SALTO Systems access control technology safeguards All Saints’ College in Perth, Western Australia

School authorities and budgeting committees are realising the importance of prevention over response

Competent access control is the prime mover of school safety. From primary schools to the largest colleges, prevention and deterrence are the keys to protecting our most valuable asset, our children and young people. Access control was once just a big-city concern, but today many suburban and rural schools are just as interested or even more interested in access control than their city centre counterparts. Even areas with few foreseeable problems are looking to the future now, and taking the initiative to put safeguards in place ahead of time.

As one of the leading private schools in Perth, Western Australia, All Saints’ College is an Anglican coeducational school offering outstanding levels of education from Pre-Kindergarten to Year 12. Founded in 1981, the College is located in the southern suburbs of the city close to public transportation. Their focus is on personal excellence by creating a nurturing environment for every student, creating dynamic learning environments that encourage the pursuit of personal excellence enabling each student to fulfil his or her full potential. In addition to outstanding academic results, All Saints’ College is also renowned for its world-class facilities, including an indoor Aquatic and Sports Centre and a Centre for Performing Arts.

With the college infrastructure continuing to grow and develop and its mechanical keying system reaching the end of its life, the inevitable questions were raised about how to secure the premises effectively. Physical keys were proving difficult and expensive to manage so a new solution was required that would pre-empt this as well as ensure the well-being of all the College’s students, staff, and their personal belongings.

Local security company Central Lock and Key were called in to provide an electronic locking solution to meet the Colleges’ requirements and after a comprehensive brief they were able to offer a complete solution utilising SALTO Systems stand alone battery operated XS4 escutcheons, GEO electronic cylinders and XS4 locker locks.

Subsequently SALTO Systems received an order via their approved dealer GHI to supply 150 units controlled via a combination of Mifare / DESFire smart key cards, and these now secure administration and classroom doors as well as locker doors throughout the college.

Neil Armstrong, SALTO Business Development Manager (WA) says, “When the mechanical keying system reached the end of its life, the College used the opportunity to update to the latest smart card technology by SALTO which offers real cost efficiencies when compared to traditional wired access control solutions.

Removing the need to wire saves time, hassle, disruption and not least, significant sums of money. There is no need to design in cable runs, so there is no need for ducting or voids. This means that the space which would otherwise have been given over to run wiring can be freed up and used to create more space in the building or its individual rooms or corridors. Added to this there is also no need to test, document or certify miles (sometimes literally!) of wiring. This again delivers significant cost savings.”

The XS4 electronic escutcheons, cylinders and locker locks need no hard wiring and provide a wire-free networked electronic locking solution with an impressive range of features. In conjunction with SALTO’s SVN Data-on-Card technology platform they provide an advanced system that allows the stand-alone locks to read, receive and write information via their operating smart cards or ‘intelligent’ keys. It works when this data is captured from the cards at SVN online IP access points located at strategic points around the college. The ‘updating points’ upload and download user related information that is then used to permit, control or deny access.

Philip Gale, Facilities Manager at All Saints’ College says “Our new SALTO solution has no limitations in terms of scalability and therefore provides the College with a technology which is easy and cost effective to deploy as the site grows. The SALTO Virtual Network (SVN) is a great piece of kit that helps us to deploy access control to areas which are difficult and/ or expensive to get physical network infrastructure installed. As a long term aim the College is also considering how smart cards can be also used to manage other applications at the site and the SALTO technology can support us with this strategy.”

The whole project has proved a success as All Saints’ College now have all their security requirements catered for and SALTO and Central Lock and Key are pleased to have provided a solution that confirms their reputation as leading suppliers and installers of access control systems to the education sector.

School authorities and budgeting committees are realising the importance of prevention over response, and taking steps to put the necessary capabilities in place. In the future we will find more and more instances where locks and keys are being replaced with the safety and security of access control technology. In school and many other areas, security will become a habit.