Case Study Detail
The Buckingham Centre
9-July-2007
New access control system for brand new Buckingham Centre to be integrated with county council's existing ICT infrastructure.
Scope of Works
- Access Control
- Upgrade CCTV system
- Intruder Alarm - maintenance contract
- Fire Alarm - maintenance contract
Project Background
Buckinghamshire County Council required an access control system to secure and monitor movement throughout the Buckingham Centre. Having been made aware of the benefits of the AEOS Access Control system from Nedap, the Council asked Nedap to select an installation specialist to install an AEOS system in the expanded building.
Daryn Flynn, Sales Manager, Nedap comments, "Buckinghamshire County Council expressed a strong interest in the AEOS Access Control System. Chris Lewis Security had recently become a Nedap AEOS Business Partner and had demonstrated their skills and understanding of both the IT networks and security that were required to install the AEOS system at the Knowledge Centre. Project management and customer service were going to be equally important and these are strengths of the Chris Lewis organisation."
The new AEOS system was to be made compatible with the council's existing access control system at their central offices in County Hall, Aylesbury. This would ensure that members of staff with authorisation to enter both properties only need one access card.
To provide greater control over their security systems, the council also required the new access control system to be integrated with their information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure so that it could be managed centrally from County Hall. At the same time, they asked Chris Lewis Security to upgrade the existing CCTV system in the Buckingham Centre and connect it to their network so that the images could be remotely monitored from their control room in County Hall.
Client Background
Buckinghamshire County Council's new Buckingham Centre opened in February 2007. The new two-storey centre was built on the site of the old Magistrates Court and also incorporates the existing Buckingham library building.
The ground floor of the new building includes a reception area for the entire Buckingham Centre and provides access to the library. It also includes an adult learning centre office, two teaching spaces, a meeting room and toilets. The mezzanine floor and first floor hosts the telecentre, meeting room for community use and ancillary facilities.
The Solution
AEOS is a powerful, user-friendly access control and security management system based on open systems technology. Because the system is web based, Buckinghamshire County Council did not have to install any client software packages.
The management software for the system can be accessed by authorised users from any networked PC via a standard Internet browser.
Chris Lewis Security installed readers on seven doors in the Buckingham Centre. However, the system is capable of supporting hundreds of doors and thousands of users across multiple sites, so should the council require it, the system can be expanded considerably at a later date.
Authorised users have been provided with dual technology access cards, which include proximity readers as well as a magnetic stripe. In the Buckingham Centre proximity cares are used, but for those members of staff that have authorised access for the County Hall in Aylesbury, the magnetic stripe on the card is encoded so that the card can be used in County Hall's existing swipe card system.
With their experience of access control systems, combined with their innovative approach to IT solutions, Chris Lewis Fire & Security was able to integrate the Buckingham Centre's new access control system and upgraded CCTV system with the council's ICT infrastructure. This enables the council to monitor and control both security systems centrally.
The user interface for the AEOS access control system can easily be adapted. The database of users can be partitioned according to the type of user, so that access is restricted at field level. This means the council can determine exactly what data can be entered, edited and viewed and by whom.
Built on open systems architecture, AEOS offers many advanced features and business benefits combined with an unrivalled degree of future-proofing. It also gives the council far greater ability to monitor and control movement across its buildings. Selected personnel can access the web based system to amend access rights, run numerous reports on users, track the use of lost or stolen cards, control times when doors are locked, as well as issue new or temporary cards.
Client Comment
Joe Nethercoat of Buckinghamshire County Council Property Services comments, "The knowledge and capabilities of Chris Lewis Fire & Security' IT, Contracts Management and engineering teams more than met my expectations. They demonstrated excellent product knowledge, were flexible, were understanding of our evolving needs and supplied a reliable service of very high quality. It was a pleasure to work with such a professional, responsive organisation and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them."
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