Re: Door control/security software

It's not two-tiered but if you already have an investment in Kronos this
might fit in.  I implemented the Gatekeeper product here a year and a half
ago.  It integrates nicely with the iSeries Timekeeper software.  If your
clocks are on a LAN and you have polling groups running then when HR
terminates somebody their badge number is immediately removed from all gate
clocks.  All access is logged.

We did have an issue or two.  We have a couple of doors from the plant to
the office that we wanted to be on a schedule to be automatically unlocked
during business hours.  Kronos did not have a means to suspend schedules on
holidays or to extend normal daily schedules to special weekends when we
were doing physical inventories and wanted the doors to remain unlocked.  I
was able to write programs myself to handle that as well as the ability to
look-down access to the facility in the event that somebody go postal.

There were some initial hardware headaches too.  We have remote badge
readers so that the clocks don't have to be out in the elements and to
restrict physical access to the gate clocks.  Our problem was that badges
would scan for awhile then not scan for awhile.  It took numerous phone
calls to Kronos support, multiple hardware swaps, and an on-site visit from
a field technician who happened to talk to another technician who had seen
our type of problem before to find a solution.  Apparently we had
interference and needed a SHIELDED remote reader.  This is a little-known
add-on to the remote readers that most people within Kronos don't know
about.  Our sales rep and the support person who specializes in helping
people set up the hardware and software for gate access didn't know about
them.  Still, once we installed them the problems immediately went away.

I also wouldn't consider it a "secondary product".  The product works and
we are now happy with it but if you didn't already have Kronos it might be
a hard sell.


Dave Parnin
Nishikawa Standard Company
Topeka, IN  46571
daparnin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx





                                                                                
                                 
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                      midrange-l-bounces@m        Subject:  Door 
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                      04/11/2005 02:48 PM                                       
                                 
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I'm looking at replacing the software we use to control computer room
access.  It's some older version supplied by ADT and works with a simple
card interface.

I am looking at a two-tier type of system that most likely includes
biometrics.  It really depends on the cost.  By two-tier I mean an access
method that requires two positive inputs in order to gain access.  Keycard
+ pin number would be the best example I can give.  Of course if I support
a biometric interface than two-tier is probably not needed.  But in reality
I'm looking for a system that is rather flexible in the type of devices and
authentication methods it uses.

We are a big-time Kronos user for timekeeping (highly recommended) but I
think their GateKeeper product is kind of a secondary product for them.

Of course, we much rather centralize the software to the most stable and
secure system so that would get preferential treatment (need I say more
Joe?)  :-)

Any ideas?


Michael Crump
Manager, Computing Services
Saint-Gobain Containers
1509 S. Macedonia Ave.
Muncie, IN  47302
(765)741-7696
(765)741-7012 f
(800)428-8642

"The probability that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us
from the support of a cause we believe to be just"  Abraham Lincoln




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