Page 104 - Security Today, April 2017

ACCESS CONTROL
SECURING PRESTIGE
Yale University migrates to new retrofit system By Kim Rahfaldt
ESTABLISHED IN 1701, YALE UNIVERSITY SPANS THE URBAN STREETS OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT WHERE 11,000 STUDENTS ASPIRE TO BECOME THE BEST IN THEIR FIELDS OF STUDY. YALE’S CENTRAL CAMPUS COV- ERS 310 ACRES WITH THE BUILDINGS REPRESENTING EVERY PERIOD IN ITS HISTORY: NEW ENGLAND COLO- NIAL, HIGH VICTORIAN GOTHIC, MOORISH REVIVAL TO TODAY’S CONTEMPORARY STYLES. IN ADDITION, THE WEST CAMPUS SITS ON 136 ACRES WITH 1.6 MILLION SQUARE FEET OF RESEARCH, OFFICE AND WAREHOUSE SPACE, AND THERE ARE OVER 600 ACRES OF ATHLETIC FIELDS AND NATURAL PRESERVES MAINTAINED.
Securing a prestigious, historic university that is located in a busy, urban area produces challenges. High expectations by students, par- ents and staff, combined with today’s security and environmental chal- lenges, demand an exceptional security program.
With an attitude to continuously improve, Yale’s Public Safety Department developed a security outreach, education and awareness plan and reduced theft by 80 percent over the past five years. From a technology perspective, their security system had reached the end of its life. To continue to provide a high level of security, the Director of Information Technology, David Boyd, and Chief of Police & Director
of Public Safety, Ronnell Higgins, along with a selected team of Yale stakeholders, decided to upgrade their legacy Casi Rusco Picture Per- fect System to AMAG Technology’s Symmetry SR Retrofit System. A true partnership was born between AMAG and Yale.
YALE’S ACCESS CONTROL VISION
Between students continuously moving around and effectively managing thousands of visitors, Chief Higgins’ vision was born from three goals: 1. To monitor and manage all security systems from a single point of contact.
2. To increase security and enhance the ability to control movement of all identity types through onboarding and offboarding of permanent and temporary employees, retirees or others, including implementing visitor management.
3. To increase efficiencies and enhance self-service access control using mobile credentials.
The Symmetry SR Retrofit System provided Yale an affordable migration path that gave them everything they needed in an integrated unified security system. Yale was able to keep their existing wiring in place along with their card readers and cards.
“Some of our buildings are 200 years old with three-foot stone walls,” said Director of Information Technology, David Boyd. “Not having to do a rip and replace of our old system saved millions of dollars.”
CS12 WWW.CAMPUSLIFESECURITY.COM | APRIL 2017
A SPECIAL SECTION TO SECURITY PRODUCTS AND THE JOURNAL
CAMPUS SECURITY & LIFE SAFETY
Yale University, Michael Marsland