Lock-Tech-Systems  has secured the contract to provide Access Control and Assisted Environment technologies at Family Housing Association’s new Extra Care Housing facility in Cardigan. The new building is to be purpose built to make available the very best level of care and independent living to the over 55s. The Family Housing Association has been providing housing management and support services for those with additional needs for over 30 years and the new building has been designed with the aim of allowing tenants the best possible combination of security, support and independence.

A housing solution from the same cast as FHA’s popular Hazel Court project, the Extra Care building is a community in itself and the building will include a cafe and shop as well as IT facilities, a hairdressers, hobby rooms and areas for casual socialising amidst the 48 seperate 1 and 2 bedroom apartments in the building. Although much is planned on site to cater to the needs of residents, the overall aim of the project is to encourage interaction with the greater community in Cardigan making tenants feel at home and stay secure at the same time.

Access Control of the site is of course vital and to enable a secure and efficient solution, Lock-Tech-Systems will be installing a range of devices to both public areas within the complex and to each individual apartment flat. Bringing our experience from the Hazel Court project and our trademark attention to detail, Lock-Tech will be responsible for linking the independent Fire Alarm and in-building Intercom systems to the site Access Control, selected from the popular SALTO range of devices, to give flexible and reliable control over the security of the premises. To make access even easier for residents with mobility difficulties this same Access Control will be linked in to the Automatic Door operators, opening the doors on activation or by built in approach Radar or push-button. Lock-Tech will also be making available the full spectrum of Assisted Environment devices for use as required in each apartment, each solution tailored to the needs of the specific resident. Automatic Doors, Wireless Remote Control and Closed Circuit Intercoms are just a few of the many different options that combine to overcome the obstacles that impede life day-to-day and Lock-Tech are expert in getting the most out of each complementary system. Lock-Tech will be involved through-out the later stages of specification and construction, the Cardigan Extra Care Housing Project is planned for completion and will accept residents in 2011.

Lock-Tech-Systems is proud to be continuing our successful partnership with building contractors Willmott-Dixon and the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff in working on the New School of Management building on UWICs Llandaff Campus near the busy Cardiff city centre.

The new building is part of Willmott-Dixon’s on-going program to update UWIC campuses across the city and the New School of Management building is a grand example of modern construction for purpose, designed to support one of the Universities largest departments with over 2000 students and staff using the facility.  The building will incorporate break-out areas, spaces for teaching and casual learning, a cafe, bar and restaurant as well as offices, conference rooms and lecture theatres.

The £20m project will also serve to further link the University and the local business community, making the state of the art facilities available for training and negotiations and in turn providing growing opportunities for graduates and start-up ventures across the region. The new building has been designed to take advantage of the latest systems in building management and energy efficiency, including natural ventilation, energy efficient heating and air conditioning, automatic lighting balance and advanced access control utilising the market leading SALTO Virtual Network system.  

 The School of Management will be secured using an extension of UWICs existing SALTO network, tested over several years use on the universities many campuses and also incorporating facilities for student identification, library borrowing and cashless payment on campus, all on top of providing secure access and user control for facilities management in a simple and straight-forward to use package.

Lock-Tech-Systems has been involved in specifying and installing much of UWICs existing SALTO hardware,  including projects such as the access control in the New Food Technologies Building and the National Indoor Athletics Centre and it is this experience and knowledge that we bring to the new School of Management. Working closely with UWIC we have designed a range of different door solutions to satisfy the broad requirements of the various public spaces, private function rooms and secure facilities that the building incorporates, emphasising the flexibility, security and reliability of the SALTO system. Intelligent use of Automatic Door Operators, Magnetic Locks and secondary linking systems means that Access Control is an ever-present, yet totally un-obtrusive, addition to the building fabric. The SALTO Virtual Network system combines quality engineered door security hardware and robust database-driven software to manage users and access points with a minimum of fuss. User information is stored on each persons card relating to which doors they are permitted access to and the times within which they are allowed to do so. Whenever a card is used (simply by presenting the card to the wall reader or door escutcheon for a moment) the recorded data on the card is compared with the data stored on the door control unit and if the user is permitted access then the door will activate. Further more, doors control units can be connected to the campus ethernet network and the information on a user card updated to the latest information with each use. Door use can also be monitored in real time through the network in a  two way process that can allow doors to be set remotely to open, emergency lock or any one of several alternative functions. The Virtual Network set-up also stores changes in information for the whole system on every card, meaning that doors lacking connection to the ethernet network will continue to be updated by every card that is used to access them. The New School of Management building is scheduled to open for the new semester in September 2010. 

Hazel Court a new housing development offering 21st century style and innovation in Swansea, Wales, has chosen a SALTO access control system to provide advanced security management. Operated by Family Housing Association (Wales) Ltd, Hazel Court is designed to provide a new way of living for the over 55’s. It is an apartment complex that is intended to be part of the community – not a community apart – and many of its communal facilities will also available to people and organisations in the wider community.

It offers tenants 120 spacious apartments, attractive landscaped grounds and all area access for wheelchair users and lifts to all floors. It also incorporates advanced technology to allow tenants to contact staff 24 hours a day, and boasts flexible on-site services to meet various and changing needs including an on-site care & support team.

In keeping with their 21st Century concept to provide totally keyless access, enhanced security and to integrate with other modern technological systems, a state-of-the-art electronic access control requirement was specified at the complex’s design stage.

Ramesh Gurdev, SALTO Systems UK Sales Manager, explains, “As the complex is for the over 55s with a proportion of elderly and less able tenants, the ease of use over a key system coupled with the enhanced security of electronic access control, made SALTO a particularly relevant choice. Over 166 stand alone Mifare Comfort and Security handle sets operated by proximity cards have been fitted throughout the complex of 4 buildings including the Energy Centre, as well as off-line wall readers and an SVN (SALTO Virtual Network) on-line reader/update point in a central, frequently accessed location. Additional access control locks have also been fitted to some service cupboards and as the main locking system for the various other facilities. The SVN virtual network provides 90% of what users get from a fully wired online system but at the cost of a stand alone system. It uses distributed intelligence in the locks and cards to allow Hazel Court to manage their access control requirements in a secure and comfortable way. Benefits include eliminating the need to replace locks if key security is breached due to the loss or theft of a card, allowing locks to be updated, restricted or deleted remotely without the need to walk the site updating locks with a programmer.”

Local SALTO re-seller Lock-Tech carried out the installation. Managing Director, Phil Harvey, comments, “We offered the customer the ability to have just one access system to control the entire complex, with one card and one software package. In addition to this we have also worked closely with Family Housing Association (Wales) Ltd to produce an integrated apartment entry system that meets the requirements of their physically challenged tenants. The SALTO handle set utilises a mortice night latch coupled with an electric strike as a standard installation. If an apartment is subsequently let to a physically challenged tenant who may have difficulty in opening their entrance door, an automatic door operator replaces the existing door closer. This auto door operator is activated by either an internal exit switch or by a valid fob at the handle set. A physically capable person can open the door normally, but if a physically challenged person allows 2 – 3 seconds to pass, the auto door operator will release the electric strike and power open the door. This has kept on-site hardware and costs to an absolute minimum and has enabled Hazel Court to achieve significant cost savings on their security spend.”