“Improvements to access control made by JMH Technology coupled with smart CCTV installation has not only provided a massive improvement to the security regime across the Birkbeck campus, but also delivered a dramatic drop in service costs.”
Challenge
Birkbeck College, part of the University of London, is renowned for a friendly and welcoming environment at its superbly located Bloomsbury campus. This leading research university primarily offers evening study to its vibrant learning community at this central London location, but with a large student body needing to access varied and multiple parts of its premises throughout the day. To maintain that effectively is a constant challenge, and Birkbeck needed to update their outdated security system to a robust access control and CCTV set-up capable of delivering both rigid constraints and freedom of movement in equal measure.
Solution
JMH Technology worked with Electra-Locks on the installation of CCTV, upgrade of access control systems and provision of ongoing maintanence across the main central London Birkbeck campus. An initial analysis of the existing WIN-PAK access control system revealed that it required a major programme of recoding to remove an unstable database protocol that was unnecessarily scheduled to run every night, often causing the access control system to fail – resulting in frustrating problems for students trying to move around the site at key study times. JMH Technology’s expert staff did all the necessary recoding of the system, which was then synchronised seamlessly with the student body database to detail who could go where across the campus buildings, the teaching spaces, laboratories and other essential Birkbeck facilities.
Result
Birkbeck can now rely on an efficient and fully-functioning access control system and CCTV installation, meaning the day-to-day experience for students and staff on the site is greatly enhanced. As well as allowing individuals to move around the correct parts of the campus necessary for their studies with enhanced freedom, the most notable ongoing benefit to Birkbeck is the reduced number of service calls they required. This figure has been dramatically cut from three per week to one per quarter, delivering a large cut in service costs to the college as a result. The high-quality images captured from the integrated smart CCTV system has also improved security and raised the protection level for students and staff from unlawful actions on campus.