SALTO Systems has supplied its latest wire-free electronic access control technology to Australia’s State Emergency Service at Wodonga, Victoria.
VICTORIA State Emergency Service (VICSES) works to ensure the safety of Victorian communities by responding to emergencies and disasters across the state. A volunteer-based organisation (each State and territory of Australia has its own independent State Emergency Service) VICSES provides emergency assistance to the community 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The lead agency during emergency responses in Victoria, SES is also the largest provider of road crash rescue in the state. The service assists the Victoria Police in search and rescue operations, and plays an important support role during major bushfire responses.
"When VICSES decided to upgrade from its mechanical keyed system, they began to search online for suitable electronic access control (EAC) systems,” says Nick Burton, managing director of Steve Burton Security Supplies.
“After looking at a few different types available, they liked the look of SALTO as it appeared to tick all the boxes for them and is a scalable product, so they made contact with us as the local authorised SALTO dealer.
“After a visit to their headquarters and a thorough site survey, we had no hesitation in confirming SALTO’s XS4 and GEO solutions as being perfect products for the job. We designed a highly secure and flexible access control system for use at the facility consisting of both online and offline XS4 escutcheons, GEO cylinders and CU SVN (CU50ENSVN) controllers. These were then installed into 20 locations made up of main entries, gates, storage cages, cupboards, filing cabinets, general and admin use doors.”
SALTO’S access control solutions are built around a range of battery-powered, wireless locking devices that retrofit into existing mortise locks or knobsets in minutes and function using reader technologies including smart card, contactless smart card and dual technology cards. SALTO locks are designed to be installed in off-line applications on doors (or padlocks) and a full audit trail of events, as well as changes to access authorisations, are passed around the system network on-card as part of what Salto calls SVN (Salto Virtual Network). The SVN is formed by the credentials themselves moving around the building in the hands of cardholders. Whenever cards and locks and cards and hot-spots meet, as part of their wireless exchange, they exchange a complete update of authorisations and events going on across the network.
Through the hotspots, this information funnels back to SALTO’s Pro Access management software running on a workstation, which allows administrators to manage things like access time zones, view audit trails, as well as driving anti-passback and relay management. Pro Access software can manage large numbers of door installations, and as most access related information is written on the credential, the management of the doors becomes, in cases, a management of the credential. By simply updating the badge, you can change most access related authorisations of the users, including adding/deleting doors, time zones, calendars.
The fact SALTO wireless means its less expensive to install and that there are not layers of terminations and cable runs around the site yet you get all the features of a hardwired access control system, including unlimited audit trail, dynamic access profile changes, calendar and shift control, intruder alarm, automated unlock/relock periods, automatic lost card cancellation, departmental operator management, ethernet connectivity of all online devices and the ability to interface with other popular access control and BMS systems.
“With the ability to customize both door hardware and system software to exactly match VICSES needs, our solutions offer considerable security and flexibility” says Robert Pai, business development manager, SALTO Systems. "All the stand alone electronic locks are battery operated, with the lack of hard cables being a particularly important consideration for the client when they chose to go with SALTO. Plus, as they had already discovered, it is also fully scalable, enabling the system to easily grow to meet any future security needs as and when required.”
Importantly, communications between carrier and electronic lock are encrypted and secure and SALTO locks can always be opened from the inside using a single action panic feature that works in conjunction with the relevant mortise lock. SALTO XS4 of the type used at SES Victoria, have high security protection via high resistance, hardened anti-drill plates to protect wiring and reader area. Additional protection provided by hardened axes and floating steel balls in the handle area. Other neat features include low battery power indication monitored through the SALTO Virtual Network (SVN), emergency opening via portable programming device (PPD), and a non-volatile memory.
According to Rohan O'Brien, SES unit controller at Wodonga, replacing mechanical keys with electronic access now gives so much more control over building security.
“It enables us to provide a secure environment for staff and volunteers alike,” O’Brien says. “It’s good that the new SALTO handle sets and cylinders don’t have any keyholes which can be vandalized.
“Also, now we’ve it got it installed, it’s only a click of a mouse to blacklist a user’s credential, as compared to the cost and hassle of rekeying mechanical locks when a key was lost, or stolen. And it’s now very easy for us to lock/unlock doors and update user profiles remotely through the SALTO Space software.” ♦
Features of SALTO access control include:
* Managed by SALTO Space software
* Virtual Network capable through SALTO Virtual Network Technology
* User on-card audit trailing capability
* Communications between reader, door controller and PC encrypted
* No additional control panels are required
* Alarm input
* Set up made with Portable Programming Devices (PPD) or via PC
* Update made with Portable Programming Device (PPD) or SVN
* Anti Pass Back mode available depending on the model
* Firmware upgradable by PPD or direct from PC to on-line units.
