Design and commission controlled egress locking on a Group I-1/I-2 behavioral health, dementia care, or similar clinical unit.

Steps

1. Confirm the door serves a space where documented clinical needs (e.g., dementia care, behavioral health, infant/pediatric containment) justify locking in the direction of egress under the adopted building code.
2. Verify the building is fully sprinklered or has an approved automatic smoke/heat detection system, since that is a prerequisite for using controlled egress locking.
3. Specify listed access-control hardware and wire the release to occur automatically on sprinkler/detection activation and on loss of power to the lock.
4. Provide a staff-operated key or code release at the door and confirm the number of controlled-egress doors in any single egress path doesn't exceed the code's limit.
5. Coordinate acceptance testing and documented approval with the AHJ, since healthcare controlled-egress locking often requires review beyond a standard permit.