By the book

As part of an integrated security package, access control is now an essential element of everyone’s life on campus – from the newest fresher up to the university chancellor. It provides a means for authenticating identity, securing valuable assets, retaining important (and sensitive) information, ensuring personnel security and for maintaining Health and Safety on site.

Traditionally, British universities have been very open environments, with students, staff and visitors moving freely around campus. Liberty in all of its guises – including liberty of movement – has been (and will continue to be) crucial. Viewed in this light, access control-based solutions usually apply to many integrated and dynamic areas such as personnel identification (students, professors and members of staff), building and door access, communications, biometric security, IT/computer/laboratory access and security and fire prevention/protection. The trick for the in-house security specialist is to strike the fine balance between preserving liberty of movement while at the same time protecting people and assets through the use of highly flexible access systems.

The main security issue in almost all places of further education – from the newest college to the oldest university – is still mechanical key control. By using old-fashioned, mechanical locks and keys that are cumbersome to control, time-consuming and expensive to replace if key security is breached, end users leave themselves wide open to all sorts of potential problems. Of these, there is one area in particular that continues to plague security managers – mechanical keys are easy to copy, with no questions asked in any High Street key cutting bar. This can lead to potential security gaps and even liability issues.

In search of a solution

Access control in its traditional (hard-wired) form is only a practical answer for a very small number of doors, as the complexity of installation and sheer volume of wiring usually made it a prohibitively expensive option. As an alternative, university officials are now demanding a solution that can cope with as many doors as possible (ie for student housing, main entranceways, lecture facilities and other parts of the campus, etc), but they want their solution at affordable prices. Security aside, their number one priority is – and will always remain – investing in educational resources.

What are the ‘special features’ security managers should be looking for when specifying their access control solutions?

One of the main objectives of any good access system should always be to reduce the time needed to manage it without any loss of functionality, flexibility, control and – naturally – security. To achieve this ideal state, most universities will need a central access management software system that can control access activities from several different workplaces – or even different faculties – with all of the included access doors being either online or stand-alone.

The software should also have a user-friendly Graphical User Interface enabling it to increase security across campus while at the same time reducing the management hours that need to be dedicated here. Some universities will also require integration with other software systems or databases. Of late, multi-application campus cards have also become increasingly more important.

Stand-alone access control solutions in their simplest form are no longer good enough. Most university security managers now want their systems to form part of an overall, integrated security package. When you consider the sheer scale of some installations this makes perfectly good sense!

Take the Technical University in Delft, Holland, for example. In addition to CCTV and perimeter security, the security team has procured and commissioned more than 1,500 wire-free networked electronic access control doors throughout the campus to support over 3,000 users. If the university tried to control this amount of doors using early versions of the simpler electronic, stand-alone locks, the security manager would still need to walk to each of the doors in person in order to add or delete users. Similarly, each time they needed to change the access profile of one of the users they would require the individual concerned to visit the Security Office/Department and re-edit their access card.

Of late, the concept of ‘departmental operators’ has arisen. This allows each faculty at a campus to manage only their own doors and/or users, while certain other doors and users can be simultaneously shared with other faculties (for example main entrance doors, etc)

Clearly, this would be inconvenient and unacceptable. That’s why the earlier, electronic stand-alone locking systems struggled to gain acceptance over the mechanical locks they were supposed to be replacing.

Yes, the new locks were stand-alone, but the programming they required still had to be done manually, so for many end users there were not enough advantages to encourage a move away from mechanical locking. However, that has all changed now thanks to the recent introduction of significant developments in electronic locking and software.

Stand-alone means ‘networked’

Now, stand-alone also means networked. Software is available that uses the concept of distributed intelligence. Through the use of highly secure read/write credentials and online ‘hot spots’, such a system allows users to make all the configuration changes they want while eliminating the need for physically walking around a site updating locks with a hand-held programmer mechanism.

Certain software can manage up to 60,000 users and 60,000 doors in a single system, providing 90% of what end users receive from a wired online system for the cost of a stand-alone system, allowing them to manage their access control requirements in a secure and comfortable way. This eliminates the need for replacing locks when key security is breached due to the loss or theft of keys, and can seamlessly integrate with an existing IT system to allow keys and locks to be updated, restricted or deleted remotely.

