Page 78 - Security Today, May/June 2020

it can be kind of hit or miss with students walking right by it.”
On the other hand, the Open turnstiles are very visible and some-
thing right in front of people entering the building, Dutil said. “Because it’s very noticeable and not easily overlooked, the stu- dents have learned pretty quickly to get their ID out and use it to avoid triggering an alarm,” Dutil said. “In fact, this was meant to be a test run for the campus to ensure it would be viable and worthwhile
for other buildings as well.”
A Solution for Older, Smaller Spaces
The College’s location in downtown Chicago introduced limitations that many suburban universities don’t have to contend with – space. Many of the campus buildings are decades old high rises and adding new elements such as turnstiles could get tricky. They would need to be small to fit into small spaces and still handle the necessary throughput.
The Student Center, with its use of the Open turnstiles, is a viabil- ity test of a concept that is being considered in the future for other buildings.
“A lot of what we’re trying to do is retrofit old buildings to fit mod- ern needs. And so it’s not something that would be feasible in every building, but anywhere where it is feasible, I believe that is being considered going forward,” Dutil said.
Dutil said the turnstiles have delivered additional benefits beyond basic campus security.
“One of the nice things about a system like this is that we can count visitors to the Student Center because we get the data of everybody that scans in. So on a busy day for us it’s about 2500 people through- out the day,” he said. “That can range depending on what’s going on and what time of year it is. On weekends we’re very slow, since there are no classes – maybe 900 to 1,200.”
Dutil added: “We are a rental venue as well, so we have times where the building is open to non-Columbia College Chicago people for events or other functions. There’s a really convenient touch panel right at the security desk called the BoonTouch, where the officer can
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turn off the turnstiles during those times and then attendees can move through freely without any alarms going off at all.”
Facing Down Harsh Weather To Meet Student Needs
Another unavoidable aspect of living, working and studying in Chi- cago is harsh weather. Because of this, most buildings in the Windy City utilize revolving doors for their ability to hold a constant seal against the side walls no matter how many people go through them. This feature prevents air infiltration and the loss of conditioned air, as well stack pressure in high rise buildings. Building managers also seek to avoid a wind tunnel effect, which is caused when a swing door opens and there is an updraft inside the building.
The architects at Gensler selected a 7-foot, 6-inch diameter TQM revolving door for the Student Center. The manual revolving door gets heavy use during school hours or for public events, but regardless of the traffic, there is no wind or drafts entering into the building, making the coffee area inviting and relaxing even in the dead of winter. And even when students push it hard, the speed control prevents unsafe rotation speeds.
“Revolving doors are always preferred at a building like this that gets a lot of traffic going in and out. We have cold, drafty weather that blows right into our main space at that first floor entry. The revolving door helps to keep the building warm and saves energy and utility costs as well,” Dutil said.
The entrance area at the Student Center is set up and even consid- ering the hiccups of training the new students, Dutil is satisfied that it meets the needs of the students and they appreciate the effort to keep them safe.
“Students feel safe and comfortable entering the building at night,” he said. “Our building has a lot of nooks and crannies, and someone can end up alone in a space. And so I think knowing that the only people that are in that building are the ones that are supposed to be there is helpful. Overall, our students appreciate the effort to try to keep them safer.”
Tracie Thomas is the vice president of marketing at Boon Edam.
Turnstile Solutions
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campuslifesecurity.com | MAY/JUNE 2020
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