Project: Access control modernised at a care home in Weert

The background

A care home in Weert came to us after an unpleasant incident. A former employee had not handed in his key after leaving and had been inside the building one evening. No damage was done, but it was a wake-up call. With more than 80 staff, plus external suppliers, volunteers and residents' families who all needed access at different times, the old key system was no longer workable.

Replacing a lock cylinder every time an employee left cost hundreds of euros and a great deal of hassle. And experience showed that keys were regularly lost or copied without anyone reporting it.

The survey

Together with the facilities manager, we walked through the entire complex. Ten doors turned out to be critical: the main entrance, the staff side entrance, the medicine cabinet, the archive room, the plant room, the management office, two doors to care units and two storerooms.

There was also a need for time schedules. The kitchen staff had to be able to get in early in the morning, but not, for example, in the middle of the night. Management wanted 24/7 access. External cleaners only on specific days and at specific times. All things that are difficult, if not impossible, to arrange with keys.

The solution

We proposed an access control system based on access cards with a PIN code as backup. Ten readers, one central controller and a link to their existing HR records, so that a card is automatically activated or blocked when someone joins or leaves the organisation.

Each employee's permissions are set at job-group level: care staff, kitchen staff, maintenance, management and cleaning. Each group has its own time schedule and its own doors. If someone changes role, their permissions profile is updated and they immediately have the right access. No new card, no hassle.

For emergencies there are overrides: when the fire alarm goes off, all doors are released, and management has a master card for exceptions.

The installation

The tricky thing about a project like this is that care has to carry on as normal. Looking after residents, medication rounds, mealtimes: none of that stops for an installation. So we worked in four evening sessions, fitting two or three doors each evening.

We were able to run part of the cabling through the ceiling voids, which meant very little breaking out or chasing of walls. Each door takes about two hours: mounting the reader, fitting the door magnet, cabling, connecting it to the controller and testing. The controller is located in the plant room, together with the backup power supply.

We issued the cards in a single afternoon. Staff came in small groups, had their photo linked to their card, set their PIN, and that was it.

How it is going now

A few months on, we can see that the system does exactly what it should. When an employee recently left, HR had blocked his card within five minutes. No key to lose, no cylinder to replace.

In the access log, the facilities manager can see who was in the building and when. Not to keep tabs on people, but so that, in the event of an incident, you know straight away who was present that evening. When medication once went missing, this helped to establish the facts quickly.

"The system is so logical that even our older colleagues can get to grips with it after a single explanation. And I never have to make a phone call about a forgotten key again."

Facilities manager, care home (translated from Dutch)

Access control for your organisation?

Access control is no longer a luxury, even for medium-sized organisations. Costs have fallen considerably in recent years, and ease of use has improved enormously. Would you like to know what suits your situation? We would be glad to visit, with no obligation.

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