Since 1898, Provo City School District (PCSD) has been providing quality education that has been fundamental in preparing students for their future success. Located in Provo, Utah, about 43 miles south of Salt Lake City, PCSD is one of 41 public school districts in the state and serves approximately 14,200 students. The district operates traditional high schools, middle schools and elementary schools, as well as an alternative high school and a web-based school that serves all grade levels. PCSD is recognised as one of the 5 largest school districts in the greater Salt Lake City area and has built a reputation as being one of the best in Utah by offering such enrichment programs as advanced placement (AP), special education, music, career technology, elementary dual language, multi-cultural, gifted and talented, and many others in curriculum areas.
With classrooms, labs and offices occupying space in 23 buildings, securing all facilities and grade levels continues to be a main priority and a significant challenge for PCSD. Over the years, the district invested in video surveillance, installing over 1000 cameras throughout the various buildings. The installation of an enterprise-level VMS (Video Management System) provides an easy to use and feature rich command centre for the 1000’s of cameras across campus. By working with ISONAS, the school was able to have a completely integrated solution that helps eliminate incidents district wide.
PCSD: Security challenges
One of the biggest security challenges for the district was knowing who was in which of the 23 buildings at any given time. With multiple keys disbursed to administrators and staff members, it was difficult to track individual keys when someone transferred to another building or left the district. Without having an access control system in place, it was possible that duplicate keys could be made granting access to non-employees creating a security risk that was near impossible to control. With 126 doors to secure across the district, administrators at PCSD knew they needed to work quickly to correct the problem before an incident occurred. Another huge challenge of this installation was the timeframe in which the job had to be completed. The school received a federal grant for improving their security measures, however it came with tight time constraints. The money had to be used within the year, which left limited time for the school to exercise due diligence and find the right vendors to complete the security upgrade.
Working at the speed of light
With the clock ticking, the job went out to bid, and Beacon Metals, a local company specialising in door security, won the project along with ISONAS, a Colorado based Pure IP Access Control manufacturer. The project commenced in February 2015 with the access control installation portion beginning in June 2015. ISONAS and Beacon Metals understood that the job had to be completed quickly, and there was no time to spare. “ISONAS worked around the clock with Beacon Metals to ensure that all doors were secured with our PowerNet™ IP Reader-Controllers within the tight time constraints. We are happy to help the Provo school district open the door to the new school year with confidence,” states Rob Mossman, CEO at ISONAS. Over 120 doors needed to be secured within a two and a half month time span, with the goal to have everything installed and operational when the students and staff returned to school in September. On average the project consisted of securing 4 doors per day until the job was completed which is a key benefit of the ISONAS solution; a simpler and easier product leads to a faster installation timeline.
"With the ISONAS Pure IP access control solution, it’s all centrally managed from one location and we were able to use our existing network infrastructure", states Jonathan Smith, Network Engineer at Provo |
ISONAS: The right security solution
ISONAS’s network-based PowerNet™ IP Reader-Controller offers a patented technology that easily integrates with Windows-based software to deliver more simplicity, greater value, and total flexibility. ISONAS offers the industry’s first panel-free IP reader controller which delivers pure IP technology to the door because the only equipment needed is a PowerNet™ Reader Controller and a standard category 5 cable to each door. This technology provides the freedom to secure an unlimited number of doors without the hassle of having to run coaxial cabling, hiring an electrician or cutting into drywall. Working closely with the administrators and network engineers at PCSD allowed ISONAS to recommend the right solution for each building.
In addition, to the PowerNet™ IP readers, PCSD is using the ISONAS DBCrystal Matrix software from a centralised location to manage all 23 buildings. With the responsive design administrators have the ability to “lock down” the buildings from their access control system. The Provo City School District made the right choice with ISONAS to help keep complications to a minimum and implement a seamless access control system that integrated with their current infrastructure.
The result
“We chose ISONAS because we didn’t want to have to run proprietary cables everywhere and manage 23 separate locations. With the ISONAS Pure IP access control solution, it’s all centrally managed from one location and we were able to use our existing network infrastructure. We already had PoE (Power over Ethernet) switches and the cabling ready, which made it a smart decision for us to go with ISONAS,” states Jonathan Smith, Network Engineer at Provo City School District.
Future Plans for Provo City School District The Provo City School District has a bright future ahead and is already in the process of planning the construction of five new buildings scheduled to open within the next two years, which will consist of additional doors that need to be secured. With the ease of installation and scalability of the system, adding 30-40 doors to the system will be an easy job for the district. The ISONAS Pure IP Access Control Solution gets an A+ in creating a system that is flexible in meeting the changing needs of the PCSD now and in the future.
