Security & Tenant Safety Feature


The key to everything


Victor D’Allancé of Intratone explains how intelligent access control systems can keep maintenance simple for housing managers and provide the best security for tenants


Safety & Regulation


them secure in their homes and in their local areas. This is not an easy task in today’s world, especially in this time of austerity and reduced budgets for local authorities. One of the main priorities is ensuring the entrances to such properties


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remain secure day and night. Issuing physical sets of keys is costly and has proven difficult to manage. Keys are often mislaid or not returned by residents when they move out of a property, creating an almost impossible administration task.


FOB-BASED SYSTEMS Some local authorities and housing associations have moved towards fob-based systems, but again a similar problem can arise with the management of the fobs. We have seen a situation where one block of just six flats had 99 fobs issued to it. If a resident loses a fob, their property manager or housing association is


instantly and remotely able to establish the identity of the fob and disable it for future use. A new fob can be easily activated on a free and secured cloud-based management site and sent out to that individual. This saves time and money, enhances the security of each property and provides the greatest ease of use for housing associations or facilities managers and their residents. It is not possible to clone these fobs, so there is only a set number of fobs per flat. If a tenant loses a fob, we are able to check that the fob is in fact no longer being used, as well as cancel its functionality. However, there is another issue that we have encountered – some platforms can only be accessed with one log in and from a dedicated PC. Often when that user is out of the office or on holiday fobs cannot be programmed.


CLOUD-BASED PLATFORMS Cloud-based platforms that can be accessed by anyone from any computer or smartphone mean that FMs can update, delete or issue a new fob to a tenant almost instantly. Using these platforms contractors can be given allocated time slots for maintenance visits – and their mobile phone numbers can be used as the door entry code. The platforms can provide an auditable timeline and trail should there be any cause for one.


anagers of apartment blocks and those in charge of access to social housing face similar problems – how can they protect the residents of their buildings from the risks posed by fire; and how do they keep


Issuing physical sets of keys is costly and has proven difficult to manage. Keys are often mislaid or not returned by residents when they move out of a property, creating an almost impossible administration task


Unfortunately, the groundworks required for some installations can be


disruptive and expensive. Many door entry system manufacturers have introduced panels that include 3G and 4G connectivity. One of the major headaches of existing systems that are ‘pay as you go’ is what happens once the credit has expired and who is responsible for meeting the ongoing cost. This problem has been overcome by providing a pre-paid SIM that lasts for


15 years. Not only does this remove the risk of a new system becoming redundant through lack of funds, but it also brings more certainty and visibility to pricing and future running costs. Further cost-efficiency benefits can also be achieved with this technology:


since there is no handset for intercoms, maintenance and hardware installation costs are kept minimal. The requirement for overall systems’ maintenance is virtually non-existent as everything is managed on a secure, free of charge web platform. That is not to say that keys can be replaced altogether. Many property


managers have keys for communal areas, lift voids or to utility cupboards and keeping these safe and secure at all times is obviously essential. In such


www.housingmmonline.co.uk | HMM June/July 2019 | 45


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