Capital Fire and Security have completed installation of an access control system at a site in Lincoln’s Inn Fields in central London. The Grade-II listed building, in the city’s largest public square, has hardware from Access Control Technology (ACT).
4 New Square, a set of chambers for barristers, is next to the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly called the Old Bailey. Using ACT’s proximity readers and door controllers, 4 New Square has added access control to more than 100 doors.
The building hosts meetings between clients, solicitors and barristers for legal cases, many of the barristers being Queen’s Counsel. After a demonstration, the client agreed to a centrally controlled card-based access control as opposed to traditional key-based systems. Flexible security is paramount, where lawyers working in the same building frequently appear on opposing sides of the same case.
Capital Fire and Security chose an ACT proximity reader with the ability to read smart-cards, the ACTpro DESFire EV1 1040. This choice of reader allows the client to use the same cards with time and attendance and PC logical access systems. With architectural integrity to consider, the ability to install the readers as flush or surface-mounted meant the installation had minimal architectural impact.
ACTpro 4000 door controllers have been fitted in the operational and administrative areas of 4 New Square. Used with ACTpro door stations, these controllers can support 60,000 users and 1,024 user groups. The ACT hardware uses low bandwidth and auto-discovery for installation and maintenance, alongside features such as timed anti-passback and counting areas.
ACT’s latest software platform, ACTpro Enterprise, is being usede. The design principle behind ACTpro Enterprise segregates different functionality by the user’s role – such as the installer, the security guard and the system administrator – to avoid accidental system changes. The modules within the application are called ‘ACTinstall’, ‘ACTmonitor’ and ‘ACTmanage’. The flexibility of ACTpro Enterprise is demonstrated with the integration of third-party products on this site such as the intruder alarm system.
ACTpro Enterprise has been designed to give users a familiar web-browser experience using hyperlinks, ‘backwards’ and ‘forwards’ buttons and powerful search functionality.
Ian Wheeler, IT Manager at 4 New Square, said: “ACTpro Enterprise allows us to assign rights based on roles, zones and time of the day. With ACT’s access control system, a lost card is easily removed and a replacement issued straight away. Flexibility, paired with ACTpro Enterprise’s powerful reporting ability, means ACT access control really is an all-in-one solution for us.”
About Capital Fire and Security
The company designs, supplies and maintains access control, CCTV, and fire systems throughout London, working for clients in sectors including retail, banking, education, theatre and office management. The company is accredited by the National Security Inspectorate (NSI), the UK Accreditation Services and the Safe Contractor scheme.
Visit: www.accesscontrol.ie
