The Dr P. Phillips YMCA gym in Florida sought an upgrade to the facility’s physical access control system that would allow valid members to enter the facility, and accurately track an individual’s membership status and facility-access data.
With its large and active membership, the YMCA had previously encountered several issues while ensuring that people entering the facility were among the 26,000 registered members. The YMCA worked with Tyco to select an access control system that deploys both physical barriers and biometrics, and an event management platform to control the flow of people and the accuracy of membership data.
To manage member entry, the YMCA had relied on membership cards with barcodes linked to both, an access control database and a membership database. If the system rejected a card, YMCA staff needed to check the person’s status and determine if they could enter. Due to sluggish performance of the two databases, and no physical barrier to prevent a person entering the facility, the cardholder in question may well have already entered the facility by the time staff verified the person’s status.
Also, membership data was not updated frequently, meaning an individual whose membership had expired may still have had a valid card that worked with the scanner. Additionally, membership cards could be shared so that more than one person could enter on a single card.
The Dr. P. Phillips YMCA selected a comprehensive access control system that deploys both physical barriers and biometrics. Door Controllers prevent the public from wandering into restricted areas. They make security and building operations more effective by integrating with alarm panels, HVAC systems, and CCTV systems.
Readers, exit devices, and cards now deployed are some of the most advanced in the industry and are designed for use with the powerful AC2000 access control and security management system. Security and event management also enables the business to better safeguard its infrastructure with customisation options for specific needs.
The new access environment delivers the YMCA several operational benefits, including accurate accounting of membership status; precise tracking of daily, weekly, and monthly use and it is all operated on a single integrated platform, eliminating the need for a secondary database or multiple management platforms
