London, February 2020 – Around 7,000 people pass through the Luminy faculty’s suburban campus every day. As part of a major project to modernize two buildings, university managers sought a retrofit-ready access control solution to upgrade security.

University administrators selected Aperio® locks to secure doors in the new buildings. With Aperio, facilities staff deal with lost keys more efficiently. The laborious process of changing locks and reissuing keys — part of the daily workload with mechanical locking — vanishes.

The Luminy campus is now equipped with 372 Aperio Electronic Cylinders & 42 Aperio Electronic Handles with built-in RFID readers. Locks are integrated seamlessly, wirelessly and online with Luminy’s ARD access control system. One key goal was to deter theft, which was becoming a problem in teaching areas — especially those with computers.

“Since we installed Aperio, we have not had a break-in,” says Cédric Lopez, Maintenance Manager at Luminy.

An easy extension for room management and scheduling
In addition to theft deterrence, Aperio met broad, stringent criteria for the security upgrade. Staff and students carry individual access smart-cards. Doors and credentials are easily programmed and reprogrammed to accommodate everyone’s changing access needs.

Luminy’s security team has complete control over access permissions and campus traffic — in real time. Because their new Aperio devices are integrated online, staff see a “live” overview of the campus and respond proactively to incidents. Aperio is trusted to protect the most sensitive areas of the campus. “We have critical premises, including for the storage of chemicals, some with radioactive properties,” adds Lopez.

Aperio locks are built on an open platform, so they are flexible enough to integrate with the university’s room scheduling system. “Teachers are able to reserve their rooms. Students no longer have to wait for the teacher’s arrival, because they have access to the right rooms in defined time slots,” says Cédric Lopez. The credential students already carry automatically opens classroom doors, if they have pre-authorised access rights. For the facilities team, the ARD interface displays scheduling for all relevant rooms in real time.

Luminy site managers have already scheduled further real-time access control upgrades built around award-winning Aperio wireless technology. As Luminy staff discovered, the benefits of Aperio extend beyond just enhanced campus safety and student security.

The Aperio for Universities Solution Guide explains how you can upgrade and streamline security at your campus. Download it free at https://campaigns.assaabloyopeningsolutions.eu/aperio-university

London, February 2020 — So often, our focus in security and access control zeroes in on the hardware. Its latest functionality or compatibility with emerging technologies grabs the headlines. Yet it is your access control software which knits a system together — and the signs are, this is finally getting the attention it deserves in security procurement.

“Today, access control software is more accessible to a wider variety of actors,” writes Bryan Montany, a research analyst at IHS Technology*, “providing end-users with broader and more comprehensive data relating to patterns in building occupancy.”

“Software has also supported integrations with other security systems, enabling security managers to respond in real time to emerging incidents and potential security breaches.”

In other words, you can escape the limiting functionality of outmoded access management with a new generation of software solutions. They can fix everyday access irritants. Below are just seven.

Freedom from the access management terminal
Multi-seat management should be a given. Your intuitive, customised dashboard could have a personalised login screen configuration for every administrator. Software should offer flexible management options, including secure system administration from anywhere and multi-timezone capability options.

An access management “terminal” should be tied to you — not the other way around.

Maximum flexibility, whatever your legacy system
Access control software puts in the hard yards when it bends your existing system or setup to new needs. It can integrate across several databases, making workflows easier and less error prone.

You may even wish to manage any existing mechanical locks from the same interface as your electronic or electromechanical locks. The right access control software handles that for you.

Tailored access for every site user and visitor
Streamlining access rights management for staff, contractors and visitors can boost business efficiency. Your access control software should filter access to specific locks according to the precise security needs of your site and users.

For any system, you should be able to create individual schedules for key-holders, doors or audit trails. In a few clicks you can require users to revalidate keys regularly, making it safer to issue a contractor with time-limited access.

Smarter, more effective building management
Smart buildings need intelligent software. Do you know who uses which doors at your site, and when? Are you are planning an office expansion and weighing up appropriate security for each type of room use?

A properly configured software control panel should accurately track user movement around your site. It feeds back the data you need to make better business decisions.

Saving security budgets with a Software as a Service (SaaS) option
Ideally, you want to spend your security budget on actually securing people and assets. Alas, in the real world, IT costs and contingency budgeting eat up much of it.

When you run access management software with a reliable SaaS provider, security infrastructure budgeting becomes more predictable. Your data enjoys complete redundancy and is therefore more secure. And your company’s software is always, automatically up to date — critical for cyber-security resilience.

Mobile solutions for the modern mobile workforce
Are your mobile workers and contractors returning to base — or the nearest credential updater — to redefine or revalidate their access rights? Access control software can (and should) be mobile. So, instead of updaters, workers update credentials on the go, wherever they are, via an app and its encrypted Bluetooth connection.

All your business process software in one place
Multiple systems create double or triple the work. Duplicating data entry increases the chance of errors. With access control powered by the CLIQ Web Manager, for example, you can integrate powerful access management features with your existing business process software. One hub for everything.

Thanks to the CLIQ Web Manager’s open architecture, you can build a single interface to control all your “live” workflows. You manage HR, support ticketing, financial reporting and more, alongside daily access control tasks like validating and revalidating credentials, cancelling lost keys and ordering automated audit trails for locks or users.

The CLIQ menu of flexible software options achieves all these — and more. To learn about CLIQ key-operated digital locking systems and software, and download a free solution guide, visit https://campaigns.assaabloyopeningsolutions.eu/cliq-webmanager

London, February 2020 – Student accommodation is a fast-growing sector. Student numbers across France have grown around 10 percent in a decade. Around $1 billion was invested in France’s purpose-built student accommodation just between 2016 and 2018*. Efficient solutions to help manage security for these student properties are always welcome.

For new premises in Rennes, France, specialist provider Easy Student sought reliable, key-free locking. They wanted their new residence to run efficiently — “like a hotel” — and without the unnecessary workload that comes with managing and keeping track of physical keys.

Following a positive experience with the same technology in Nantes, Easy Student chose SMARTair Update on Card wireless access control. Wireless Electronic Escutcheons with inbuilt RFID readers control access through 83 doors at Easy Student Rennes. SMARTair Wall Readers secure non-standard entrances.

SMARTair’s TS1000 software was one major reason for Easy Student’s choice. The intuitive interface and time-saving functionality make it easy for administrators to manage their access system. “SMARTair does not require any technical knowledge. I trained quickly and found the software very easy,” says Cyril Verger, Managing Director at Easy Student Rennes. “The solution corresponds perfectly to our needs… Installation was simple.”

If someone loses a credential, the TS1000 interface makes cancelling it fast and easy — a major change from the old days of physical keys, mechanical locks and key organization charts. “A lost key can still be used,” M. Verger adds. “A lost credential can be cancelled easily.”

Flexible, key-free door entry
SMARTair provides secure, flexible access control for every student, service provider and facilities manager who uses the residence. Around 100 access credentials are active at any one time. It gives Easy Student managers the ability to change a user’s access permissions anytime, without visiting the doors. If an incident occurs, they act quickly and decisively.
Security managers program every student credential to open multiple doors: the student’s own room, the main door and bike park around the clock; a common relaxation area and the laundry room between 6.30am and 11.30pm only. “Managing this way avoids comings and goings by people who don’t live here,” M. Verger says.

“Our students are very happy with the solution,” he adds. “They got used to it quickly, because this type of access control is found in lots of hotels and private homes.”

“I highly recommend installing SMARTair at other student residences.”
To learn more about the benefits of fitting SMARTair at your student accommodation, download a free solution guide at https://campaigns.assaabloyopeningsolutions.eu/student-accommodation