With highly-valuable assets and facilities, open campuses, and a combined population of approximately 58,000 staff and students, it is imperative for QUT to have a robust yet discreet security and site management system operating 24/7.
QUEENSLAND University of Technology (QUT) is a major Australian university at the forefront of innovation and development in tertiary education. With a strong focus on research, technology, and sustainability, QUT has state-of-the-art facilities and equipment located across 3 campuses in Brisbane, as well as multiple remote research sites.
In 1995 QUT selected Gallagher as its technology partner to develop and implement a seamless security and site management solution. More than 20 years on, this partnership remains strong as QUT continues to seek new and innovative technology to manage their campuses and simplify operations. QUT’s 3 campuses have diverse physical environments which are essentially open to the general public. One campus is situated between the Brisbane River and Brisbane Botanical Gardens, another is located in the centre of an urban retail village, residential area and high school.
“The QUT campuses, while tertiary education institutions, are open to the public,” says Tracey Bartlett, security systems officer. “This open and accessible environment presents a challenge when trying to protect the people and property of QUT. We have a high expectation of the Gallagher system to manage the security of the non-public domain while allowing staff, students and authorised visitors the access they require.”
To manage the challenges of an open yet secure site, QUT operates 1500 intelligent access control readers across the 3 locations. With the readers communicating directly with Gallagher’s site management software platform, Command Centre, QUT is able to manage, monitor, and report on facility access.
“We have buildings that are open until 10pm and others that are accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” says Bartlett. “Our security staff in the CMS (central monitoring stations) are able to create building and cardholder schedules, quickly lock down areas, grant immediate access and generate reports. These reports assist the QUT Space Management Team on exactly how and when our facilities are being used.”
The safety of students and staff is the number one priority for QUT and the university works hard to ensure its operates safe and secure campuses. Through Gallagher’s site management solution, QUT is able to integrate multiple systems – including emergency control points and alarms for temperature change, fire, and flooding – and feed the information into Command Centre. Having one central monitoring platform ensures staff quickly identify, locate, and respond to any potential risks on campus.
“Our CMS team operates 24/7, our operators are highly skilled with the Gallagher system and, in conjunction with our CCTV system, have a complete view of what’s happening on site. They are then able to direct the field staff to areas of the campus that need attention,” says Bartlett.
With tens of thousands of cardholders, all with ever-changing access needs, QUT requires a large number of staff to be able to administer and manager cardholder profiles within Command Centre.
“Staff new to the CMS have commented that the Gallagher Command Centre is very easy to use software and they’re surprised at just what the system can do,” Bartlett says.
In addition to streamlining the administration processes involved in cardholder management, Gallagher’s system also streamlines operations for QUT. More than just a card controlling physical access; QUT’s cards act as staff and student IDs, are used to operate printers and borrow from the library and can be used to monitor time and attendance. Through Command Centre, audit trails are generated for quick and easy reporting on each card function.
As a technology focused university, QUT continuously reviews and implements new systems and technology as they become available. In order to keep up with the very latest site management software available from Gallagher, QUT opts for an ongoing software maintenance agreement.
“We’ll continue to welcome the opportunity to embrace Gallagher’s latest products as we are confident they will continue to meet our needs,” Bartlett says. “We have a robust relationship with Gallagher. They welcome our feedback and we appreciated their willingness to listen.”
Key objectives of QUT’s Gallagher Solution:
* Secure multiple campuses that have open perimeters
* Protect staff and students and assets
* Ensure quick identification and response to alarms from multiple systems
* Streamline cardholder administration processes.
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