Symmetry Access Control offers Addenbrooke Hospitals the ability to fully integrate with CCTV and alarm management

(29/07/2009)

Addenbrooke’s is the largest of the Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust with over 40 wards and 32 operating theatres. A centre for specialist care and a provider of local services, Addenbrooke’s has an established world-wide standing as one of the foremost university teaching and research hospitals in the world.

Addenbrooke’s currently employs over 6,000 staff at its campus, just a few miles from the city centre. Added to this figure are in excess of 5,000 staff from other organisations based on the site, including research, temporary and part-time staff, as well as the myriad of sub-contractors in roles similar to those employed by virtually every hospital and Trust nowadays. In addition, during an average twelve month period, a total of over 280,000 outpatients, 25,000 day cases and 44,000 inpatients will be treated at Addenbrooke’s. It is easy to get a picture of the administration and access complexities Addenbrooke’s face.

To manage the vast campus of buildings, car parks and temporary facilities Addenbrooke’s installed a Public Access Terminals (PAT) ESi Access Control solution in the late 1990s. The system was initially installed as a car park control solution but due to the user friendly nature of the system it was soon rolled out across the hospital campus.

The ESi solution enabled Addenbrooke’s administration staff to create Access Control cards for new staff members, contractors or visitors as required and assign only the necessary access rights.

Ten years on and the ESi system was operating at capacity. Limited to the number of card holders (5000) and readers (400) the system could manage Addenbrooke’s realised they needed a new solution to their Identification and Access Control needs.

When Group 4 Technology acquired the PAT and Esi products in 2006 they carried out a survey at Addenbrooke’s to establish if the existing ESi system was meeting the hospital’s requirements. As the ESi system could not expand any further to include additional card holders and readers Group 4 Technology offered Addenbrooke’s an alternative solution.

Group 4 Technology replaced the existing ESi system with Symmetry Access Control. An application of the Symmetry Security Management System (SMS), the Symmetry Access Control solution offers Addenbrooke’s the ability to fully integrate with other applications including CCTV and alarm management, ideal for large campus environments such as Addenbrooke’s.

The Symmetry Access Control solution particularly appealed to Addenbrooke’s as the number of card holders and readers the system can manage is unlimited. With the hospital campus expanding and the increasing number of staff and visitors on site every day this scalable solution was exactly what Addenbrooke’s needed.

Before the new Symmetry system was installed, Group 4 Technology carried out a complete survey of the ESi solution, examining all wiring, cabling and mechanics. As the hardware was in good condition and capable of integrating with the Symmetry Access Control software all readers, enclosures and cabling were maintained, keeping the existing infrastructure and thus minimising cost.

Group 4 Technology maintained a close relationship with Addenbrookes Trust Security Advisor, Peter Lester throughout the installation, “The new Symmetry solution was a collaborative effort. We were able to maintain the existing infrastructure yet benefit from a more efficient system” said Lester. “The decision to replace our existing system with Symmetry was simple as the flexibility of the new solution will evolve as we do, adapting to our growing security needs.”

The Symmetry installation uses current technology while the backwards compatibility of the software enables the system to adapt to individual needs. “In the case of Addenbrookes we were able to accommodate the existing hardware while expanding the system to include a further 24 wards, with software to support a further 516 readers under the new Symmetry system” said Group 4 Technology Sales Manager Mark Wheeler.

The card holder databases were merged within Symmetry to create a streamlined single database for all administration activities including card creation, access rights and identity amendments.

With the Symmetry solution successfully implemented, attention has turned to future expansion which may include CCTV integration and a move to smart card technology. Symmetry SMS provides the ideal platform to support Addenbrooke’s decision to evolve their security enabling complete integration and manageability across a complex campus environment.

Related topics:  CCTV system and accessories   Intrusion detection   Monitoring systems   Smart card 

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