Morse Watchmans - Experts & Thought Leaders

There are two truisms of K-12 schools that exist currently; first, safety and security are core objectives, and second, school budgets are tight. K-12 schools have traditionally been perceived as safe havens where children can learn and develop as they begin their life journeys. Violence, vandalism, and theft Unfortunately, K-12 schools are increasingly being subjected to violence, vandalism, and theft. Teachers are expressing growing concerns about their safety as they intervene in physical conflicts within schools while also encountering students carrying firearms or other weapons on school premises. Even more sobering, more than 352,000 students in the U.S. have experienced gun violence at school in the past 23 years. Schools on tight budgets With pandemic aid coming to an end, school districts are having to do more with less Further compounding the situation, schools and their administrators are on tight budgets. Pandemic relief funding has kept many school initiatives afloat over the past few years, but in the rush to spend on new high-tech solutions, many of the basics were left behind. With pandemic aid coming to an end, school districts are having to do more with less. Need for cost-effective security solutions These two truisms offer more questions than answers for superintendents, principals, teachers, board members, and parents. What school security solutions can we deploy that actively combat rising violence? How can we cost-effectively implement such tools? We want to improve school security and efficiency at the same time, but how? Key Control in a K-12 environment Key control systems are an integral piece of the larger security puzzle helping schools of all sizes manage security At their most basic level, school key control systems are designed to securely protect keys in an electronic key cabinet. At their most complex, key control systems are an integral piece of the larger security puzzle helping schools of all sizes manage security and operations effectively during times of both emergencies and daily operations. Authorized access In a traditional school key control system, keys are securely stored within individual compartments with each key uniquely assigned and tracked. Authorized users gain access to specific keys by providing their credentials, such as a PIN or biometric authentication, which permits them to remove a key from its designated compartment. This enables schools to effectively manage and track access to various areas throughout a building and/or campus, thus minimizing the risk of unauthorized entry or loss of keys. Integrated software A user-friendly interface allows administrators to manage and configure access permissions Integrated software further enhances the functionality of the key control system. A user-friendly interface allows administrators to manage and configure access permissions, generate detailed reports, and receive notifications about key-related activities. Additionally, the software can be integrated with other security systems, such as access control or video surveillance, creating a holistic security solution for schools. Key Control reduces security expenses What’s more, key control systems are a cost-effective solution that proactively reduces a school’s security spend. By reducing the possibility of lost keys and limiting access to master keys to authorized individuals, school districts can save thousands in unforeseen re-keying costs. School asset manager solutions integrated with a key control system likewise safeguard critical assets ranging from laptops to sensitive files, reducing the opportunity for theft and improving compliance. Key access control systems for schools also improve campus security for a lower cost than that of armed security guards and contracted off-duty police. Key Control improves school security By utilizing a centralized key control system, schools can ensure that emergency keys are securely housed A key control system in schools offers significant security benefits, particularly when it comes to emergencies such as active shooter events. By utilizing a centralized key control system, schools can ensure that emergency keys are securely housed and readily accessible to local first responders.  Rapid first responder key accessibility Responding officers can swiftly retrieve the required keys, such as those for locked classrooms or secured areas, enabling them to enter and address the situation promptly. Rapid first responder key accessibility significantly improves response times and effectiveness during critical incidents and gives parents peace of mind, knowing that their children's school is equipped with robust security measures to handle emergencies efficiently. Emergency Key Grab (EKG) kit Morse Watchmans has designed a new solution exclusively designed for K-12 Schools called the Emergency Key Grab (EKG) kit. The new EKG kit is designed to provide first responders with easy access to keys in the event of a lockdown or emergency. The Morse Watchmans EKG kit contains: A 1-module or greater KeyWatcher Touch System. Color-coded SmartKeys and KeyRing with Hubs. Unique KeyWatcher System First Response KeyRing Identification Label. Educational Materials: Implementing Key Control in K-12 Schools Tip Sheet and K-12 Schools Key Control Playbook Hardcopies. One-on-one Educational Training from Morse Watchmans. Template and Guidelines for Writing a K-12 School District Key Control Policy. The EKG can save a life!  Enhances general security protocols These systems enable schools to centralize key management, ensuring that keys are always properly secured In addition to facilitating emergency response, a key control system in K-12 schools enhances general security protocols. These systems enable schools to centralize key management, ensuring that keys are always properly secured and accounted for, and only accessible by authorized personnel. This comprehensive key management solution can significantly reduce the likelihood of security breaches, vandalism, and theft at K-12 schools. Real-time visibility and monitoring Furthermore, the system provides administrators with real-time visibility and monitoring capabilities, allowing them to track who has accessed keys, when, and for what purpose. This helps schools better comply with regulatory requirements such as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) which requires schools to closely control access to private medical and academic files. Enforcing employee accountability effectively strengthens security measures and fosters a safer environment for students, faculty, and staff. Key Control improves school operations By providing a streamlined process for accessing keys, maintenance teams can promptly respond Beyond enhancing security, a key control and asset management system can significantly improve the efficiency of school maintenance teams. With a centralized key control system, maintenance personnel can quickly access the keys necessary for completing their required tasks, eliminating time-consuming searches for the right key or reliance on multiple key copies. By providing a streamlined process for accessing keys, maintenance teams can promptly respond to maintenance requests while ensuring that doors are secured and unlocked as needed, thus minimizing disruptions to the school's operations. Flexibility of localised access Key control systems additionally provide the flexibility of localized access for contracted workers. Contractors, such as HVAC repairmen or IT technicians, can receive access to individual keys with location-specific access granted only for areas they need to work over specific periods. The school key control software keeps a record of their key usage, allowing administrators to track a worker’s activities and ensure accountability. This granular level of key control allows school administrators to grant temporary access to contracted workers while maintaining overall security. System benefits Fleet management software for schools provides a clear record of who has used a specific vehicle key Key control systems also offer significant benefits for the management of a school’s fleet of vehicles, such as buses and other vehicles. With school bus fleet management software integrated into a key control system, administrators can effectively track and control the usage of school buses district-wide. Administrators can retrieve data on the status of any bus, shuttle, or other vehicle at any time.  Fleet management software for schools provides a clear record of who has used a specific vehicle key, enabling administrators to monitor vehicle availability, maintenance schedules, and overall fleet utilization. Reliable and cost-effective solution By deploying Morse Watchmans' key control and asset management systems, schools can effectively address security concerns, optimize operations, and make efficient use of resources. Its proven implementation of key control systems in K -12 environments offers schools a reliable and cost-effective solution that promotes a safe and efficient educational environment.

