The Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management (SwAM) in Gothenburg, recently deployed an access control system consisting of Assa Abloy’s access control system and door leaf readers that were integrated with Galaxy Control System’s fire and intruder alarm systems to secure its 3,800 square meters office from unauthorized access.
The Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management (SwAM) in Gothenburg, recently deployed an access control system consisting of Assa Abloy's access control system and door leaf readers that were integrated with Galaxy Control System's fire and intruder alarm systems to secure its 3,800 square meters office from unauthorized access.
When SwAM was formed on July 1, 2011, so that a single authority could assume responsibility for environmental and fisheries issues, it was necessary to find a new headquarters capable of hosting about 230 people. Pagoden (the Pagoda), an old heritage-listed warehouse at Gullbergsstrand, next to the Gota Alv river in Gothenburg, was selected as the ideal site. It was actually just a shell at the time, but its owner was in the process of converting it into a modern workplace while maintaining the special character of the building. Today SwAM occupies two floors of the seven-floor building, and is home to staff including biologists, sociologists, attorneys, economists, oceanographers and five employees from the Swedish Coast Guard.
"Openness is appreciated and works very well, but of course it requires a different type of security when visitors can essentially walk right in,” said Helena Schmidt, Security Strategist at SwAM. “We arrange quite a few workshops and conferences here, and there are a lot of practical considerations.” The agency prioritized securing perimeters, since having an alarm inside the building would not work because there are personnel on-site 24/7.
The access control system is operated by the personnel who answer the phones, who say it is both simple and convenient to use. They can create new staff access cards using the photo ID system, add or change information about who can access the building at which times, block individual cards and increase or decrease authorization levels.
After some time passed, SwAM staff discovered that it would be useful to lock conference rooms, so that visitors could safely leave their bags and other belongings there. Assa door leaf readers were installed because they can be integrated well with the access control system.