Throwing away the keys

For the last few years, Columbus, Ohio, has been retrofitting its buildings for keyless, microprocessor-based electronic access control. The security upgrades began in 2005 after an assessment revealed that several areas of the city’s security systems could be more efficient. To manage the city’s strategy and implementation, Columbus appointed retired police officer Mike Plumb as security manager in October 2007. The drive to improve facility security will shift into high gear next year with the completion of a $465,000 security command center in city hall that will monitor and control access to all city buildings continuously.

Columbus began the facility security overhaul by replacing keyed entries with proximity card readers and issuing access cards to employees. “With keys, you lose control because nobody knows who has keys, and they’re easily duplicated,” Plumb says. “With electronic access control, the central command operator has a record of what employees entered the building, what time they entered, and when they left. Security can also restrict unauthorized employees from sensitive areas.”

This year, the city’s fleet maintenance building and recreation and parks warehouse received proximity card readers and closed circuit television surveillance cameras. Controllers in each facility relay information from the card readers to a data server in a small, centrally located command center in the technology department. Software on the server determines whether to grant access, and then unlocks the door if the user is authorized.

Currently, 10 of the city’s buildings are connected to the electronic access control system, and a larger command center is under construction that will feature upgraded equipment, such as a wall of closed circuit television screens for monitoring multiple locations simultaneously. When the center is finished, one to three security officers, by centrally monitoring and securing or unlocking doors in remote buildings, will do the work currently performed by dozens of security personnel and third-party security vendors. “The automation of the new command center will not only provide better security, it will save the city up to $200,000 annually on labor and third-party contracts,” Plumb says.

Project:
Keyless, electronic access control

Jurisdiction:
Columbus, Ohio

Vendor:
Dayton, Ohio-based Matrix Systems

Date completed:
Ongoing

Cost:
Most recently completed buildings: Recreation & Parks Warehouse $30,000; Fleet maintenance $100,000