Educational campuses, whether public or private, are analogous to mini towns across a few acres, or sprawling cities across miles of land and oceans. Regardless of whether the educational campus is large or small, multiple buildings on-site, and multiple locations for the same school need security to protect assets and the student and faculty populations. On any given campus, there are a few hundred or less, to thousands of keys that need security and management.
Morse Watchmans, the original developer for electronic key control systems, streamlined the process of key management for educational campuses and other industries over three decades ago. Its signature KeyWatcher Touch expedites management of all physical keys for campuses of all sizes.
What is electronic key control?
KeyWatcher systems allow campus security and facilities administrators to assign users, track key usage, locate keys, schedule automatic reports, and set up email and text notifications when a key is overdue. KeyWatcher systems provide asset management for all keys, and for the assets they protect. KeyWatchers also provide access control for security professionals and key control administrators, who determine who can have access to specific keys. Full audit trail reports are always available.
When considering key control security for a campus setting, assessing the campus size and needs and the types of systems available makes the process simpler. KeyWatcher systems are modular, scalable, and expandable, which makes it easier to address changing needs, such as renovations, expansions, or the construction of new campus buildings.
Small School Settings
For smaller, single building schools can benefit from a small stand-alone, non-networked KeyWatcher system. A non-networked system offers data privacy and is a solid security system to manage important historic, fleet, and master keys. A small stand-alone system is a great tool to store all classroom keys and facility keys, so staff members no longer need to take them home. When keys leave school grounds, there is risk for expensive re-keying if they are lost or misused. A designated key ring for first responders also expedites response time for crisis and emergency management.
Medium to Large School Buildings and Campuses
A sprawling school building that comprises an entire student and staff body often has expansive interior footprints with multiple floors. Walking from one end to another of a building and up multiple levels takes time. Medium sized to large campuses have multiple buildings, which also takes time to get from one location to another.
Installing key control cabinets in a closed network at several locations throughout the building or in multiple buildings is a great solution for these educational facilities. Within networked key control systems, keys may be returned to any cabinet location for added convenience.
Larger school buildings and campuses also have multiple security technology systems including video surveillance and access control systems. Adding a key control system and integrating it with other security and business systems delivers real-time data when the systems are synched and working together to provide centralized security snapshots of what is occurring in the building or on campus.
Security personnel can then monitor all security system activity from the centralized location or department. From a centralized department, security personnel can activate or deactivate users, track key usage, locate keys and conduct key audits.
Large Campuses with Satellite and Global Locations
Many universities have satellite locations in multiple cities with global campuses. KeyWatcher systems allow protocols for networking over a wide area network (WAN). This allows for tighter key control security and consistent security standards for all locations, which can be managed by a centralized security office. All key control activities can be viewed across all locations, whether domestic or overseas, and audited instantly.
The Benefits of Key Control for Schools of Any Size
Key control systems, such as the Morse Watchmans KeyWatcher, are an essential security tool for educational facilities and campuses of all sizes. Tracking keys can be a frustrating task, but it does not need to be with electronic key control systems. Besides reducing the likelihood of lost keys and expensive re-keying, key control adds security operational efficiency and accountability and saves time and money.
For more information, visit “The Morse Watchmans Campus: Reimagining Key Control for Universities” and get your copy of this whitepaper.
