Winkhaus: intelligent property management with BlueChip TimeLine

Winkhaus: intelligent property management with BlueChip TimeLine. Intelligent property management is no longer conceivable without electronic access systems. Until now, operators needed to choose between two systems – either offline or online. Neither totally offline nor online, BlueChip TimeLine is an innovative solution being used by companies such as the German film studio, Ufa Film & TV Production.

Offline access control systems do not involve time and expense spent on wiring, resulting in lower installation costs. There is also no need to modify doors to incorporate electronic cylinders or handles and, when relocating offices for instance, they can be easily disassembled, and reinstalled in another building.

Online systems, on the other hand, provide centralized management and control but entail more time and expense when installed. Authorizations can be issued or withdrawn with immediate effect; current door statuses are displayed; alarm signals go directly to the control center and access entries are logged at the control center. An employee display panel can also show who is present in the building, a function which is extremely useful in the event of an emergency.

Another useful function for emergencies is the automatic opening or closing of doors in the event of a fire alarm. Doors can be remote-controlled for day-to-day use via a control center workstation that can also block readers, control groups of rooms and manage parking place allocation online.

The online system has an anti pass-back function, which only allows users reentry after they have exited.

The Best of Both Worlds

BlueChip TimeLine combines the advantages of both solutions in a single system by controlling access authorization for all keys with the speed and convenience of online systems. It has no interference-prone wireless connections, and the central control system saves work and time because operators no longer need to program each door individually. The central computer is connected with access points at building entrances. These enable authorizations and changes to be directly written onto a user‘s identity device.

Anyone who requires access to a particular section automatically obtains their individual authorization then and there via an AccessPoint device at the building entrance. Authorization is up-to-date, personal and restricted with regard to time and place. Risks resulting from key loss are minimized as such authorizations automatically expire in the evening.

Using the new combined offline and TimeLine AccessPoint system has been a great success at Ufa. They decided on a replacement system when extension of the old mechanical locking system in the administration building was no longer an option. The new system would have to give employees access to their offices via the underground car park and to incorporate interfaces between the access control system and the existing facility management systems.

Personal Profiles

Around 280 Ufa employees as well as an everchanging number of temporary workers and service personnel frequent the complex, so Winkhaus developed a tailor-made, cross-system concept for the five-storey building complex consisting of 363 BlueChip cylinders, 15 access readers and a comprehensive exterior shell security system provided by TimeLine AccessPoints.

All users are assigned individual time profiles that define down to 15 minutes when they may open a door and when they are forbidden to enter for each day of the week, all public holidays and two special days. Personal access and time schedule authorizations are freshly stored on the BlueChip key transponder chip daily and automatically when the BlueChip is held against the AccessPoint as users enter the building.

Each locking operation and each attempted locking operation with non-authorized keys is logged together with the date, time and the person’s identity. If a key is lost, just a few clicks of the mouse block it out of the system.

Energy Management

Great savings on building operation costs are made by linking the access control system to the building management system. In the case of Ufa, energy consumption was reduced by up to thirty percent by opening doors electronically and controlling the power supply to rooms via interfaces with the building management system.

Lighting and other electrical systems are only activated when someone enters the building and are switched off when the building is vacated. Heating and cooling systems are also programmed according to requirements. On work days, rooms are automatically heated to an optimum temperature of 20ºC after 8 a.m. and reduced at night by 3ºC to an energy-saving level of 17ºC. For comfort and convenience, a room control unit also allows users to adjust the temperature by +/- 3°C and switch the lighting on and off manually.

The overall access control system at Ufa is managed centrally via a client server structure using the BlueIntrasControl software solution. As well as the position of all doors and their security components, the software also registers all permanent and temporary employees and service personnel who have received a BlueChip key as a personal identity device.

Building Blocks

The system manages up to 100,000 individuals for an unlimited number of doors, building areas and authorizations. The open system architecture and interfaces to video surveillance systems as well as burglar alarm systems and building management systems enabled the software to be easily incorporated into Ufa’s existing EDP environment.

The software is extendible to include components such as visitor management, parking space allocation, meeting room bookings or alarm management.

The use of offline components is particularly advantageous and cost-effective when installed in an existing building or when extending an online access control system. A combination of online and offline systems is an effective solution for many security projects with a need for flexibility and economy.

Contact:

Aug. Winkhaus GmbH & Co. KG,
Telgte, Germany
Tel.: +49 2504 921 660
Fax: +49 2504 921 429
info@winkhaus.de
www.winkhaus.de