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Card Access Know-How

  • 06/01/00

1. Metal keys are like a virus: Every time you give one out, there is the possibility it will be duplicated. Here is a test: Take a single room in your facility, and list everyone who has had access to a key for that door in the last six months. If you can’t, you have a management problem. Electronic locks improve the overall management and knowledge of the managers who are responsible for the health and safety of students and administrators behind their doors.
-Fred Alger, Director of Operations,Tesa Entry Systems, Norcross, Ga.

2. The needs of a card access system at a large university are different from those at a small university or business. At a university, the people in the database change every semester. The ability to add and remove large numbers of cardholders in a short time is essential, especially at the start of the new school year in the fall.
-Terry McBride, System Administrator, Campus Central Security and Alarm System - CCSS, The Ohio State University, Columbus

3. When starting a new card reader system, use the most efficient, state-of-the-art communications between points. Using an existing, older form of communication saves some money in the beginning. However, when the communication form needs to be replaced because of its slow speed, lack of capacity or manufacturer discontinued parts, the cost for switching to something else will be staggering and disruptive.
-Terry McBride, System Administrator, Campus Central Security and Alarm System - CCSS, The Ohio State University, Columbus

4. Select a company that manufactures, installs and supports a single card, single vendor, single database system. This eliminates the finger pointing that’s common when multiple vendors or system integrators partner to provide a card access solution.
-Jeff Zander, Vice President, General Meters, Colorado Springs, Colo.

5. Beware of gaining a false sense of security from using card access only on perimeter doors as they are easily defeated in the open culture of colleges and universities.
- Fred Alger, Director of Operations, Tesa Entry Systems, Norcross, Ga.

6. Multiple groupings of card readers are needed when a large number of cards need to be given to a large number of persons with no solid boundaries between the groups of access. It has been found that many staff or students with access in one area of the campus are staff or students in other areas of the campus. Without multiple groups, all card readers must be assigned individually.
-Terry McBride, System Administrator, Campus Central Security and Alarm System - CCSS, The Ohio State University, Columbus

7. Ask card vendors for a “preliminary cost proposal” that outlines all card reader options/capabilities and includes pricing for software modules based on total number of card holders.
-Jeff Zander, Vice President, General Meters, Colorado Springs, Colo.

8. Having scheduled activation/expiration dates on card access is necessary during semester breaks when a large number of students may need to be removed from access and re-added again a week later. This will save a lot of programming time for the system administrators.
-Terry McBride, System Administrator, Campus Central Security and Alarm System - CCSS, The Ohio State University, Columbus

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