Key Management At Auburn: Morse Watchmans Solution

Auburn University, a prominent state educational institution located in Auburn, Alabama, has adopted an innovative key management solution to bolster campus security for its community, which includes approximately 22,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff members.

The university faced significant challenges in managing access across its sprawling campus of more than 230 buildings, some over a century old. Traditional keys remain crucial in securing these facilities, but managing them efficiently and securely is a major concern.

Addressing Security Needs

To enhance security and streamline access control, Auburn University turned to Morse Watchmans' KeyWatcher, a wall-mounted key storage cabinet.

This intelligent system replaces outdated lock boxes and unreliable manual logs, offering a sophisticated solution for key management. The KeyWatcher system ensures keys are only accessible to authorized users, requiring a specific authorization code for release. It also records detailed access history, which includes user identification, as well as check-out and return times.

Implementation and Usage

Auburn University employs seven KeyWatcher key banks to facilitate access for security

The decision to implement the KeyWatcher system was influenced by its ability to address various security and access control challenges. Auburn University employs seven KeyWatcher key banks to facilitate access for security, facility, and emergency personnel.

The system not only permits authorized key access but also maintains comprehensive tracking of key usage. This includes logging when keys are retrieved, by whom, and when they are returned. If a key is not returned within the authorized timeframe, an alert is sent to the central system to notify staff of the discrepancy.

Enhanced Security and Monitoring

The use of the KeyWatcher system has significantly reduced the number of lost keys and potential security breaches by minimizing unnecessary key exposure.

Keys are dutifully tracked during usage, monitoring both time and user information to ensure timely return. Should any key remain checked out beyond its authorized period, the system flags it, promptly informing relevant personnel to address the situation.

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Auburn University – A state university with approximately 22,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff members located in Auburn, Alabama.

Technology Objective - To provide a secure and safe environment for the students, faculty and university staff through successful key management and access control.

Tremendous security concern

The Challenge - Auburn University has more than 230 buildings spread out across campus and is continually put to the test keeping vulnerable areas secure (e.g., dorms, libraries, laboratories), while providing easy access to authorized individuals. With many of the buildings on campus more than 100 years old, traditional locks and keys play a significant role in access control and key management is a tremendous security concern.

Morse Watchmans Solution - KeyWatcher—Wall-mounted Key Storage Cabinet eliminates 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.

Wide-range of security

In Action - Auburn selected the KeyWatcher system based on the wide-range of security and access control issues the solution was able to help overcome. Utilising seven KeyWatcher key banks, Auburn allows security, facility and emergency personnel to access authorized keys to secure areas when needed, as well as track when the keys are taken, who has them and when they are returned. In turn, should a key be checked out longer than authorized, KeyWatcher alerts the central system and personnel to the oversight.

The Results - Since the keys no longer need to be carried at all times, key exposure is minimised, greatly reducing the number of lost keys and the potential for security breaches by unauthorized individuals. Keys are tracked while in use, including times and user names, ensuring prompt return when no longer in use or notifying the appropriate person should a key go checked out beyond the specified period of time.

Try our KeyWatcher Configurator tool to design your ideal system to meet your requirements (Note: if using a mobile device, please turn the phone to landscape mode.)