Assa Abloy: Wireless Locks Secure French Hospital

Assa Abloy’s wireless Aperio locks are working together with ARD wired access control at a new French hospital. The Haute Savoie region’s new hospital required multiple checkpoints and access rights tailored to individual staff and contractors. For easy security on doors and cabinets, the hospital installed the wireless Aperio locks.

Real-time control, enabling managers to respond proactively including by opening and closing doors remotely, was another essential for the hospital. To meet their security challenges, managers selected Aperio locking technology integrated online with an ARD access management system. Because Aperio locks are wireless, the hospital could introduce many more layers of security and secure doors without incurring excessive installation or operating costs, including for sensitive offices and drug stores. Staff members’ individual access permissions are now stored on a single, programmable RFID credential.

Alongside standard wired locking, the hospital chose 1,300 Aperio wireless escutcheons, 10 wireless handles with integrated RFID reader, and 301 wall readers. A network of 228 Aperio communications hubs connects every lock wirelessly to the central access system software.

All of the battery-powered Aperio devices integrate with the centralised access system, so wired and wireless access points at Centre Hospitalier Métropole Savoie (CHMS) are managed together, with real-time management logs, remote door opening and free time slot management. Secure 128-bit AES encryption protects communications between lock, hub and system.

“Having just a single badge — and not having to carry around heavy keys — has been a major advantage for us”, says Béatrice Dequidt, Health Executive at CHMS.

“This solution's advantage is it represents a single site from an authorisation management and systems perspective”, explains Aurélien De Riols, ARD’s Eastern Region Director. One single, intuitive management interface enables security teams to administer and maintain access control autonomously, as well as streamline laborious everyday tasks.

“We have implemented internal HR management procedures, creating badges that are automatically integrated into ARD's operating software”, adds Alain Gestin, CHMS’s IT Systems Architect.

Aperio and ARD maintain compatibility of credentials with the French government’s electronic Health Professional Card for added staff convenience.