Access Control specialist TDSi has supplied schools, colleges and universities worldwide with a range of access control solutions. In addition to its comprehensive range of readers, controllers and software systems, the company has developed specific expertise in the integration of access control with proprietary management information systems.
The management and control needs of educational establishments are such that they are increasingly using sophisticated database systems to capture and analyze a broad range of information - including, for example, attendance records and academic performance.
Information systems such as these form an integral part of timetable planning and the development and review of curriculum courses, as well as providing a link to budgetary and financial management packages. The information allows school managers to review, analyze and report on a wide range of data for staff and pupils.
However, in addition to operational management and financial analysis, schools are increasingly reviewing their access control needs and looking to integrate and, where appropriate rationalize, their often disparate systems - either by introducing new modules into an existing system, or by consolidating previously stand alone processes and procedures.
In recent years, TDSi has worked with a number of schools, two of whom had been running proprietary information systems for their database needs. The first school operated Capita's School Information Management System (SIMS), as well as a completely separate security and access control system - both systems running completely independently, despite the fact that much of the data was common. The second school ran Gladstone Education's OnRecord system, and was looking to enhance security by adding specific access control features.
For each school, TDSi worked closely with the security management and installation companies and developed an integration module to link the access control and proprietary management system, SIMS. In the case of Gladstone Education's OnRecord, the Fusion scripting tool supplied as part of TDSi's Software Integration Module was utilized to link in the EXgarde PRO access management software database. These solutions are based on the company's advanced access management software, EXgarde PRO, and take data directly from the record database to populate the access control system, making security and access rights fully integrated elements of the schools' information systems.
Proven in applications throughout the world, EXgarde PRO allows great operational flexibility. For instance, it may be configured to give designated groups access rights to specific parts of the school campus (for example, allowing only A level chemistry students access to laboratories); or, it may be used to tag specific groups as ‘trackable' by the system once their cards are used to access pre-determined areas. The software also allows a wide range of user-defined management reports to be run directly from the system enabling security and movement to be reviewed and monitored.
Once the access control systems are directly linked to schools' staff and student information records, they are constantly up to date - as students or staff leave and are taken off the central register, their access rights are immediately withdrawn, further improving active site security.
In addition to these integration modules, TDSi has also recently added two new readers to its range, both of which are ideally suited to school, college and university applications.
DIGIgarde is the company's most recent biometric addition, capable of storing up to 9,000 user templates. A compact and versatile optical finger print reader, DIGIgarde features a high resolution (500 dpi) optical sensor, capable of scanning and enrolling fingers of all size and shape. The ergonomically designed finger location guide makes the unit easy and comfortable to use, and the high-speed matching algorithm ensures data is processed quickly and accurately.
The company has also launched new MIFARE® readers. Available in two variants to suit different security and budgetary requirements, the readers can be used in conjunction with existing cards which use the MIFARE® technology - cashless vending, library cards etc. With units able to read either the Card Serial Number (CSN) or a number programmed by TDSi in to sector 4 of the MIFARE® card, these provide a real cost-effective alternative to standard proximity readers. Additionally, the user to read a number from a sector of their choice, utilising user-defined keys, can configure the sector variant.
