Nonprofit Protects LA Headquarters

Best-in-class access integration solution makes positive changes

• By Ronnie Pennington
• Aug 01, 2023

The California Community Foundation (CCF) is a nonprofit provider of donor-advised funds, and effectively one of the 100 largest charitable organizations in the United States. Since its founding in 1991, CCF has made it their mission to lead positive change within Los Angeles communities.

To further its mission, in 2015 CCF committed to grant $1 billion to Los Angeles County nonprofits by 2025. Since then, more than $846 million has been donated to various educational, housing, and heath-centric causes across the county. It was this same commitment to speed and efficiency that proved to be essential when it came to securing CCF’s new headquarters facility.

CCF recently bought a 55,000 sq/ft office building in the heart of LA's Central Business District. To secure their expansive four-story building and attached parking garage, CCF turned to Western Audio Visual & Security (WAV) to install a new access control solution. The required solution needed to be ultramodern, easy to install, convenient and include room for future growth opportunities. That is what ultimately led WAV to recommend and install Altronix’ Trove™ power and access solutions integrated with LenelS2 controllers.

Partnering For Success
WAV specializes in the design, engineering, installation and service of customized professional security systems. With more than 32 years of industry experience, WAV owes its success to delivering high-performance quality systems, with a heavy emphasis on providing customers with outstanding support. Based on these criteria, WAV was the perfect integrator for this project.

Given that CCF was retrofitting the entire building to suit their needs, there were many system-design and installation challenges that needed to be addressed before taking occupancy. One of the challenges was a lack of physical space to accommodate new equipment. Jesse Martinez, security operations manager said that WAV chose Trove to overcome this issue. Trove easily combined the required LenelS2 controllers with power distribution to streamline deployment.

“We had installed Altronix Trove access and power solutions on a few recent projects, and knew it was perfect for installations like this where there is limited real estate to accommodate multiple enclosures. And since we knew that Trove seamlessly integrates with LenelS2 controllers, system deployment was a breeze!”

Trove access and power integration solutions easily combine power and accessories with access controllers from the industry’s leading manufacturers, including LenelS2 OnGuard and NetBox. WAV selected Trove3SS3 kits pre-configured with Altronix power and sub-assemblies, which easily accommodate access controllers supporting up to 28 doors combined in a single housing with battery back-up.

“The first stack we did was a full set, so it was seven blades, which supports 14 doors,” Martinez said. “And then we added the second panel with seven additional blades to manage a total of 28 doors.”

Space conservation was critical, as the data center had to be maximized for installation of data racks as well, Martinez said. The application facilitated installation of the required access equipment alongside the building’s network and IT infrastructure.

“A single Altronix Trove enclosure was mounted on the wall, which gave us the extra space we needed for data racks. This install was about making the most of the available real estate. Traditional access systems require controllers and power supplies in separate enclosures that consume a lot of wall space. With Trove, everything we needed for this system neatly fit in one wall-mounted enclosure.”

Support When Needed
As the security operations manager at WAV, Martinez wears many hats. While he does not frequently visit sites to conduct installs much anymore, he made an exception in this case. While personally working on this project, Martinez noted how helpful the Altronix customer support team was.

“I took it upon myself to call Altronix, and their customer support team walked me through the installation step-by-step,” Martinez said. “They explained why and how all of the power supplies were selected and preconfigured, what the voltage rating was for this system configuration, and why this was the preferred solution.”

Martinez’s experience with customer support reinforced his belief that an installer should never hesitate to contact a manufacturer to help get things done right the first time. “I’ve experienced that the average installer doesn’t feel comfortable calling tech support for whatever reason. Maybe it’s a pride thing, but I always tell my team that tech support partners can be their best friend because they can help avoid future issues and save valuable time.”

Move-In Ready, Upgrade Ready
As it stands, the new CCF building is still undergoing renovations. When CFF takes occupancy, there will be plenty of new security measures in place, including new vehicle gates connected to the LenelS2 access system and integrated video monitoring system.

To help ensure smooth operation of all the newly installed systems, the IT staff at CFF is currently being trained. According to Martinez, this has allowed WAV to move on from the project knowing that CFF’s on-site personnel can get up and running quickly.

Martinez also noted that Trove includes preconfigured power distribution with plenty of space for future system expansion when necessary. Altronix products are backed by a lifetime warranty.

“There was definitely a lot of room to accommodate all the power and controllers we needed for the current system, and it’s nice to have room for future growth,” Martinez said. “If the customer wants to expand the system a year from now, maybe add more devices, we won’t have to add another enclosure because the Trove allows room for expansion.”

This article originally appeared in the July / August 2023 issue of Security Today.