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| Keys are stored in a KeyWatcher cabinet and can be accessed by individuals who are authorised in the system |
For aviation enthusiasts, perhaps no place resonates more with flight history and culture than the Seattle area. Home to Boeing, the Museum of Flight and numerous other aviation attractions, the area is a treasure trove for visitors.
One of the most popular sites is historic Paine Field, a unique airport located about 30 miles north of downtown Seattle. Paine Field is a major tourist destination with its many aviation oriented attractions as well as being home to the Boeing manufacturing plant for 747, 767, 777 and 787 aircraft. Additionally, the airport offers high quality aviation facilities and more than 600 aircraft including small, single engine recreational aircraft and corporate jets are located there.
Like many other airports, Paine Field has taken proactive steps to assure facility security and the safety of employees, pilots, visitors, contractors and others who have reason to be on-site. One of these measures has been the lock and key re-coring of the entire airport. To ensure that new master keys are securely stored and accounted for, management at Paine Field relies on their Morse Watchmans KeyWatcher Touch and KeyWatcher Illuminated key control and management system.
“Tracking of keys, whether masters or regular, is very important to us and the KeyWatcher system allows us to have accountability for all of our keys,” said Erick Vestey, Maintenance Technologist lll, Paine Field. “We can see at any given time where a key is and if someone has not turned in a key, we can go back to that individual to retrieve it.”
Keys are stored in the tamper-proof KeyWatcher cabinet when not in use and can only be accessed by individuals who are authorised in the system. To access a key, the authorised user simply swipes a prox card, then enters their personal identification code on the keypad. When the system verifies the user, the door opens and the location of the requested key lights up. KeyWatcher systems installed at the Paine Field facility include three new KeyWatcher Touch units, each in an eight-module configuration, and one KeyWatcher Illuminated unit that holds eight keys.
"I have never dealt with better customer service and tech support, Morse Watchmans has fixed any issues we’ve had in a single phone call" |
The cabinets, strategically located throughout the airport, are networked and controlled using KeyWatcher TrueTouch software. Transactions such as adding or deleting users are synchronised for easier and more efficient administrative control. Keys can be returned to any of the KeyWatcher Touch cabinets; if a key is not returned when scheduled, e-mail alerts and text messages can be sent to selected airport management to enable quick action. According to Mr. Vestey, these features and capabilities along with the system performance, ease of use, security and quality have protected the airport’s investment in new locks and keys and improved overall security throughout the facility.
Mr. Vestey also notes that the KeyWatcher system resolved their problem with lost vehicle keys. He says, “We were constantly replacing lost and misplaced vehicle keys. Now, with the expanded Morse Watchman system, the problem has been totally eliminated.”
Adding on to the system with new KeyWatcher Touch units was an easy decision for management. In the five years that Paine Field had been using the original KeyWatcher Illuminated cabinet, they never had a problem. And, when they were ready to expand, the old and newer systems were compatible. The other major consideration was the level of customer service provided by Morse Watchmans.
“I have never dealt with better customer service and tech support,” adds Mr. Vestey. “Morse Watchmans has fixed any issues we’ve had in a single phone call.”
