The New York City Transit (NYCT), responsible for delivering round-the-clock mass transportation via rail and bus across New York City's five boroughs, has updated its key security strategy. The necessity to secure and monitor access to restricted zones and revenue-collecting equipment, especially at offsite locations, prompted a shift away from cumbersome, traditional methods.
Initially, keys were stored in bags inside safes, with access logs maintained on paper—a system which proved ineffective and time-consuming, particularly in remote areas lacking onsite supervisors. Hank D’Amato, Senior Director of Operations and Administration for NYCT’s Division of Revenue Control, highlighted that key loss and accountability were consistent issues.
Secure key management adoption
With more equipment stored remotely without immediate supervision, NYCT realised the urgency for a modern key management protocol. The organisation aimed to improve security and efficiency as part of its broader mission to offer dependable transit services. After observing the Morse Watchmans’ KeyWatcher system in action within another NYCT division, D’Amato sought their expertise to design an appropriate key management solution.
Morse Watchmans customised a key access solution featuring their KeyWatcher system
In collaboration with D’Amato and his team, Morse Watchmans customised a key access solution featuring their KeyWatcher system. This advanced system incorporates wall-mounted cabinets, effectively replacing outdated lock boxes and paper logs. The KeyWatcher system enhances key security by authorising key release only to users with the correct access code and logging detailed transaction histories, including user identification and the timing for checkouts and returns.
Enhanced system communication and reporting
Featuring Morse Watchmans’ Key-Pro™ Performance Software, the KeyWatcher installation has equipped NYCT with comprehensive reporting, centralised programming, and sophisticated network capabilities. When a key is reported missing or overdue, alerts immediately notify security personnel, enabling prompt response. D’Amato stated, “Morse Watchmans understood our initial challenges and continually suggests the best way to work through our needs as they evolve.”
The KeyWatcher system has eliminated the necessity for supervisory intervention in key issuance at remote sites, replacing error-prone manual logs with precise digital records. Plans to expand the system include adding five additional units to oversee more than 500 keys, facilitating centralised and dispersed management. D’Amato and his supervisory team can configure access restrictions at an individual level, adjustable by time and location, ensuring heightened security and flexibility in authorising key use.
Alarm and audit trail features
Since installation, NYCT experiences strict key accountability across its operations
Any unauthorised attempts or discrepancies, such as belated returns or misplaced keys, trigger immediate alarms to the security department.
Detailed reports are generated daily to track and resolve issues, significantly diminishing key accountability problems. D’Amato noted that system malfunctions have been rare, and Morse Watchmans’ support has been consistently timely even with NYCT's demanding operational schedule.
Since installation, NYCT experiences strict key accountability across its operations. The KeyWatcher system manages key inventories throughout the entire Revenue Control Division continuously, tracking key status and alerting management to anomalies. D’Amato commented, “KeyWatcher has taken the place of a supervisor in managing keys at remote locations and is an integral part of the way we do business.”
The integration of the KeyWatcher system into the hiring and training process ensures that new employees comprehend its role in maintaining security and accountability. “It is the way we manage accountability for all of our high-security access keys,” D’Amato asserted, acknowledging the system's success in offering the control required for NYCT's high-stakes environment.
The New York City Transit (NYCT), a public organisation that provides mass transportation services via rail and bus to the five boroughs of New York City, is a system that runs 24 hours-a-day, seven days a week. The challenge NYCT faced was how to secure and track keys to restricted areas and revenue collecting equipment at locations offsite from the central command center.
The previous process of keeping keys in a bag in the safe, and using a paper log to sign keys in and out was cumbersome and ineffective. Additionally, requiring a supervisor to sign out keys and gain access to the safe was not feasible in many remote locations where equipment is stored. According to Hank D’Amato, NYCT’s Senior Director of Operations and Administration, Division of Revenue Control, key loss and accountability were problems NYCT faced on a regular basis.
Secure key management
As more equipment was moved to remote storage facilities with no supervisor onsite, it became clear that new key management processes were necessary.
NYCT’s overall technology objective was effective and secure key management to reduce key theft and loss as part of its overall effort to provide safe, reliable and efficient transportation to its customers. After having seen Morse Watchmans’ KeyWatcher system in place in another division of the NYCT system, D’Amato looked to the company to help design a new key management system to meet this objective.
Outdated lock boxes
Morse Watchmans Solution - Working closely with Hank D’Amato, and the NYCT’s Revenue Control Division team, Morse Watchmans developed a customised key access solution to meet the NYCT’s goals. Morse Watchmans implemented its KeyWatcher system in NYCT’s Revenue Control Division.
This state-of-the-art key management system consists of wall-mounted key storage cabinets that eliminate outdated lock boxes, unreliable manual logs, and messy key identification tags. The KeyWatcher intelligent key management system helps prevent lost or stolen keys by only releasing assigned key to users with the proper authorisation code and recording the access history of each key, including user, date, and time of checkout/return.
Improved system communications
With KeyWatcher, when a key is missing or overdue, an alarm alerts security personnel of the situation. KeyWatcher, was installed in combination with Morse Watchmans’ Key-Pro™ Performance Software, to provide NYCT with extensive key management reporting options, centralised programming, advanced network capabilities, improved system communications, detailed reporting and real-time transaction polling.
According to D’Amato, “Morse Watchmans understood our initial challenges and continually suggests the best way to work through our needs as they evolve.”
Key management system
The Morse Watchmans KeyWatcher system eliminated NYCT’s need for a supervisor with access to the safe to issue keys. It also replaced NYCT’s outdated, and often not updated, manual paper logs. The KeyWatcher system provides NYCT with a precise log as to the times, locations and holders of all keys at all times. NYCT’s Revenue Control Division is in the process of upgrading its KeyWatcher key management system, adding five more units to it’s existing cabinets to manage over 500 keys in central and remote locations.
Under the authority and administration of D’Amato and a few supervisors, the KeyWatcher system can be easily customised to meet all of the NYCT’s central and remote location needs. NYCT’s Revenue Control Division can set access constraints at an individual level, for each key, every hour of each day. If a security issue arises with an employee, access permission can be restricted immediately.
Key accountability issues
Any unauthorised key access attempts or discrepancies such as late key returns or returns to the wrong location trigger an immediate alarm to the security department and show up on reports. At NYCT, key reports are run daily and all discrepancies are noted and resolved appropriately, virtually eliminating key accountability issues entirely.
According to D’Amato, KeyWatcher system glitches have been few and far between. However, on the rare occasion NYCT has had to contact Morse Watchmans for support, the company has been extremely responsive. Despite NYCT’s 24 hour-a-day operations, Morse Watchmans has been able to resolve problems consistently on a timely basis.
Unauthorised access incidents
Since implementing the KeyWatcher system, NYCT has strict accountability for keys throughout its operation. KeyWatcher electronically manages the key inventories of the entire Revenue Control Division of the transit system around the clock. Successfully maintaining a record of who has each key and alerting management when keys are not returned on time has reduced the number of key replacements and eliminated the number of unauthorised access incidents.
“KeyWatcher has taken the place of a supervisor in managing keys at remote locations and is an integral part of the way we do business,” said D’Amato.
Hiring and training process
Additionally, education and understanding of how and why NYCT manages keys through the KeyWatcher system is now a part of the hiring and training process, ensuring that all employees understand the necessity and benefits of the KeyWatcher audit trail system.
“It is the way we manage accountability for all of our high security access keys,” said D’Amato. “Morse Watchmans’ KeyWatchers have provided the key inventory management and control we were seeking.”
