Reading University - Access Control Case Study

Cost effective control

With more than 17,000 students, educational and support staff spread across three sites, Reading University needed to provide 24 hour access control . A variety of facilities, including PC labs, halls of residence and libraries all needed to be protected.

Siteguard Access was installed. This provided a system based on a low cost multi-function card, and offered easy access to appropriate zones for authorised card holders. Other benefits included simple centralised control of access and the ability to generate a wide variety of usage data .

Fundamental to the design of the system was single card developed for multiple purposes including 24-hour access to areas of the building such as PC labs and halls of residence, as well as being used for library membership and cashless vending . The same card, in the future, has the potential to be used for PC logons, membership schemes and other ‘smartcard’ applications.