HARDWARE & SECURITY
ABLOY UK AND MID-BEDS LOCKSMITHS LTD SECURE WADDESDON MANOR
Waddesdon Manor is home to the Rothschild Collections of paintings , sculpture and decorative arts , and was built by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild between 1874 and 1885 .
» OPENED TO THE PUBLIC IN 1959 , Waddesdon Manor is managed by the Rothschild Foundation , a family charitable trust , on behalf of the National Trust , who took over ownership in 1957 .
They needed an access control system that could not only secure storerooms and valuable artwork and assets , but also keep members of the public away from restricted areas .
Keys in the existing locking system were badly worn , and the security and facilities management wanted to upgrade to a proven state of the art solution that provided control of key management and more information such as audit trails .
Mid-Beds Locksmiths Ltd - who has been responsible for the heritage and modern locks and ironmongery at the site for over 20 years - and the security team at Waddesdon conducted a survey of the site to identify the locks that most urgently needed replacing in stage one of the upgrade .
Mid-Beds Locksmiths Ltd suggested the eCLIQ solution from Abloy would be the ideal retrofit option . The security team were aware of Abloy ’ s strong reputation in the security industry as a trusted brand , with many Abloy products fitted in heritage sites and museums across the UK . As Abloy is known for its premium high quality high security products , this would also fulfil insurance criteria .
By switching to eCLIQ , staff would retain their own key with individual permissions , rather than having to share keys from the previous mechanical master key system .
This meant Waddesdon could implement a fully traceable electromechanical key hierarchy system , with each department given different access rights based on their requirements . What ’ s more , the solution required no wiring , making the installation simple and maintaining the original appearance .
Abloy and Mid-Beds Locksmiths Ltd specified a new bespoke solution , issuing around 20 keys and 35 cylinders for stage one , with a view to expanding the system with further upgrades in the future .
The eCLIQ cylinders are suitable for doors of any thickness , making them the ideal solution for heritage doors as there are no cables or drilling required , plus the cylinders do not damage the original lock . Ornate cylinders were specified where required , fitting in with the building ’ s aesthetics and maintaining the appearance of historic locks .
The Waddesdon security team explained : “ The eCLIQ system is the perfect solution for the heritage sector , as it allows access control in a historic property where you normally wouldn ’ t be able to get it without considerable impact on infrastructure .
“ All of our access is now controlled by the admin onsite , and no one can give the wrong access to the wrong person – it just can ’ t happen . It ’ s a busy environment so this has saved significant admin time handing out keys .
“ Instead of having to collect a bunch of 30 keys , staff have just one . Now people come to work in the morning , enter their key and are automatically given their access rights for 24 hours .
“ Permissions are deleted after a period of time , so we don ’ t need to worry about lost or stolen keys . If someone lost a key previously , we would have to change 50- 60 locks , but that ’ s not an issue anymore . Plus , the system offers tracking and audit trails for us to keep an eye on who is accessing which areas and when .
“ We can change batteries so they won ’ t wear out , which offers another cost saving , and the locks are more robust for multiple use , so I ’ m confident it ’ ll be a more flexible and beneficial system long term .”
View the video case study on here : https :// www . youtube . com / watch ? v = A-APgZjRhL8
www . abloy . co . uk
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JAN / FEB 2023
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