SALTO access control system installed at Compass Office in Sydney, Australia

SALTO provided a stand-alone networked locking solution for 80 doors

After some difficult times, the Australian economy is slowly recovering and prospects for continued improvement look hopeful as more businesses’ report an upturn in demand for goods and services in this, the fourth most expensive county in the world in which to live.

This is good news for the business community, especially those engaged in commercial property as the demand for office space means new tenants are actively seeking out properties to rent. One of the fastest growing players in this market is Compass Offices, one of Asia Pacific’s leading providers of premium workplace solutions and serviced office services.

The company opened its first centre in 2009 in Hong Kong and has been growing ever since.  Now they have serviced offices in 27 locations internationally, including 15 locations in Hong Kong as well as Singapore, Tokyo, Melbourne and Kazakhstan, with plans to open additional offices in a further 3 to 5 countries this year.

Among these is their latest office in Sydney, Australia, located on Level 19 at 1 O’Connell Street in the heart of Sydney’s Central Business District. One of Sydney’s finest landmark towers, this location has great views overlooking the Sydney Harbour and excellent local transportation links. The area is also home to many of Australia's top blue-chip corporations and major multi-national organisations.

When it comes to controlling access, Compass Offices already use SALTO in their Hong Kong HQ and liked the solution, so they decided to use SALTO again for their new office in Sydney. Through a partnership with SALTO Systems (Australia); SALTO distributor the Australian Lock Company and installer Independent Locksmiths and Security, Compass was assured that their access control requirements were in good hands.

The solution

The SALTO Access Control system installed by Independent Locksmiths and Security uses SALTO’s unique XS4 and SVN access control platform to provide a stand-alone networked locking solution for 80 doors, made up of entrance and individual office doors, without the need to cable or run power to each lock.

Robert Pai, SALTO Business Development Manager New South Wales, says “Our XS4 electronic escutcheon platform in a mix of offline and online handle sets, together with its associated control units and wall readers provides Compass Offices with the means to operate a totally keyless environment. This is thanks to their unique ability to distribute card holder and system information to access controlled doors by using Mifare /DESFire key cards to upload and download information between the on-line and off-line doors.

The client needed to ensure that access is only given to people with the necessary authority. The SALTO XS4 wireless access control solution particularly appealed to Compass Offices as with the business expanding and an increasing number of staff and clients on site every day, the number of users and doors the system can manage is unlimited, so this scalable solution was exactly what Compass needed.

The unique bi-directional system of the SALTO wireless solution combines the advantages of both on-line and off-line solutions. Any number of doors can be wirelessly connected to the system. The gateways and repeaters act as antennas, collecting and sending information from the PC to the stand alone wireless locks and one gateway can manage several repeaters and electronic locks, minimizing infrastructure costs and maximizing flexibility.

With a single click Compass Offices can configure or make changes to their access network in real time. They can monitor the network, download audit trail information from individual locks, delete users remotely and securely, collect battery status of the RF locks for maintenance and much more all from a single PC and all in real-time. And thanks to its self-healing capabilities, if a lock should lose RF connection at any time it will continue to operate as normal offline via its SVN (SALTO Virtual Network) capability whilst automatically scanning for a new connection to an alternative gateway or repeater, restoring communication whilst maintaining security at all times” Rees concludes.

The result

Whether it’s serviced offices, virtual offices or a hot desking, to Compass Offices their business is a people business. That means starting with the customer and working backwards to deliver an optimum solution that makes their business life simple, straightforward and, in this instance, secure.

That security is something that over 12 million people in 90 countries rely on SALTO to deliver every day, controlling who can access what, where and when at all times. It’s why SALTO Systems are world leaders in advanced wire free and wireless access control solutions.

Ryan McGovern General Manager of installer Independent Locksmiths and Security says “We’re proud to have been chosen to fit-out this new centre to satisfy demand from the business community. Installation was straightforward and now Compass can offer its Australian clients an easy to use, proven, future proof access control security solution that provides 24/7 critical security protection. The end result is a wireless and wirefree access control solution that the customer already uses and trusts.”

“The decision to go again with SALTO was simple” adds Compass Offices Operations Manager Carrie Pun. “SALTO is an excellent security platform that gives us a reliable and highly secure access management solution. We like the fact that its wireless versatility, auto unlocking capability, full audit trail monitoring, simplicity and ease of use mean we now have a ‘keyless’ building and a security system perfectly tailored to our specific needs.”