In addition, campus applications will typically include eight sets of automatic locking and unlocking timers built-in to the lock handles as they allow for automated free access and restricted access to common areas through the day. A timed toggle setting for classrooms offers lecturers the freedom to unlock doors for seminars or tutorials knowing that the door will automatically re-lock at the end of the day if it should be left open.

Given the points mentioned thus far, what special problems – if any – do university security managers and their team members face when it comes to the installation of an access control system? On the hardware side, the most common problem is that every door is different. Depending on the university in question, you could be faced with a 500 year-old listed oak door – such as some of those found at the University of Cambridge – through to modern, all-glass doors found in more contemporary buildings (such as those located at the University of Reading).

However, what most university security professionals will want is for the appointed systems installer to make as little alteration to the physical structure of the door as possible. Therefore, it is paramount to select an electronic locking manufacturer that boasts a range of installer solutions suitable for a variety of door types. Electronic handle sets for most of them, with electronic cylinders for others and online wall readers for parking, automatic doors or those access areas where the customer will want to update and change credentials via network products.

Controlling your access system

On the software side of the equation, decisions will need to be made prior to installation about how and where the system is controlled.

The current trend is a move towards high frequency RFID cards (rated at 13,56 MHz). These proximity cards allow for secure data encryption, fast data transmission and easy multi-application – the cards can be split up into multiple sectors which may then be used for different applications (eg access control and cashless payment, etc)

Of late, the concept of ‘departmental operators’ has arisen. This allows each faculty at a campus to manage only their own doors and/or users, while certain other doors and users can be simultaneously shared with other faculties (for example main entrance doors, etc). This provides maximum security for each faculty with the convenience and flexibility of shared control of main access points.

Most installations are typically the result of a decision to upgrade security from a mechanical system to a modern, electronic one. Usually, this can be achieved without changing any locks and with a minimum of installation issues. Mechanical systems only grant YES or NO access. With electronic access control systems, you can select YES today, NO after, say, 6.00 pm and access ONLY between 10.00 am and midday on a Saturday (if that’s what’s required by the facility).

There are huge changes taking place in the ID card credentials arena. Magnetic stripe cards are now commonly regarded as not being secure enough for today’s access control needs. Hand-held copiers for these cards can be purchased over the Internet, while the cards themselves may be easily cloned.

The current trend is a move towards high frequency RFID cards (rated at 13,56 MHz). These proximity cards allow for secure data encryption, fast data transmission and easy multi-application – the cards can be split up into multiple sectors which may then be used for different applications (eg access control and cashless payment, etc).

When choosing an electronic access control system, university security managers should also ensure their locks are compatible with the latest standards (such as ISO 14443 A&B and ISO 15693), and that they include technologies such as Mifare, DESfire, Legic, HID iClass or Picopass for maximum security and flexibility.

Secure and comfortable access

Having made the decision to upgrade from mechanical systems to electronic access control, most universities – as befits their status in the world of further education – have learned quickly (no pun intended!) and are now making increasingly complex demands of their security systems. Necessarily, this means that solutions providers have to keep innovating in order to deliver the products security managers require as the benchmark standard.

For instance, multi-application demand is increasing, and card systems have to be both secure and encrypted. The communications have to be protected. Software-wise, some university security managers are also demanding MS SQL database compatibility. Most of all, though, the control systems fitted to doors have to provide both secure and comfortable access for end users.

Specialist electronic access control system developers active in the education sector have already detected these demands. They are now responding with product innovations that will make it difficult for traditional access control companies to devise comparable stand-alone electronic locking solutions. In truth, most locking system manufacturers are lagging behind in terms of both electronics and software development.

Soon, we are likely to see the emergence and implementation of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology that will allow students to use their mobile telephones on campus as interactive credentials, thereby removing the need for traditional access cards. In tandem with other developments, this will have a huge impact on access control, ensuring that smart access on campus will grow and evolve – from both cultural and technical perspectives.