Every facilities director has inherited “the closet.”
It’s usually tucked away behind a mechanical room or tucked into the back of a maintenance office. And it’s filled with a chaotic mix of door hardware, locksets, and leftover parts—all mismatched, unlabeled, and mostly unusable.
One project used one brand. Another used something else. A vendor swapped out a panic bar three years ago with no documentation. Now when something breaks, there's no easy fix—just more hours lost figuring out what fits and what doesn't.
This is what happens when hardware isn’t communized.
Communizing hardware means standardizing the products, finishes, and specifications used across your buildings—or even your entire campus or district.
That doesn’t mean sacrificing performance. Rather, it means making strategic choices one time, documenting them clearly, and sticking with them long enough to gain the benefits of consistency.
We’ve seen facilities reduce replacement inventory by over 50 percent simply by choosing a single hardware line for all interior doors.
This is not just about convenience. It’s about cost, efficiency, and long-term control.
When every door in a building uses different hardware, small costs start to add up to expensive ones.
Over time, inconsistency multiplies. And those costs show up every year—not just during the initial install.
One of the most common issues we see is over-specification.
Not every door needs extra heavy-duty hardware. But in many specs, that’s exactly what gets written—often because it’s copied from another project or chosen without understanding how the opening will actually be used.
We help facilities teams right-size their specifications. A low-traffic interior office doesn’t need the same build-out as a high-abuse exterior door. By tailoring specs to function, we reduce hardware cost without sacrificing performance or code compliance.
We work with facilities teams early in the planning process to define a standardized hardware package—one that balances durability, cost, and long-term serviceability.
And most importantly, we document everything. So when a repair is needed three years from now, no one is left guessing.
Standardizing your hardware reduces operational noise. It creates clarity, lowers inventory costs, and speeds up repairs.
Your maintenance team knows what to expect. Your vendors know what to quote. Your contractors spend less time digging through mismatched specs. And your budget stays more predictable, year over year.
This is not just about streamlining a project. It’s about building a system that supports your facilities—not one that works against them.
You don’t need a closet full of forgotten parts. You need a plan.
S.A. Morman & Co. has been helping clients across education, healthcare, and commercial spaces create standardized, strategic hardware packages that stand the test of time. We don’t just supply products. We help you build infrastructure that’s maintainable, adaptable, and cost-effective—now and for decades to come.
Let’s talk about how to simplify your hardware strategy and cut your long-term costs in the process.