How Electromechanical Locks Can Increase Campus Security
Learn how electromechanical key systems are keeping campuses safe, making students’ and facilities’ building access on campus easier.
One of the key ways to keep colleges safe and students happy is found in, well, keys.
Colleges are now installing electromechanical key systems throughout their campuses on dorm rooms, administrative buildings, and beyond.
The companies that provide these systems to campuses often work in pairs, such as CBORD, which provides the software for online access control of the system, and Allegion, which provides hardware (like reader modules) for these systems.
Students, administrators and staff can lock and unlock doors through whichever service is installed on campus, which includes swiping their identification card at a reader module to get into the dorms, fingerprint readers, mobile apps or text messages commanding a door to unlock.
With these services combined, colleges are able to control and access the locks online and in real time from a remote location.
“Our goal is to be able to allow the mechanical key override to be present, but minimize the distribution of mechanical keys,” says Brad Aikin, Product Leader for Electronic Commercial Locks at Allegion. “[That way, we’re] improving the integrity and security of the key system. Limiting the distribution of the keys to a smaller population thereby reduces the likelihood of the key being lost or misplaced in the wrong hands.”
The remote, online access of this lock system enables facilities, campus security or another designated user to manage locks anywhere at any time without having to physically be at the door.
Aikin says this feature is helpful during emergency situations, including inclement weather or emergency lock downs.
All the designated user has to do is pick which doors they’d like locked, and punch in the command to lock them.
“Depending on the hardware platform, there are different latency time periods for a device to respond to those commands,” Aikin says. “With [certain series], we provide the value of having that lock respond in under ten seconds.”
A look at how Villanova Univeristy uses CBORD’s electromechanical key system.
If you appreciated this article and want to receive more valuable industry content like this, click here to sign up for our FREE digital newsletters!
Related Content
Leading in Turbulent Times: Effective Campus Public Safety Leadership for the 21st Century
This new webcast will discuss how campus public safety leaders can effectively incorporate Clery Act, Title IX, customer service, “helicopter” parents, emergency notification, town-gown relationships, brand management, Greek Life, student recruitment, faculty, and more into their roles and develop the necessary skills to successfully lead their departments. Register today to attend this free webcast!
