Sharp as a Hawkeye

Enhancing security at the University of Iowa through integrated systems and key management

• By Dirk Welch
• Sep 03, 2024

The security engineering services team at the University of Iowa recently underwent a process that many institutions of higher education face – integrating innovative technology with its existing security system, specifically with key management solutions. Understandably, they were hesitant at first and ran into challenges. Still, when they identified the correct technology to communicate with their existing ecosystem, the immediate results necessitated expanded adoption.

Before shifting to intelligent key cabinets, the school was issuing physical keys directly to employees responsible for maintaining and returning them. This system was susceptible to lost keys, and thus led to some doors being rekeyed. In one department, when employees returned their keys to a central key box, they needed to log when they checked out/returned keys manually.

Facing Some Hurdles
University officials faced hurdles in identifying a key cabinet solution that could integrate seamlessly with their access control system. When an employee was issued an access badge for physical entry to buildings, the same badge could be used with an HID reader on the key cabinets. Eventually, the university found a system that could do so, and they began the transition one department at a time.

That process began with Information Technology Services (ITS), which provides technical support, resources, and services to help everyone at UI work smarter, faster and safer. In addition to facilities keys, ITS also used the intelligent key cabinet for fleet management.

They soon could see who had taken out which key/vehicle and when the key was returned. They also could assign access to specific keys, eliminating unauthorized access to sensitive areas. ITS soon populated the cabinet with nearly 200 different individual keys and key rings and was able to remotely monitor the usage of each one. As a result, the ITS team quickly became advocates of this modern technology.

"They were our best salesmen," said Rick Crow, senior engineering associate within Security Engineering Services at the university. Subsequently, three additional cabinets were purchased, which are being used in several areas around campus, including Facilities Management. Plans are also in place for 16 more cabinets to be ordered for campus housing.

Integrating the System
The best example of the cabinets integrating within UI's system is the ability of administrators to grant or deny access to a user. If an employee is promoted and needs access to additional keys or areas within the university, an administrator can grant that immediately from a remote location. Conversely, if a user is terminated or there is a security threat on campus, an administrator can remove access privileges just as quickly. The access badge an employee uses represents a singular credential leveraged for both building entry and key cabinets, and administrators can grant or remove access to both instantly, thanks to the integration of the cabinets within the system.

As Crow's team continues to identify additional departments throughout the university that could potentially use intelligent key cabinets, he quickly acknowledges the benefits of integrating this technology into their overall access control system. "To secure campus, it is necessary to manage keys responsibly and to do that, you have to know where they are. Now, we know that John Doe has the key instead of questioning where a key has been and for how long."

More than 4,300 doors and thousands of keys are in use throughout the University of Iowa's 1,800-acre campus. Like many universities, those keys represent the cornerstone of operational security.

As such, Crow and his staff took measures to secure each key and key ring properly and integrate those cabinets into their existing system, which has ensured not only safer practices and accountability but also streamlined operations and consolidated assets so that the university can serve the needs of staff and students as efficiently as possible.

This article originally appeared in the September / October 2024 issue of Security Today.