The Gripper® Doorstop from Expanded Technologies is an easy way to keep doors open while rooms are cleaned as well as for deliveries and construction projects. However, it has recently emerged as a critical tool to prevent intruders from entering rooms during a school lockdown.
Made of sturdy industrial vinyl, Gripper Doorstops hold doors in any position once placed under them and can accommodate almost any size and type of door. They also hook onto maintenance carts to travel easily between jobs.
“A lot of classrooms have a solid core oak door or an industrial metal door, and they have a small window that’s approximately 6″ wide by 2′ high that is usually really close to the handle and the lock set, which makes the lock vulnerable. With the Expanded Technologies device, you wedge it down low. If it’s wedged in securely, it’s going to be hard to move it. Statistically speaking, an active shooter just moves onto the next classroom if they’re not able to defeat the door,” says Michael Romano, a Hadley, Mass. policeman and school resource officer.
The Gripper Doorstop is bright yellow with a hook for easy storage, covered on the bottom with a non-slip material that grips any surface while protecting the floor from scratches. It measures 6″ L x 1.5″ W and is 1.75″ high to the top of the slide plate and 3.75″ high to the top of the hook. The patented design ensures that even with heavy use, its performance will not slip.
The Gripper Doorstop has been tested successfully on multiple types of flooring and is recommended for hardwood floors, carpet, VCT, vinyl, linoleum, finished concrete, and ceramic tile floors. When the doorstop is wedged under the door from the inside of a room, the material on its underside ensures that the door cannot be forced open from the outside. More and more schools are incorporating the Gripper Doorstop into their lockdown procedures to help keep students and employees safe by preventing access to classrooms by intruders.
The Gripper Doorstop can be used to enhance safety during lockdowns in almost any facility, including hospitals, office buildings, and hotels.
