Fail safe and fail secure are specific regulated terms within the industry.
Fail safe door hardware.
Here is a great video about the door hardware fail secure vs fail safe.
A fire door is required to be latched during a fire alarm and that is ensured on openings with electrified hardware by using a fail safe or fail secure lock fail safe or fail secure panic hardware trim electric latch retraction fire exit hardware or a fail secure electric strike connected to the fire alarm system.
They refer to how hardware on the outside or keyed side of the door operates and controls entry in the case of an emergency or power outage.
Fail safe fail secure refers to the status of the secure side key side outside of the door.
Should the power be interrupted or fail the door automatically unlocks or releases to let people.
Fail safe and fail secure commerical locks.
To keep it locked during normal business operations power is applied.
Hardware that automatically unlocks when the power goes out.
Electric strikes are used in electromagnetic locking systems to control the locking mechanism on doors in secure areas.
When looking at fail safe locks this means that it s default state is actually unlocked.
Most products provide free egress whether they are fail safe or fail secure.
The outside or key side.
Most electronic door locks whether fail safe or fail secure still allow you to exit the building in the event of a power.
Fail secure or fail locked electric door strikes can be opened when electric current is applied and remain locked during power failures.
Fail secure locks are locked when the power goes out i e they require power to unlock the door.