An access control system that just works

Nobody notices a good access control system. That is its job. People going into classrooms in the morning are thinking about the next lesson and not about badges, profiles or door handles. To ensure that this remains the case, technology is needed behind the scenes that understands and adapts to the way the school operates and how its courses are organised.

A significant increase in course activities at SIC Ticino also resulted in an increase the number of people coming into and leaving the premises. The previous system was no longer adequate to cope with this. In addition, various facilities have to be open and closed at different times of the day, something that the site management team was finding increasingly challenging.

Access that adapts to operations

At the Competence Centre for Technical Education and Vocational Training in Bellinzona, Securiton replaced the previous access control system with a badge-based solution. At its heart is the SecuriGate Expert software. Badge readers on the doors of the training rooms, in the management and administration offices and at the entrance do what the previous solution was no longer able to. Today, a single badge is all that is needed. The server remains in Switzerland and has been seamlessly integrated.

However, the real benefit for SIC Ticino is not in the badge itself, but in the way it is managed. For the first time, SIC Ticino has a training room management system. Access rights can be assigned per person and per room, which means that lecturers and staff who are on site every day can get exactly where they need to go. The toggle mode also relieves the staff of the recurring worry of wondering after work whether they have actually locked the right door. If an individual unlocks a room in the morning, it remains accessible during the day so that course participants can freely enter. If you forget to lock the door in the evening, the system takes over and locks the door itself.

A project that continues after the handover

Installation and commissioning went smoothly and the deadlines and budget were met. However, the value of such a solution is less evident on the day of the handover than in the following months.

Almost a year after commissioning, Securiton inspected the system as part of an internal audit. The responsible specialist department selects installations for its audits every year and checks with the customer whether everything is working as desired. The customer did not have to initiate this audit; it is part of Securiton’s normal procedures. Here, too, the result was very pleasing. Shortly afterwards, a new person took over the management of the system internally. Securiton trained this new person on using the system as this is all part of the service when there is a change of personnel. So the knowledge remained in-house, even when the responsibilities changed. The feedback from the customer was positive, both on the system and on the support.

The end result is not a spectacular project, but a calm one. SIC Ticino keeps the rooms under control and has a system that thinks for itself even when it is overlooked in the course of everyday life.