Units have been fitted to exit doors at Samuel Cody School, to upgrade the school’s security from mechanical locks to access control.
The Farnborough based college, which provides for secondary age pupils with learning difficulties, needed to upgrade all exit door hardware and fire exit doors in line with latest fire regulations.
The school consulted with a local Mul-T-Lock installer, CSS Locksmiths who recommended an upgrade from mechanical locks to an access control system. CSS Locksmiths cited Mul-T-Lock’s Smartair Offline product as a way to bolt on access control suitable for exit doors. To date, nine electromechanical door handles have been fitted and a further three wall readers are due to be installed for double exit doors, with all teachers supplied with convenient fob access.
Anna Dawson, Head Teacher of Samuel Cody Specialist Sports College, says: “The latest regulations require that doors on escape routes are readily available for exit at all times the building is occupied. It also states if access control equipment is fitted to a fire escape door that includes an overriding mechanical release, there are no extra considerations or cost implications for the school. CSS recommended Smartair as one solution to achieve all these requirements, and also bring staff all the added benefits of access control, which have been very well received.”
Smartair Offline has been designed the makers say as a bolt on solution for a number of doors in one location, with the system managed from a PC. Smartair electronic handles are updated on the door using a portable programmer that takes its information from the easy to use PC program. Ian Nunn of CSS Locksmith Southampton added: “Mul-T-Lock’s Smartair system is one of the few available on the market to offer an all in one access control solution, with a mechanical override installed. This makes it ideal for exit doors and alongside the product features, it is easy to retrofit to the existing doors; which in the case of Samuel Cody School reduced labour costs and ensured minimal disruption to the learning environment.”
A card encoder allows Smartair operators to manage the coding of the access cards on a central system via the PC program. This means fobs and access control cards can be easily added or cancelled and at the same time, if required, access can be limited to certain doors at certain times.
Steve Ross, Managing Director of Mul-T-Lock added: “The features of Smartair make it a simple and intelligent way for locksmiths to upgrade the security level of any premises. Its smart RFID door access control system is ideal for schools like Samuel Cody School where a degree of people management is required to keep them secure and at the same time maintain an ability to exit a building quickly in the event of an emergency.”
Smartair is supplied ready to fit in one pack, with handles and batteries. The package also comes with an onsite construction card for use by installers during installation.
