If you are in security, engineering, or maintenance, chances are you carry around a lot of keys every day. The same is true if you’re a corrections officer or in law enforcement. And if you manage a shopping center, a museum, a hotel or any kind of a facility – well, you get the picture. A lot of individuals carry a lot of keys, a lot of the time.

Even if you’re not carrying large sets of keys, you may be tasked with managing them – for example, if you manage hospitality for a hotel or cruise ship.

If you do have the responsibility for carrying, managing or tracking groups of keys, you need to consider the key rings that are used to hold them. Here are three reasons to be sure you choose the best key rings to hold your sets of keys.

1. You’ll save money

Every time you have to cut through a steel key ring to add or remove a key, you bear the cost of replacing that ring. Over time, considering the number of key rings your organization may have in circulation, this cost can become significant. The best key rings have a replaceable hub that you can cut when you want to add or remove a key, so the more costly steel ring can be used over and over again. Additionally, the best key rings have a strong, sturdy construction of solid stainless steel. These will last longer and hold up better than a lesser-quality product.

2. It’s more convenient

Beyond saving money, the replaceable hub mentioned above also makes it much more convenient to use the key ring. Any time you need to add or remove keys, it’s much faster and easier to clip through the hub than to cut through a steel ring. Once the hub is off, you can make your changes, attach a new hub and simply click it into place. The key rings you choose should require no special crimping tools.

3. You’ll reduce risk

Using professionally-manufactured secure key rings will help you keep your valuable keys from being stolen or copied for use by by unauthorized individuals. The best keyrings have replaceable, serialized hubs (often in a number of colors) that can help identify if keys may have been removed. Further, if the key rings work together with an electronic key control system, you have the ability to secure, track and manage the use of these and all of your keys, while also keeping them out of the hands of unauthorized users.

If you carry keys – or manage personnel who carry keys – as part of your job, it’s important to remember that all key rings are not the same. By choosing the best key rings, you can save time and money, while ensuring that you’re maintaining key security to help reduce risk across your entire organization.