Getting Started with GSA Work

Locksmith Talk with ALOA

Title

“Getting Started with GSA Work”

Episode Description

Joe Cortie, CPS, CML talks about how locksmiths can get started with GSA work.

Guest

Joe Cortie, CPS, CML

Guest Bio

Joe Cortie, CPS, CML is well known for his expertise and knowledge of GSA approved security containers and vault doors as well as the locks used on them. Mr. Cortie owned and operated a locksmith shop for 17 years and began working for Mas-Hamilton Group in Lexington, Kentucky as an instructor in 1992. In 1996 he went full time at Mas-Hamilton in the areas of product development, testing, and technical assistance as well as conducting training courses. He has been teaching a variety of courses for MBA USA since 2001.

Talking Points

1. Let’s start by going over what GSA actually is. What does GSA stand for and how does it relate to locksmiths?

2. Does a locksmith have to be certified to service GSA equipment? If so, what are those certifications?

3. How would a locksmith achieve these certifications? Where could they go, what would it typically cost, and how long would it take?

4. Do any of these certifications require re-certification or CEU’s?

5. Would a locksmith be required to carry any sort of additional insurance when working on GSA containers?

6. Many areas of this trade require special and dedicated tools. Key and fob programmers, for example, are unique to locksmiths that service cars. Are there any specialized or dedicated tools that a locksmith new to GSA work would need out of the gate?

7. I imagine that like everything else in this trade, new products and tools are constantly being developed for GSA containers. How would someone that makes the leap into GSA work stay current with these developments? Classes? Forums? SAVTA?

8. Once a locksmith has decided to add GSA work to their services, how should they start capturing that line of work? I imagine it’s not as simple as updating a business card or website and waiting for the calls to come in, right?

9. Locksmiths that work in sensitive areas, especially bank vaults and government facilities, have learned that there is a certain “decorum” that is expected. For example, in safe work it’s often said that once you open a safe you let the customer “swing the door”. The overlying goals in these sorts of unwritten rules is that you don’t want to overstep your professional boundaries. Are there similar rules unique to GSA work?