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| LOCKEN’s cylinders allowed 21st century technology to be installed in doors over 100 years old |
Lincoln’s Inn is the earliest of the four Inns of Court in London, which houses a society of lawyers and judges, and is recognised as one of the world’s most prestigious professional bodies of barristers. With its origins dating back to the 1400s, all of the buildings and architecture are of huge historic significance, which is why security and access control at the privately owned 11 acre estate is of optimal importance.
Dealing with numerous access control restrictions
The challenge that Lincoln’s Inn faced when reviewing its access management solution was the variety of rights and restrictions required by different departments. The ideal solution must be managed from one central location and enable security managers to fully control access across the entire estate.
Lincoln’s Inn therefore decided to adopt an electronic key-centric access management solution, based on unique technology, which provides the highest possible levels of security and efficiency. With the power delivered by a re-chargeable digital smart key and innovative software (including traceable data) at the heart of the solution, the key-centric solution guarantees reliability, flexibility and unrivalled security.
3000 transactions per month
The initial roll-out comprised of 147 access points, utilising 197 locks. These are spread out across nine collegiate buildings, which currently have 127 end users including; house staff, regular contractors, and the Inn’s 17 scholarship students who reside there. The system is currently operating at 3,000 transactions per month, although this is expected to significantly increase due to development work currently underway at Lincoln’s Inn.
"Networking of the access points |
Flexible and discreet management for the historic building
Nicholas Bracey, Chief Porter at Lincoln’s Inn explains: “For the Inn, the benefits of the key-centric access management system are far superior to both traditional master keying and networked access control. Given the nature of the buildings, in terms of layout and age, networking of the access points was never going to be an option for us, hardwiring would have been too complex and costly, and most wireless locking solutions would not have been suitable for the many historic doors.
“LOCKEN’s cylinders have allowed us to install 21st century technology easily and most importantly, discreetly within doors that are well over 100 years old. The ability to programme users into defined access groups, and if needed, take an individual key and further personalise it to that single user, gives us 100% flexibility.
“Other benefits have included a vast reduction in the number of keys held, from in excess of 500 sets, down to less than 160. One of the unexpected advantages of the system has been an increase in productivity, with security, contractors and maintenance staff not wasting time in an attempt to track down a certain key.”
New technologies for century-old doors
Nick Dooley, Managing Director of LOCKEN UK adds: “With software at the heart of the key-centric solution, it has the flexibility required to add further levels of security as technological advancements and innovations make their way onto the market.
“Although fitted to doors that are more than a century old, the key-centric access control solution is able to respond quickly to new technologies, and in addition to fixed terminals, a computer connected to the internet or a mobile phone or tablet, access authorisation and audit trails can now be directly carried out from a WiFi key or a Bluetooth key combined with the MyLocken App. This is essential for ensuring the most intelligent, user-friendly and interactive solution is available to the customer."
