Blair House Residence Smartly Addresses Access Control and Security with SMARTair®
The Challenge
The Blair House Residence is an exclusive 150,000 sq. ft. multi family building that provides housing for college students and their families. In an extremely busy housing facility, security for residents is critical. Beyond security needs, operational requirements can be complex in such a dynamic environment– limiting or providing access to different areas, replacing lost or stolen keys or credentials and more. The Blair House had an additional challenge that needed to be addressed: the new system would need to accept credentials from an existing system still in use.
The Solution
SMARTair was one of the first solutions presented to the owners’ security consultant, and was recognized as the clear front runner early on. The SMARTair locksets provided a Grade 1 electronic access control system that enabled the management and control of access to the building and each individual suite. Aesthetically pleasing, SMARTair is also very robust and able to handle the heavy use experienced in a residence hall of this type.
Importantly, SMARTair is also able to accept additional credentials from another system. There were already HID iClass readers and credentials in use at the building’s main entry entrance, which SMARTair was able to integrate. A major positive attribute as it meant the owners could continue to leverage their past investment. In addition, SMARTair’s wireless’ simple installation added to the cost efficacy of the solution – an important and valuable benefit.
Easy to use, both for residents and administrators, SMARTair has proven to be an ideal access control and security solution for this highly dynamic facility.
The Result
The proof of any system’s capabilities comes from its actual use within the environment it operates. Mr. Arnold Wan, Owner Representative of The Blair House Residence had this to say about SMARTair: “We were in need of a system capable of meeting our needs to secure the residents of the building and it had to be capable of working with existing credentials already deployed. The system had to be easy-to-use for the residents and for the administrator. Our building has a nice décor and the product had to blend in aesthetically but at the same time be robust and reliable. One year later, we are pleased to say that we made the right choice, because the Mul-T-Lock SMARTair system, combined with Mul-T-Lock’s support, has met our needs and we are now expanding the system to secure the next tower in 2017.