Minnesota School Uses Schlage bright blue Web-Based Access Control
Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies recently announced Truman Public Schools in Minnesota are using Schlage bright blue Web-enabled access control software, Schlage multi-technology readers, Von Duprin exit devices and LCN door closers to limit access to the building that houses Truman’s 500 students in grades K-12.
“We needed a system that we could afford, was easy to manage and, if I were out, I could manage from home or wherever my laptop was connected to the Internet,” said Principal Brian Shanks. “We called in Kendell Doors & Hardware (Mendota Heights, Minn.) to coordinate this project. They had three different companies bid. The bright blue solution provided the investment that fit our budget.”
Schlage bright blue Web-enabled access control system is created especially for smaller facilities, such as Truman Public Schools’ one building in which the elementary school children are on the east wing and the high school students attend the west wing. The bright blue system eliminates the need for special software or a dedicated PC yet allows authorized school administrators to access, monitor and manage the system from any computer running a standard web browser.
Importantly, the cost of this system was less than that of a single panel on larger security management system solutions and the system’s plug-and-play design made configuration easy.
The system uses technology in which the application is embedded on the control panel, which is network-ready and connected easily to the school’s present network. Installers just connected the panel to the network and a power source and the bright blue part of the system was ready to go. Schlage multi-technology readers were installed at all entrance doors along with exit devices, door closers, cameras and intercoms.
Presently the readers are used in conjunction with proximity keyfobs but give the Truman School District the flexibility to migrate to smart cards if wanted in the future.
“After the hardware was installed, Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies sent out a software trainer to teach me, two school secretaries and our primary custodian how to use the system,” Shanks said. “Training took only three hours. My learning curve was very short.
“To make this implementation successful, we took our time. We started this process in the summer of 2007. We felt that it was very important to educate our people and prepare parents and students for the system. Once installed in February of this year, we sent out a letter to all parents informing them that our new security system will help ensure the safety of their children by assuring all doors are locked once school is in session and that visitors will be let in via an intercom/video system. This makes the staff very happy.”
At the school, all doors lock at 8:20 a.m. Since there are two main doors, one for the elementary school and one for the high school, a separate monitor is on each of the two secretaries’ desks. With them, the secretaries can view non-personnel at the doors before granting access.
“We have already recommended this system to other school districts,” Shanks said. “I don’t believe we could have had a better process. It has been an all-around positive experience, from bidding through installation, training and using the system.”