions that rely on rubber bases, particularly when considering the impact of wet floors. While it may require some modification for certain floor types, it offers a far more reliable, durable solution overall.