Lewiston Public Schools

Client Since: 2010

Client Type: Municipal School System serving over 4,900 students

System Type: Electronic access control

Project: Upgraded existing access control systems provided by several incompatible vendors. Lewiston Public Schools is responsible for 8 school buildings. Some of the buildings were equipped with access control systems, however, the systems were installed and maintained by different vendors, operated differently, used different software, and were failing prematurely. Building Controls LLC provided a unified solution to the school district using a single-manufacture for the electronic system. All of the buildings can be controlled and administered remotely by the facilities manager from his office computer. Because the system uses no proprietary software, there is no software to install and upgrade-all access is done using a standard web browser such as Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox.

Highlights:

  • Proprietary PIN entry keypad/proximity credential readers had been installed in some district buildings. These units were failing two years after the building was built due to rainwater damage. The existing vendor would not cover the damage and the cost to replace was putting a strain on the maintenance budget. The large footprint of these units left large, unsightly holes in the masonry walls when they were removed for replacement by standard units that are sized to fit into a standard electrical box. Building Controls LLC worked with a partner vendor to fabricate brushed stainless steel adapter plates to solve the problem. The stainless steel is vandal-resistant-important in the school environment- and presents a finished appearance in the new, modern school building; avoiding the ‘afterthought’ appearance other vendors had proposed.
  • The district has over 600 employees that had been issued proximity cards for use in the various buildings. The challenge was to convert the existing population of cards without issuing new cards- a costly proposition. Due to the flexibility of the new access control system, Building Controls LLC was able to create a custom card format inside the software, allowing the existing base of proprietary cards to be kept in use without the need for the district to recall all of the credentials and reissue new ones, saving both time and money while making the transition to the new system virtually seamless to the teachers and staff.
  • At 3 of the schools, reception staff needed to control various doors located all over the building, including doors to control the admission of students, parents and visitors, as well as doors for delivery personnel and kitchen staff. Building Controls LLC provided custom-configured switch consoles for office reception staff to use. These keypads feature LED lights that provide the status of controlled doors-open, closed or ‘forced’ open, as well as easy-to-use switches to open and secure doors. One feature that the district requested was the ability for staff to ‘hold’ doors open indefinitely for after school functions such as sporting events or auditorium use. By unlocking these doors only, the school district was able to allow unsupervised use of various parts of the building while keeping the rest of the school secure, saving costs associated with vandalism and theft.

Building Controls LLC’s relationship with Lewiston Public Schools demonstrates the full scope of services that we provide. Customers can receive not only installation services, but also a broad range of other services including strategies for overall facility security/traffic flow, assistance with planning and cut-over/implementation strategies.