A reference project for access control

"In some cases, we no longer knew who had which keys," says Andreas Affolter, head of construction in the municipality of Oensingen. The chaos in the key management of the properties was great. Whether it was the fire station or the school building - almost every one of these properties had its own locking system. Whoever had to enter different buildings carried around a heavy bunch of keys. But that's history, because the municipal officials have gradually switched to a uniform electronic locking system. A small badge has replaced the mechanical keys. For the system supplier Siaxma from Oensingen began work with a precise inventory in March 2013, and just a short time later it delivered the concept, cost estimate and detailed documentation to those responsible, as Managing Director Max Keller explained in his presentation at the 10th in-house exhibition for time and security, the three-day SiMu'16. Keller emphasizes that it is extremely important to talk to all users of the properties in advance in order to know their needs and requirements for the future access control (Zuko).

Access rights are managed centrally

With the new solution, the access rights of all buildings in the municipality of Oensingen are managed centrally. The programming of the data carriers, i.e. who has access where and when with the badge, is also solved within the municipality. "This is the only way for the operator to be independent," Keller emphasizes. Access rights can be assigned individually per building, day and time. In his presentation, Zuko specialist Keller goes into detail about Oensing's showcase project, which also includes a fire station. It was no easy task to convince the blue-light organization of the advantages of the new application,Affolter smiles. That's not surprising, because everything has to work perfectly here so that no time is lost in an emergency. When an alarm is received, the main entrance to the fire station is automatically unlocked and the necessary lights go on. This is just one small example of the new Zuko system, which is now receiving a lot of praise from the fire department, as Affolter says.

Even the building services are integrated into the Zuko system

The fact that a cross-building access control system can be used in a variety of ways was demonstrated during an inspection at SiMu'16. In Oensingen, part of the building services, for example the ventilation system, is also integrated into the access control system. But how sophisticated such a system can be was demonstrated by the municipal staff using the example of the new multifunctional hall. Here, it can even be regulated that sports club X may only use checkroom Y at a certain time; incidentally, it can be locked to protect the athletes' personal valuables.

In conclusion, Andreas Affolter says, "Thanks to the service contract, we know that the system is well maintained and ultimately saves costs."