When severe weather such as a hurricane or another major event is headed your way, a few minutes of preparation can keep your keys secure, your property operational, and your equipment protected. Follow the steps below as part of your emergency procedures to ensure you can still access your important unit keys inside your HandyTrac System.
Make sure you can reach your backup cabinet keys
During normal operation, your HandyTrac cabinet stays locked and is controlled electronically. If you lose power during an emergency, you may need to open the cabinet manually rather than through the system. This kind of emergency situation is why HandyTrac ships backup keys for each system cabinet. Keeping these keys somewhere you can quickly access means you're never locked out of your unit keys when you may need them most.
Cabinet keys are typically stored in a safe or kept personally by a property manager. It is best to move these keys to a more accessible location and advise senior site staff where they are located.
Keep a current copy of your keymap
Your keymap is the record of which key lives on which hook in the cabinet. The system keeps track of each key as you request and return them, but if the system has no power, you'll need a copy you can read on paper or on a mobile device. A printed or exported copy lets you identify keys manually, even with everything else down.
To view, print, or download your keymap, sign in to your HandyTrac online account. Select Auditing from the menu, then select your Keymap. Alternatively, you can sign in to the HandyTrac App with your email and password to access your keymap. You must have permissions to view the keymap on your account.
Power down and unplug the system
Once your keys and keymap are secured, the safest option for the hardware itself is to unplug it. A sudden spike in electrical voltage, often triggered by lightning or by the grid coming back online after an outage, can easily damage electronics that are plugged in.
While the HandyTrac warranty requires a UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply) battery backup connection, no amount of circuit protection can stop a direct lightning strike. For this reason, it is best to unplug the battery backup completely from the wall.
Use the red power switch at the bottom right of the system to power off the HandyTrac and save UPS battery life.
A 600 VA rated UPS battery backup can power a HandyTrac system for up to 2.5 hours, so use it sparingly and only as needed.
Using the keymap during an emergency
Manually unlock the cabinet.
Consult the keymap to locate the hook your unit key is on.
Remove the key and relock the cabinet.
To return the key, unlock the cabinet, then place the key back on the same hook it was removed from.
Moving back to standard operations
Once it is safe and power is stable again, you can plug the system back in and bring it online.
Shred the physical keymap copy. Once the system is back to normal usage, a printed keymap is not only inaccurate, it is a security risk.
We recommend performing a key audit to make sure that all keys are accounted for and in their correct location.
Call 1-800-665-9994, option 3 with any questions or concerns