The physical security and information provided by a key control system allows personnel to maintain a safer environment for students, staff and visitors and, in the event of a critical incident, a key control system makes it easier for administration and teachers to act in accordance with emergency procedures such as shelter-in-place and locking doors from the inside.
Keys are stored in the key cabinet and can only be accessed by authorized individuals with a proper code, badge or biometric identification. First responders’ badges can be pre-configured and distributed to designated first responders, enabling them to scan their badge into the system to quickly access critical emergency keys. Mobile apps further enable authorized users to see a wide range of live information and to interact remotely with the key control systems for added security or response time.
Key control systems that secure and track physical keys not only helps to make the campus safer for students, staff and visitors, it also saves costs and protects against loss. The loss of one master key can easily cost a university tens of thousands of dollars in re-keying. Securing keys in locked cabinets makes it easy to find the specific key needed and limit the use of masters to authorized individuals. Automatic recording of all access activity provides an audit trail to ensure that the last person to take out any keys can be identified. If a master is taken out and lost by an authorized individual, there is accountability as the audit trail can reliably identify that person.
Key control is a highly secure, pro-active and cost-saving solution that is an intelligent choice for an education environment.
Fernando Pires is VP of Sales and Marketing at Morse Watchmans