The City of Moonee Valley is a local government area located within the metropolitan area of Melbourne, Australia. It comprises the north-western suburbs between 3 and 13 kilometres from Melbourne city centre, and was formed in 1994 from the merger of the City of Essendon and part of the City of Keilor.
To manage their mixed array of buildings including the main depot, offices, administration areas, public toilets, community halls, shared use venues, leisure & recreation facilities etc, Moonee Valley City Council fitted a traditional mechanical keyed security system many years ago.
This was fine when first installed but over the years users had grown steadily and the system struggled to cope with demand. Key control had become a significant and costly problem, with lost keys and the replacement of locks becoming an unwanted financial burden, so the council realised they needed a more versatile and cost-effective way to regulate access and entry to and within their premises.
Facilities Manager Craig Perry says: "One of the main areas causing us particular concern was issues with the hiring out of public venues. To do this we issued keys to the hirer which were often not returned, necessitating unwanted re-keying costs, and it also meant that people had access to the venue from as soon as they received the key up until the time they returned it, enabling them to use the venue for longer than the permitted and paid for hire time."
"To put and end to this and several other security issues, we needed specialist advice on how we could achieve maximum security without compromising ease of use, or our building's structures and aesthetics."
The Council engaged JAB Solutions, one of their pre-qualified Schedule of Rates Contractors, to install the Salto System.
The solution
Following a detailed inspection of the various sites and a review of the type of access control equipment needed, the Salto system together with its Salto Virtual Network (SVN) technology was selected. This was the ideal solution as it would provide the council with almost everything they would get from a fully wired online system, but at the cost of a stand-alone system.
If security is breached due to the loss or theft of a key card, it can be instantly deleted from the Salto system without the need or cost of changing any locks |
Its battery powered escutcheons offered obvious advantages over their hard wired counterparts with speed of installation dramatically improved, greater product positioning, avoidance of damage to property, minimum disruption for the council and further advantages when extending, refurbishing or upgrading in the future.
It uses distributed intelligence in the locks and key cards to allow the council to manage their access-control requirements in a secure and comfortable way whilst simultaneously eliminating any potential problems with key control. It can programme key cards to allow access to specific buildings, rooms or areas within the council for selected periods only, with the doors auto locking at pre-specified times as required. And if security is breached due to the loss or theft of a key card, it can be instantly deleted from the system without the need or cost of changing any locks - saving the council time and money.
Results
Jason Knowles of installer JAB Solutions comments: "We have now replaced the mechanical keys with a modern fully integrated Salto access control solution which includes 10 online ‘Hotspot' wall reader points, which incorporates stand-alone electronic escutcheons giving a mix of online and offline doors that are controlled via Mifare RFID staff ID cards."
The mechanical keys have been replaced with a fully integrated Salto access control solution which includes 10 online ‘Hotspot' wall reader points |
"This has eliminated several problems for the council. They previously sent people to unlock and lock public toilets every day but now Salto automatically unlocks them in the morning and then locks them in the evening. Another problem was conflicts with different groups using one venue at different times during the week. They all had keys and could enter the building at any time, but now the Salto system has been installed the venue has a time and door based time zone that restricts entry and audit trail information can also be downloaded from the escutcheons to monitor who accessed the venue and when."
Scott Fraser, Salto Area Development Manager, Australia, says: "Local government sites such as Moonee Valley City Council can face a variety of threats including theft, vandalism and trespass. Therefore, safeguarding the well-being of staff is paramount."
"Access control systems can do this by controlling access to specific areas at specific times, regulating entry to and within premises and protecting assets as well as ensuring the physical safety of everyone on-site, whilst maintaining the continuity of business by preventing disruptions caused by theft and damage. Simple to use, access control systems such as the Salto offer a versatile and cost-effective way to regulate entry to and within premises and provide staff with the high level of security protection they deserve."