Page 13 - Campus Security & Life Safety, November/December 2021

“The sheer volume of doors on a college campus makes them a tremendous opportunity for building efficiency and quality control into new construction and renovation processes.”
management platforms and work order management systems.
Together, these two priorities indicate that campuses are beginning to look at the many doors on campus very differently. We now recognize the importance of a door opening in many areas:
• Creating a safe and secure learning envi- ronment
• Enabling seamless movement throughout a campus
• Improving efficiencies in day-to-day opera- tions
• Contributing to the health and wellness of students, faculty, and staff
• Optimizing the sustainability and environ- mental impact of a campus
Capturing the Value of the Door
By recognizing the value and the many ben- efits that properly designed door openings can offer, college and university decision makers are now looking at door openings as assets. As such, it is important to monitor and manage them in a more precise way, throughout the entire lifecycle of a building. From design and construction to ongoing management, this includes:
• Documenting existing doors and hardware for facility management and maintenance
By Jeremy Saline
• Using smart tagging to provide easy access to data about each door
• Creating virtual design guides to ensure consistent standards in all new construc- tion and renovation projects
This approach benefits the campus from both a financial perspective and a security perspective. In one real-world example, a major university had identified 25 different types of access control openings they wanted throughout nearly 500 campus buildings. The shared specifications with the architec- tural and design/construction teams, as well as the distributors for the project. However, substitutions were made during the bidding/ supply process, and the installed door open- ings did not meet their expectations.
As a result, the school had to use addi- tional funds from their expense budget to bring the doors up to spec. If they had a bet- ter process for documenting exactly what they wanted at each door, the additional time and expense of correcting the doors could have been avoided. The use of project punch lists to manage what is specified, bid and supplied, can be a useful tool to ensure qual- ity control throughout a project. Getting as- supplied documentation before handing a project over to facilities management is also crucial for efficiency and cost control.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021 campuslifesecurity.com 13