KeyWatcher® Manage Access at Luxury High-Rise
Keeping residents and the facility safe and secure is a serious undertaking at the Promenade Condominium. For the past 17 years, management has relied on Morse Watchmans’ KeyWatcher® key control and management systems to help achieve this goal.
Located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, The Promenade Condominium is a residential high-rise luxury condominium with 191 units on 38 floors. It is distinguished by spectacular views and full amenities including a health club and pool. The building offers an outdoor jogging track and a fitness center, wrap-around roof terrace, conference room, party room, children's playroom, billiard room, bicycle and storage room and a garage – all with controlled access. Building management holds keys for these areas as well as keys for each unit and uses the Morse Watchmans key control and management system to secure, control and track keys.
“Holding the keys in the KeyWatcher eliminates any issues of unmanaged access,” said Dominick Camilleri, resident manager. “The system works very well and over the years we have never had a problem.”
The Promenade’s original KeyWatcher was recently updated with the newer KeyWatcher Illuminated system, along with the complementary KeyWatcher Key-Pro software to enable improved tracking of key usage. The installation of the new system followed a detailed technical evaluation that also included competitive products and, according to Camilleri, the Morse Watchmans system was found to be superior.
He says, “The KeyWatcher Illuminated system was selected over the other brands because of its quality, performance, reliability and scalability. “Admittedly, we were spoiled by our past experience with the old KeyWatcher system. It really set the standard for our evaluation of a replacement system in terms of reliability and longevity.”
Similar in appearance to the original, the new KeyWatcher Illuminated system offers several convenient features that make controlling keys for a large residential property easier and improve accounting and tracking. Built into a rugged steel cabinet with highly illuminated key slots, the improved design makes it easier to locate keys and maximize wall space. The illuminated two line by 16 character screen clearly displays messages and user prompts for a variety of different functions, including removal and replacement of keys. The cabinet is wired with a tamper-proof mechanism and alarms can be sent automatically via email to designated managers.
The Key-Pro software enables Camilleri to monitor activity from any desktop connected to the network. He can also trace key movements by time, date and user code. The automated record keeping software can also help to reduce the number of man hours spent searching for keys or following up on incidents.
“What we most like about the new system is the capability for tracking keys,” adds Camilleri. “For liability issues and other reasons, it is important for us to know and document the whereabouts of keys and the length of time that keys are out. The KeyWatcher gives us that information in an easy to read report. I would definitely recommend this product to other large facilities that need key control.”
More information: www.morsewatchmans.com.
Detex Automatic Swing Door Systems For Healthcare
Detex Corporation’s offers Automatic Swing Door Systems are ideal for healthcare applications. Used at entrance doors, in surgical areas, on cross-corridor doors – anywhere complete access without hands-on door contact is required – Detex Automatic Swing Door Systems are proven performers.
Certain healthcare applications require a combination of components to meet the needs of specific applications. Detex features a range of hardware designed specifically for healthcare uses. In addition, Detex provides complete systems that efficiently meet more complex application requirements. Customers can select the exact components that suit a certain application and know that the components will integrate easily with each other and function well as a system.
Detex Swing Door System components include the AO19 automatic door opener that can operate light or heavy doors in low energy applications and has controls mounted and pre-wired in one unit, as well as electrified Advantex® panic hardware, keypads and card readers. These can be used for interior doors where the general public can access a wall button or authorized personnel can use a keypad or card reader, or for exterior doors that open with a wall button for assisted entry during the day and restricted entry after hours.
“Detex is the only manufacturer that integrates all these hardware components,” said Ken Kuehler, national accounts manager. “We even offer preconfigured EasyKits® that install easily with any hardware already in place, such as door prop alarms, camera setups, or roaming-alert systems used in assisted living facilities.”
For more than a century, Detex has earned the trust of architects and owners who rely on Detex products for the safety and security of people and property. A USA company, Detex designs, manufactures, markets and ships products from New Braunfels, Texas. Detex is known internationally for life safety and security door hardware, loss prevention and architectural hardware, integrated door security systems, and guard tour verification.
More Info: www.detex.com.
Von Duprin Compiles “Harsh Environment” Suite
For facilities in code-driven regions and humid, salty and high wind conditions, such as outdoor venues, coastal buildings or wet environments including pools, aquariums, water parks and zoos that require extra protection, Von Duprin has brought together a suite of products that assure buildings remain safe and secure. Products include coatings that inhibit rust and those that are designed, tested and certified to WS9827/9927 and 237 standards, which both meet the FEMA 361 and 320 building codes for windstorm resistance.
“Harsh environments can damage exit devices and other door hardware quickly, whether the abuse comes from salt, water or excessive winds,” explains Joseph Vaida, Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies, portfolio marketing manager-mechanical. “For these applications, the same door hardware that’s used in one place in the facility may not be appropriate for areas that needed to fight these harsh conditions. Therefore, Von Duprin offers this suite of hardware to fight abusive elements.”
Exit devices exposed to extreme conditions and weather need additional protection against the elements. For these applications, Von Duprin can apply a clear protective coating to the exterior and interior of an exit device’s mechanical parts to help prevent the effects of weather or chemical corrosion, extending the life of the device. This clear protective coating improves chemical and corrosion resistance and additionally provides antimicrobial protection.
Exit devices on the exterior of a building are often exposed to the weather. Humidity and heavy rain can find its way into the exit device and cause electronics to malfunction. By water-proofing switches, designed to function safely in humid or wet conditions, Von Duprin helps prevent the effects of humidity and rain.
Exit devices mounted to exterior doors are often exposed to rain and other elements. Water enters the exit device and causes critical components to potentially rust or function improperly. Von Duprin can add drainage holes to assure exterior exit devices don’t hold water in the mechanism case and rust the mechanics. These drainage holes let water leave the exit device and are essential for products mounted on exterior doors to deliver long-lasting functionality and durability.
Severe wind and tornadoes requires a safe and secure shelter. Such extreme conditions require specialized testing to both the exit device and the total opening. Von Duprin offers certified and tested products to help keep people safe in the event of an environmental incident, providing superior protection from severe weather. FEMA- and ICC-compliant, reinforced components help secure the building and its occupants from wind and debris. Harsh environment exit devices are certified for hurricane and tornado resistant applications.
“For a long lasting doorway that will endure through some of the harshest conditions, Von Duprin products with these harsh environment options are what facility managers challenged by such applications need,” adds Vaida. “It’s imperative that integrators and their customers specify door hardware that matches the need of each and every access point.”
More information: http://w3.securitytechnologies.com/Products/exit_devices/solutions/Pages/default.aspx.
