George's Quay in Dublin is one of Ireland's largest and most prestigious commercial developments comprising retail, office and leisure accommodation. The latest phase of the development saw the total floor area more than double to 45,000 sq. m with the addition of two new office buildings and a further 285 car parking spaces.
Access management requirements
Georges Quay presented a number of access management requirements including the control of car parks and lifts, as well as entrances to floors, offices and other secure areas.
With more than 5,000 regular users, the challenge was to install a system which could cope easily with the daily volume of traffic through each of some 200 access points.
The system would also have to be flexible enough to cope with large numbers of visitors, and sufficiently user-friendly for both the operators and the card holders. In particular the system needed to permit a rapid throughput of 'rush-hour' traffic while maintaining a high level of security and control.
"A project of this size needed a system which is powerful enough and flexible enough to cope with a wide range of access control tasks," says Alfie Walsh, sales manager with security installer Electro Automation Ltd.
Vanderbilt access control solution
Some 200 Vanderbilt PR100 Reading Heads were installed throughout the site together with a number of long-range readers at certain sensitive sites.
To ensure optimal use of valuable |
The PR100 Reading Head, used in conjunction with Cotag active technology cards, enables access systems to be activated without the user having to remove the card from their handbag or pocket
The cards also feature the latest video badging allowing photo ID to be printed in house.
The whole system is controlled by Vanderbilt powerful Granta 4.2 software system, which allows for rapid and flexible control for the site's 5,000 plus card-holding users.
Granta operates a quota system
To ensure optimal use of valuable car parking space, Granta operates a quota system, recognising when a company has spaces free, and allowing access to users from that company - an excellent example of how the right access control system can free up resources and save money.
"With this system it is very simple to control who goes where and when. It means that users have easy and convenient access to where they need to be while maintaining a high level of control and security throughout the site," says Alfie Walsh, sales manager with security installer Electro Automation Ltd.
