Beacon Centre for the Blind installs SALTO electronic locking system

SALTO XS4 electronic locking system controls access on 77 doors around the site

The Beacon Centre began life in 1875 as the Wolverhampton Society for the Blind. It is now known as the Beacon Centre for the Blind, and helps people with sight loss live fuller and more independent lives.

As amenities at the centre have developed and increased, becoming the focus of activities for the local visually impaired population, the need for on-site accommodation for older blind and partially sighted people who are able to live independently has grown. To help provide this a new complex of purpose-built two bedroom apartments, Beacon Court, has been constructed in partnership with Bromford Housing Association.

As part of the build process it was felt that access control would benefit both residents and staff by creating a safer environment, so discussions began at an early stage in the design process involving the Centre management, the architect and the main contractors William Davis Ltd, to finalise the specification. Local SALTO reseller Turentek worked in close co-operation with all parties, and installed a SALTO XS4 electronic locking system, which now controls access on 77 doors around the site.

The external main entrance door, 2 lift doors and 74 individual flat doors now feature stainless steel XS4 9450 handle sets and these are controlled via 1k Mifare key cards for residents, with master control cards issued to wardens, and visitors get a temporary card from reception valid only for the timed period of their visit.

The system supports unlimited users and is designed for stand-alone use

The electronic locks have proved easy and popular to use and residents, many of whom are severely vision impaired, particularly like the black proximity reader heads on them as they find them easy to locate, offer cards up to and use.

Neil Aspinshaw from Turentek, explains: "Smart, secure and innovative, the Beacon Centre's XS4 system gives them fully featured access control doors without compromising comfort, convenience, security or control."

The system supports unlimited users and is designed for stand-alone use. It needs no hard wiring and provides a totally wire free networked electronic locking solution with a huge range of features. It uses distributed intelligence in the locks and cards to manage their access control requirements in a secure and comfortable way whilst simultaneously eliminating any potential problems with key control.

If key security is breached for any reason, perhaps due to the loss of a key card for example, it can be instantly deleted from the system without the need or cost of re-keying or changing locks - saving the centre time and money.

Neil says: "We are thrilled to have been chosen to secure this important residential centre. With a fully integrated solution, the system allows the Beacon Centre to run efficiently, both in terms of security and cost".