The New York City Transit (NYCT) has enhanced its security measures by implementing the KeyWatcher key management system from Morse Watchmans to improve the tracking and securing of keys across its expansive network.
Operating around the clock to provide mass transit across New York City's five boroughs, NYCT sought an advanced solution to manage keys for restricted areas and revenue-collecting equipment, previously hindered by reliance on safe storage and paper logs. Hank D’Amato, NYCT’s Senior Director of Operations and Administration, Division of Revenue Control, highlighted the organization's persistent issues with key loss and accountability.
Secure Key Management Solutions
With the movement of more equipment to remote facilities lacking onsite supervision, NYCT recognized the need to upgrade its key management processes.
Their technology strategy focused on ensuring secure handling of keys to minimize theft and loss, thereby supporting the agency's mission to deliver safe and reliable service. Inspired by another division using Morse Watchmans’ KeyWatcher, D'Amato collaborated with the company to tailor a key management solution that would meet NYCT's requirements.
Eliminating Obsolete Practices
The implementation of KeyWatcher, supported by the Key-Pro™ Performance Software
Working in conjunction with D'Amato and the Revenue Control Division, Morse Watchmans integrated the KeyWatcher system into NYCT operations, replacing outdated lock boxes and inefficient manual logs. This intelligent system features wall-mounted storage units that enhance security by dispensing keys only to authorized users, logging the details of each transaction, and strongly discouraging loss or theft.
The implementation of KeyWatcher, supported by the Key-Pro™ Performance Software, offers NYCT comprehensive key management through advanced reporting, centralized programming, and real-time transaction tracking. The system alerts personnel to any discrepancies, such as overdue keys, ensuring swift action can be taken. D’Amato praised the system, stating, "Morse Watchmans understood our initial challenges and continually suggests the best way to work through our needs as they evolve."
Meeting Operational Needs
With the KeyWatcher, NYCT removed the requirement of supervisor intervention for key access, streamlining the process by eliminating manual logs. It provides precise data on the access history of all keys, ensuring clear accountability. The Revenue Control Division is expanding this system by adding five more units, facilitating the management of over 500 keys across varied locations, adaptable to evolving security requirements and individual access needs.
With the KeyWatcher, NYCT removed the requirement of supervisor intervention for key access
The KeyWatcher identifies unauthorized access attempts and ensures discrepancies like misplaced keys are addressed swiftly, effectively removing key-related accountability issues.
Daily reports highlight issues for immediate resolution. D’Amato noted the rarity of system glitches and commended Morse Watchmans for their prompt support whenever needed, ensuring continuous operation.
Minimizing Unauthorized Access
Since the KeyWatcher system's implementation, NYCT boasts stringent control over key distribution, drastically reducing key replacements and unauthenticated access. This system tracks key inventories across the Revenue Control Division, maintaining an accurate record of user access and ensuring keys are returned on time. D'Amato affirmed, "KeyWatcher has taken the place of a supervisor in managing keys at remote locations and is an integral part of the way we do business."
Educating staff about the KeyWatcher system is integral to NYCT's training processes, emphasizing its significance in managing high-security keys effectively. As D’Amato remarked, “Morse Watchmans’ KeyWatchers have provided the key inventory management and control we were seeking,” underscoring the system’s role in modernizing NYCT's security strategy.
The New York City Transit (NYCT), a public organization that provides mass transportation services via rail and bus to the five boroughs of New York City, is a system that runs 24 hours-a-day, seven days a week. The challenge NYCT faced was how to secure and track keys to restricted areas and revenue collecting equipment at locations offsite from the central command center.
The previous process of keeping keys in a bag in the safe, and using a paper log to sign keys in and out was cumbersome and ineffective. Additionally, requiring a supervisor to sign out keys and gain access to the safe was not feasible in many remote locations where equipment is stored. According to Hank D’Amato, NYCT’s Senior Director of Operations and Administration, Division of Revenue Control, key loss and accountability were problems NYCT faced on a regular basis.
Secure key management
As more equipment was moved to remote storage facilities with no supervisor onsite, it became clear that new key management processes were necessary.
NYCT’s overall technology objective was effective and secure key management to reduce key theft and loss as part of its overall effort to provide safe, reliable and efficient transportation to its customers. After having seen Morse Watchmans’ KeyWatcher system in place in another division of the NYCT system, D’Amato looked to the company to help design a new key management system to meet this objective.
Outdated lock boxes
Morse Watchmans Solution - Working closely with Hank D’Amato, and the NYCT’s Revenue Control Division team, Morse Watchmans developed a customized key access solution to meet the NYCT’s goals. Morse Watchmans implemented its KeyWatcher system in NYCT’s Revenue Control Division.
This state-of-the-art key management system consists of wall-mounted key storage cabinets that eliminate outdated lock boxes, unreliable manual logs, and messy key identification tags. The KeyWatcher intelligent key management system helps prevent lost or stolen keys by only releasing assigned key to users with the proper authorization code and recording the access history of each key, including user, date, and time of checkout/return.
Improved system communications
With KeyWatcher, when a key is missing or overdue, an alarm alerts security personnel of the situation. KeyWatcher, was installed in combination with Morse Watchmans’ Key-Pro™ Performance Software, to provide NYCT with extensive key management reporting options, centralized programming, advanced network capabilities, improved system communications, detailed reporting and real-time transaction polling.
According to D’Amato, “Morse Watchmans understood our initial challenges and continually suggests the best way to work through our needs as they evolve.”
Key management system
The Morse Watchmans KeyWatcher system eliminated NYCT’s need for a supervisor with access to the safe to issue keys. It also replaced NYCT’s outdated, and often not updated, manual paper logs. The KeyWatcher system provides NYCT with a precise log as to the times, locations and holders of all keys at all times. NYCT’s Revenue Control Division is in the process of upgrading its KeyWatcher key management system, adding five more units to it’s existing cabinets to manage over 500 keys in central and remote locations.
Under the authority and administration of D’Amato and a few supervisors, the KeyWatcher system can be easily customized to meet all of the NYCT’s central and remote location needs. NYCT’s Revenue Control Division can set access constraints at an individual level, for each key, every hour of each day. If a security issue arises with an employee, access permission can be restricted immediately.
Key accountability issues
Any unauthorized key access attempts or discrepancies such as late key returns or returns to the wrong location trigger an immediate alarm to the security department and show up on reports. At NYCT, key reports are run daily and all discrepancies are noted and resolved appropriately, virtually eliminating key accountability issues entirely.
According to D’Amato, KeyWatcher system glitches have been few and far between. However, on the rare occasion NYCT has had to contact Morse Watchmans for support, the company has been extremely responsive. Despite NYCT’s 24 hour-a-day operations, Morse Watchmans has been able to resolve problems consistently on a timely basis.
Unauthorized access incidents
Since implementing the KeyWatcher system, NYCT has strict accountability for keys throughout its operation. KeyWatcher electronically manages the key inventories of the entire Revenue Control Division of the transit system around the clock. Successfully maintaining a record of who has each key and alerting management when keys are not returned on time has reduced the number of key replacements and eliminated the number of unauthorized access incidents.
“KeyWatcher has taken the place of a supervisor in managing keys at remote locations and is an integral part of the way we do business,” said D’Amato.
Hiring and training process
Additionally, education and understanding of how and why NYCT manages keys through the KeyWatcher system is now a part of the hiring and training process, ensuring that all employees understand the necessity and benefits of the KeyWatcher audit trail system.
“It is the way we manage accountability for all of our high security access keys,” said D’Amato. “Morse Watchmans’ KeyWatchers have provided the key inventory management and control we were seeking.”