U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota is a 66,200-person venue, hosting regular football games for the NFL and NCAA as well as baseball and soccer games, concerts, weddings, and many other events. Approximately 3,500 people make up the staff on a game day or during a major event. These concession workers, cleaning personnel, police, guest experience team, security officers and supervisors, operations managers and more are on site to deliver not only a safe and secure event, but also a memorable experience for all guests in the stadium. Access control systems While under construction, U.S. Bank Stadium managed their keys by using a complicated pencil-and-paper system that required key users to provide collateral against key removal; this proved to be both time-consuming and inefficient. When looking to upgrade their internal access control systems to provide the security and efficiency they required at such a large facility, U.S. Bank Stadium while working with Hoffman Security Solutions, chose Morse Watchmans’ KeyBank system for cost-effective, highly capable key management throughout their facility. Automated key control systems “There were a few different automated key control systems we looked at,” said Billy Langenstein, Director Event Services, U.S. Bank Stadium. “But when it came down to not only the financials, but also the capabilities, reporting and infrastructure that Morse Watchmans KeyBank has, I personally believe there’s nothing comparable on the market that amounts to how we wanted to use the system here at the stadium. This is the first time I’ve used this system in my career, and if I have the opportunity to open up another stadium, Morse Watchmans will be installed there as well.” In February 2016, Hoffman Security Solutions installed one KeyBank managing 120 key locations throughout U.S. Bank Stadium. In June 2017, they added 2 expansion cabinets to fill out the system, bringing their total managed key locations to 360. Maintaining business operations Each day, U.S. Bank Stadium has different staff working throughout the stadium to fulfill the varied roles needed for their many events. Contractors working on the facility itself, temporary staff, and other day-to-day workers all require access to different workspaces. By requiring that staff check out a key from the KeyBank system, U.S. Bank Stadium security staff are able to account for all the keys in the system, who removed each key, and what time they were checked out or returned through the KeyBank’s timestamp feature. At the end of each day, a report is delivered to security staff that displays this data in an easy-to-read manner, allowing staff to account for the many keys they use throughout the stadium during the day. With access control a strong component of U.S. Bank Stadium’s security, consistent reporting of key access is essential to maintaining business operations. Guest experience team U.S. Bank Stadium’s guest experience team, consisting of ushers, lobby hosts, ticket takers, scan ambassadors, and others, arrives early each morning and requires their own separate access. Through the KeyBank system, they are allowed to prepare for a game while simultaneously reporting that access to security staff. Each team member is given access to the keys they require, while ensuring safety throughout the stadium by keeping other keys restricted. This ease of use and reporting ability are what have made KeyBank an essential element of U.S. Bank Stadium’s access control and security systems. “We’re looking at installing another Morse Watchmans KeyBank here at the Stadium because we’re already outgrowing the one we have, and we want to start creating efficiencies within our own departments,” said Mr. Langenstein. “Having a Morse Watchmans KeyBank gives us a sense of security and a sense of convenience while providing the level of accountability that we want. It’s a fantastic product that we’re very proud to have here.”

