With many university students up and down the country having suffered crime, ASSA ABLOY have teamed up with the University of East Anglia (UEA) to try and prevent this happening further.
It’s been estimated that a whopping third of the UK’s university population has been a victim of crime – namely either theft or burglary. Those who have bikes or expensive laptops are usually targeted, especially during fresher’s week, with around 20% of theft incidents taking place during the first six weeks of the academic year. With this in mind, the University of East Anglia (UEA) sought out the services of ASSA ABLOY as they felt they needed a trusted access control solution for their new student accommodation.
Formed back in 1963, the university is globally renowned and is frequently listed as one of the best universities – both for education purposes, but also for student experience, according to the Times Higher Student Experience Survey 2016. The UEA is based in a campus, which provides top quality social, cultural and academic facilities for over 15,000 students.
In order to boost security for UEA’s latest on-site residence, Crome Court, which is made up of 231 en-suite rooms, which are subsequently rented out to post-graduate students, UEA went to ASSA ABLOY. While the building was specifically designed by UEA in order to reduce their environmental impact, the university felt it was vital that the access control solution contributed towards this goal.
UEA needed to have a system in place that could guarantee electronic locks, which were built in order to serve the unique demands of student accommodation, all while ensuring the occupants safety and security. A stylish and affordable component design was vital, which also fitted the environmentally advanced profile of the new accommodation.
Gallagher, ASSA ABLOY Access Control’s OEM’s partner, helped seek out the best security solution for the university. Jason Boyce, Sales Manager at Gallagher, said: “We decided to offer Aperio® to UEA because of its outstanding reputation.” Crome Court’s doors are fitted with Aperio® E100 online escutcheons, with installation training provided on campus by ASSA ABLOY. Students open doors with smart cards instead of keys, with the battery-operated Aperio® locks emitting significantly fewer CO2 emissions than wired locks.
UEA staff can also control doors from a web-based interface or mobile phone. “Unlike other systems, Aperio® provides audit trails online, allowing for real-time monitoring,” adds Jason. “The fact that Gallagher and Aperio® devices can operate with the same data on the card has allowed for tighter integration, which saves the customer money.”
As well as this, Aperio® are offering the capability for additional doors to be integrated into UEA’s Gallagher system whenever required.
