French Town Unifies Municipal Access Management with Assa Abloy's Ecliq
Saint Jacut de la Mer, on Brittany’s Côtes d’Armor, faced growing difficulties with access management for their public buildings. As in many other towns across Europe, they looked for a more cost- and time-efficient way to operate.
Keys were being lost — and the costs of rekeying put even more pressure on budgets.
Town staff needing to hold and track multiple keys was inconvenient and further contributed to key loss. And because different access solutions had been installed over the years, security levels were not consistent across properties.
The arrival of a new director of technical services brought a new approach to access control. They sought a trusted solution which would harmonize security and access management across the entire town — ideally a wire-free electronic system which was easy to install at doors and other openings.
Wireless cylinders and electronic keys are already trusted by many municipalities
After much research, a hands-on demonstration and consulting a local hardware supplier, buildings around the town have been equipped with Ecliq electronic locking cylinders.
“We decided to install Ecliq wireless access control because of the good reputation of Assa Abloy equipment,” explains the town’s director of technical services, M. Bertho.
This first phase includes the Town Hall, festival hall, school restaurant, meeting house and more. All these properties now enjoy the benefit of convenient, secure access management within a single Ecliq system which includes single and double cylinders, as well as Ecliq padlocks. Adding electronic access control to all these different buildings required no drilling around doors.
Authorized users have been issued with programmable Ecliq keys. Each one unlocks all the openings they need in their day-to-day work.
Now M. Bertho can instantly review the status of all Ecliq-equipped premises and issue individually tailored access rights. For example, canteen staff, cleaners and delivery teams have their own access slots for the school restaurant. The local campsite is safer: If seasonal workers lose their key, its rights are removed immediately. At the Town Hall, only those with authorization can enter.
The flexibility of an Ecliq access control solution
A fully electronic extension of Assa Abloy’s award-winning Cliq access control technology, Ecliq is built around precision-engineered locking cylinders and high-end microelectronics. A standard battery with a ten-year lifespan in normal usage, is inside each programmable electronic key. This energized key powers the cylinder or padlock and encrypts data transfer between lock, key and system.
The Ecliq cylinder range can bring almost any opening into an access control system. Robust, durable Ecliq cylinder locks can secure lifts, machines, mailboxes, cabinets and more with the same control as doors. Installing an Ecliq device is simple: The existing cylinder is replaced and secured in place with one screw.
Certified and available in formats including Euro — first patented by an Assa Abloy company nearly 100 years ago — Ecliq cylinders ensure security and regulatory compliance. A range of programming devices transfer and update access rights for user keys.
“We trust Assa Abloy,” adds M. Bertho, who was also impressed by the simplicity and speed of installation.
Indeed, the town has already decided to extend coverage of their system year by year. Next up are the elementary school and cultural centre. The ultimate objective is to equip all Saint Jacut’s public buildings with Ecliq.