Blacktown City is a bustling suburban community located approximately 22 miles west of Sydney, in New South Wales, Australia. Comprising 48 separate communities with a total population of 350,000, the city is the second largest city by population in NSW. The area is governed by Blacktown City Council which is responsible for all aspects of the city’s day-to-day operation, project development initiatives and legislative activities. Along with the City Council headquarters in the Civic Center, Council facilities also include the Main Works Depot located in the Blacktown City community of Rooty Hill. Council vehicles, heavy machinery and trucks as well as an operational work site for crews and other Depot employees are housed at this location. The Depot supports the operation of numerous city venues and development of zoned and serviced industrial and commercial land. Asset management system To help maintain usage accountability and eliminate the problem of missing or overdue vehicles, machinery and/or building keys, the Depot recently implemented a key control and asset management system from Morse Watchmans. The new KeyWatcher® Touch is designed to securely store physical keys in tamper-proof cabinets, only allowing access to keys by authorized individuals with a verified code, badge, or biometric identification. Access to the key cabinet and to individual keys is under the complete control of Depot management and the automatic tracking provides full accountability for who has which key at any time. “We manage keys for at least 500 vehicles and machines here at the Depot and each of them has at least two to three sets of keys,” said Joe Haddad, Facility Manager, Main Works Depot. “Without the KeyWatcher Touch automated control and tracking, the job of accurately keeping track of these many keys would be almost impossible.” Several key cabinets An important aspect of managing the large Depot is employee productivity and the design of the KeyWatcher Touch conforms to this by making the process of accessing or returning keys faster and easier for employees. Keys can be returned to any of the several key cabinets on site rather than having to return the key to the cabinet from which it was removed. Biometric identification, large, easy to read touch screens, voice cues, and status bar guides help to ensure a fast and easy procedure when accessing or returning keys to the cabinet. Key reservations ensure that staff will have guaranteed access to a vehicle or machine when needed. Special alert notifications The system automatically tracks the location of each key stored in a key cabinet or, if the key has been removed, the system can determine who has it out. Access to live information via the desktop or mobile lets department managers see which keys are out, if any keys are overdue, and when keys will become overdue. And for immediate information regarding a key, special alert notifications using email or SMS text provides the data instantly. Network integration of the KeyWatcher Touch with the Depot’s access control and video surveillance system further adds to its ease of use and productivity. User access programming including add/modify/delete cardholders and badge data is managed through Inner Range’s Integriti access control system and all changes are automatically synchronized. Alarms and transactions are passed to the Integriti system via the Depot’s TCP/IP connection. Key control problems “The single platform for control of our video surveillance, access and key management streamlines the operation, keeps costs down and helps to ensure that nothing falls through the cracks,” adds Mr. Haddad. “We are very pleased with this state of the art system and it has more than met our needs both today and, we expect, going forward.” The system was designed and built by system integrator Australian Security Technology (AST), a provider of key and asset management solutions in the Pacific region. Working with AST, Ryalex Security, a commercial security specialists company, helped bring the project together for Blacktown City Council. “Blacktown City Council is a long-time customer and it was important that we help them solve their key control problems as efficiently and cost effectively as possible,” said David Ishak, General Manager, AST. “The KeyWatcher Touch provided the solution to the great satisfaction of both the Depot and ourselves.”

Headlines of violence in our schools are a reminder of the need to keep educational institutions safe. In fact, if there is a positive aspect to the constant bombardment of headlines, it is that it keeps our attention perpetually focused on how to improve school security. But what is the role of physical security systems? As the new school year begins, we asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: Are schools safer because of physical security systems? Why or why not? 

The role of the integrator/installer in the physical security marketplace is shifting as technologies evolve and applications expand. Integrators are being faced with a need to augment their expertise both in a wider range of systems and deeper into the specifics of each increasingly complex technology. At the end of the day, it falls to the integrator/installer to ensure a system performs as promised, however much a consultant or even a manufacturer might be involved in the process. We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: How is the role of the security installer/integrator changing?

Sharing data between security and building management devices can provide a route to maximize building usage and minimize costs. In today's Internet of Things (IoT) environment, tying together a variety of systems is easier than ever. For an update, we asked this week's Expert Panel Roundtable: What are the benefits of integrating security technology with building management systems (BMS)?