Article Published in April 2004 issue of Security Distributing & Marketing

 Wireless Access Saves County Time, Money, and Peace of Mind

Like many other government agencies, the Santa Clara County Board assessed its security practices after September 11.  The conclusion: it had to quickly update its access control to a single system in all of its building using a single card technology, and its number of areas controlled had to be increased. 

Given the heightened security concerns coupled with tight budgets, it was imperative to do it quickly yet cost effectively.  This was definitely a challenge for Lin Ortega, Dan O’Neal and Cindy Fose who were the team members responsible for the implementation.  Their biggest concern was getting the system “installed and up and running immediately,” recalls O’Neal, who is the lead locksmith at Santa Clara County Administrative Offices.

The problems presented in wiring the buildings loomed large in the team’s thinking.  “There was no way to get wire from one point to another, unless through the Walker ducts, and most of those were full,” lamented O’Neil.  The fact that there were no suspended ceilings and wiring ducts weren’t available meant the wiring could not be done quickly.  This forced the team to ask the question of whether there was an alternative.  This was seemingly answered when Cindy visited an ADI Expo and ran into Richard Ramm, regional sales manager for Wireless Access, the solution provider that eliminates wiring.  Not having to run wires seemed to be the answer to getting the system up and running quickly.  It seemed to have the additional side benefit of potentially saving a lot of money.

But there were major concerns.  Would it work in all of the buildings?  Would it be reliable?  Would there be interference?  Would it be fast enough and workable for the employees?  One of the buildings had interior walls with corrugated metal facades and another had a lot of electronic RF interference.

So, prior to seriously considering wireless as the solution, the team had Richard Ramm check out one of the buildings using a pre-installation tester.  After that test went well, it was decided to use Wireless Access solutions through out the buildings. Not only would it be faster and less costly, but also it would be far less disruptive to the work environment.  There would be no work crews blocking passageways, disabling doorways multiple times for long periods or equipment left lying around.

In the area that had the corrugated metal facades on the interior walls, The RF communications were spotty.  But not a problem.  A remote antenna was mounted on the outside of the metal wall and communications became consistent.

The team faced more than one challenge.  How to get several county buildings using one common access card was a challenge.  To address that issue, the team selected Lenel for the head-end because it is an enterprise wide system capable of servicing multiple buildings and it is easy to expand the number of access ports per controller.

In all, there were dozens of doors fitted with Wireless Access Modular Integrated Reader Locks in the first 14-story building.  They were purchased from Clark Security, San Diego, and installed by the resident locksmiths.  The whole job took a few weeks to complete without one piece of conduit.  “Within a short time the locksmiths were putting them in as fast as could be.” touted O’Neal.

After the main building was done, one of the other buildings, a prefabricated concrete slab warehouse, needed to immediately add access control to a few doors.  It was done in one or two days with Wireless Access Modular Integrated Reader Locks that were in the locksmith’s stock. 

The new system is in and operating using Wireless Access in the first two buildings.  The team likes the fact that every type of entrance and exit could be done with a wireless solution.  It went in quickly, and, “Yes, it’s performing as we desired it to.” O’Neal says.  “And not only did we meet the time constraints, but we also saved about $1000 per door.”