Morse Watchmans’ access control system installed at Thomson Reuters

Morse Watchmans’ system secures company’s assets with improved key control and ultimately reduces liability

Company profile

Thomson Reuters, the global information company provides indispensable information tailored for professionals in the media, financial services and corporate markets. Through Thomson Reuters.com and other digital properties, Thomson Reuters also supplies its trusted content direct to individuals. Thomson Reuters drives decision making across the globe based on a reputation for speed, accuracy and independence. Thomson Reuters has 17,900 staff in 161 countries, including 2,400 editorial staff in 197 bureaus serving 132 countries.

Technology objective

To better secure the company’s assets with improved key control and ultimately to reduce liability by being able to easily document guard patrols.

The challenge

Like many other companies, Thomson Reuters needed a system that would allow them to document that officers were on patrol throughout the facility on a regular basis and further that these logs be simple and easy to record, manage and retrieve. It was also necessary that the system be customisable to meet the specific needs of the organisation.

Finally, the solutions had to fall within a defined budget but be more than simple, entry-level products because Thomson Reuters expected future expansions and upgrades to be budgeted.

Morse Watchmans solution

PowerCheck Guard Tour System – With its multiple tour capabilities, integrated functions and reporting options, the PowerCheck Guard Tour System delivers a convenient and cost-effective solution to Thomson Reuters. The hand-held data recorder allows security personnel to input incident codes on site using the builtin keypad and display. Paperwork is eliminated with 99 pre-set incident codes which can be downloaded to the computer at the end of the guard tour.

TourPro Software – The TourPro Data Sorting Software is a Windows application which converts the tour information into printable reports which may be customised by time, day, week and month. For added value and convenience, this same software can additionally be used to program the data recorder and manage the files.

KeyWatcher Key Control System – By only releasing assigned keys to users with the proper authorisation code, the KeyWatcher system helps prevent lost or stolen keys. Simple and elegant in design, the wall-mounted key storage cabinet eliminates outdated lock boxes, unreliable manual logs and messy key identification tags. It also records the access history of each key, including user, date and time of checkout/return.

In action

The PowerCheck Guard Tour System has allowed Thomson Reuters to track their security officers’ activities and visibly ensure that scheduled patrols and fire watch procedures are completed as assigned. Because of fire safety and insurance requirements, it is crucial that Thomson Reuters keep an accurate account of the patrol times, and the computerised data recorder eliminates the need for manual entries and reduces the potential for error. It also serves as a backup to verify that the security officers inspected vital areas of a specific location at a specific time.

The KeyWatcher Key Control System allows Thomson Reuter’s security management to set custom parameters to indicate when a key should be returned and when a key has been signed out for longer than it was supposed to be. This type of control has assisted in the department providing improved key control and asset protection.

Recording, managing and retrieving the access and guard tour data has been an uncomplicated procedure and reports are quickly generated as required.

The results

By implementing the PowerCheck Guard Tour System, along with its accompanying TourPro Software, and the KeyWatcher Key Control System, Thomson Reuter’s liability issues have been vastly reduced. They can conclusively document that security patrols and fire watches are being conducted on a regularly scheduled basis and they have improved asset protection by reducing the number of misplaced keys. The user friendly systems selected by Thomson Reuters were designed in conjunction with Morse Watchmans’ staff and fully met the customer requirements for future expansion and budget guidelines.