Methods for authenticating the identity of individuals responsible for maintaining electrically operated folding partitions

A method for maintaining a folding operable wall comprising:

• a) providing an electrically operated folding operable wall controlled by an electrical operation circuit of the type having at least one control station, an extend control switch, a stack control switch, control relays and a motor;
• b) recording a template of at least one designated biological trait of an individual trained and authorized to maintain the folding operable wall into a biometric verification system coupled to the at least one control station;
• c) saving the template of the at least one designated biological trait of an individual trained and authorized to maintain the folding operable wall in a database within the biometric verification system;
• d) capturing from an individual desiring to maintain the folding operable wall a new record of the designated biological trait;
• e) comparing the new record against the saved template using an algorithm;
• f) authenticating the identity of the individual desiring to maintain the folding operable wall if the new record is substantially similar to the saved template;
• g) preventing the electrical operation circuit of the folding operable wall from functioning if the biometric verification system fails to authenticate the identity of the individual desiring to maintain the folding operable wall, wherein the electrical operation circuit includes a preventing means having at least one control unit electrically connected between each control station of the electrical operation circuit and each biometric verification system, which will prevent the control unit from functioning if the identity of the individual desiring to maintain the folding operable wall is not authenticated;
• and
• h) restarting the electrical operation circuit of the folding operable wall after the identity of the individual desiring to maintain the folding operable wall is authenticated.