How should a doorway of a manned facility with automatic locks be configured?

The correct answer is B. It should be configured to be fail-safe. In physical security, 'fail-safe' means that upon a failure (such as a power outage), the door defaults to an unlocked/open state, prioritizing the safe evacuation of people. 'Fail-secure' means the door defaults to a locked state upon failure, prioritizing security over…

Submitted by anjalisingh· Apr 18, 2026Access Controls

Question

Options

AIt should be configured to be fail-secure.
BIt should be configured to be fail-safe.
CIt should have a door delay cipher lock.
DIt should not allow piggybacking.

How the community answered

(48 responses)

A
4% (2)
B
85% (41)
C
2% (1)
D
8% (4)

Explanation

In physical security, 'fail-safe' means that upon a failure (such as a power outage), the door defaults to an unlocked/open state, prioritizing the safe evacuation of people. 'Fail-secure' means the door defaults to a locked state upon failure, prioritizing security over egress. For a manned facility, life safety codes (such as fire codes) require that occupants can exit freely during emergencies, so fail-safe is the appropriate configuration. Fail-secure is appropriate for unmanned or high-security areas where no personnel are inside. A door delay cipher lock and anti-piggybacking are valid security measures but do not answer the specific fail-state configuration question.

Topics

#Physical Security#Access Control#Fail-safe#Emergency Egress

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