A Finnish sailing club saves members’ time

September 18, 2022

A Finnish sailing club saves members’ time by securing premises with cloud-managed, energy-harvesting locks

Many businesses know this problem. Securing dispersed sites poses specific problems for facility managers. Cylinder replacements when a key goes missing often involves travel and high expense. Any alternative access control system which relies on electricity can be hard or impossible to use in remote locations. Battery-free, wireless electronic locks, managed remotely via cloud software, help meet these challenges.

Näsijärvi Sailing Club in Finland has multiple bases all over Lake Näsijärvi, some located up to 2 hours’ sail from each other. Many mechanical “skipper keys” were in circulation, which allowed club members to unlock and use these facilities. However, keyholder registers and many traditional mechanical keys’ whereabouts were no longer up to date. This presented a security challenge which neither mechanical security nor traditional access control could solve. The sailing club were seeking a solution to increase their security and at the same time save effort and costs.

For a new, more efficient solution, the Sailing Club sought a programmable digital key system to help them regain control over facilities’ security. They needed wire-free locking devices suited to the club’s remote locations, with power provided by the user key.

To manage everything, they required software which enables system management tasks to be completed from anywhere: a system which makes it easy to remove access rights from any missing keys and audit trail capabilities, so security administrators can check access logs if an issue arises.

More control with programmable smart keys

Näsijärvi Sailing Club chose PULSE key-operated access control solution from ASSA ABLOYs group brand ABLOY for securing their premises and managing access for club members. Around 55 PULSE cylinders have been deployed across various Sailing Club locations. Authorized members now carry an individual key which opens all their permitted PULSE locks around the lake.

Why is PULSE the best fit for clubs with remote sites?

PULSE locks are ideally suited to an environment like Lake Näsijärvi, where access points are scattered. They generate all the electricity they need to power lock electronics from the key thrust. This innovative energy harvesting technology means neither cabling nor batteries are needed, which saves running and maintenance costs for the Sailing Club.

The PULSE cylinder range includes door locks, cam-locks, furniture locks and padlocks which can operate outdoors in the harshest climates. Almost any cylinder can be switched for a PULSE device and connected without wires or drilling.

Another advantage is that a PULSE system is so easy to manage. The club administer it for themselves, saving them additional management costs, too.

Secure facilities may be hours away by boat: PULSE saves wasted journeys. “The PULSE system allows keys to be updated and disabled at any time via readers and the cloud service,” says Ari Karjalainen, CEO of Ajan Lukko Lock and a member of Näsijärvi Sailing Club.

Incidents are easy to investigate by consulting key or lock audit trails: “In cases of vandalism, the access register can be used to check whose key has been used to visit the premises and when,” adds Karjalainen.

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