ACT Door Solutions Streamline UK Stadium Management

Lancashire-based Thorne Access & Security has installed access control units at Turf Moor, home of English Premier League football side Burnley F.C.


Thorne chose dual door controllers and single door stations from Dublin-based Access Control Technology (ACT). The units are in place across all main areas of the stadium including offices and media facilities, and are serving as a management tool that will be expanded on a phased basis.


The football club is using both cards and readers from ACT, with the external doors being fitted with panel-mounted readers, some of which have been incorporated into existing intercoms units.


"The ACT units function predominantly on non-match days rather than during games," said Hadrian Thorne of Thorne Access & Security. "The system has a hierarchy of privileges ensuring that only appropriate personnel enter certain areas. We are now able to manage all access rights in a thorough manner and the client is benefiting from the flexibility of the ACT equipment. External readers have been fitted with vandal-resistant covers which have already prevented damage to extremities in the first months of use."


The ACT controller, as used at Burley FC, is expandable to 16 doors using ACT door stations. Up to 2,000 doors can be connected on a network and the system can be used with third-party "Clock and Data" and Wiegand format readers. The controllers are used with ACT proximity readers, which read data stored on proximity cards or fobs to grant or deny access.


The controllers have a memory card slot that facilitates distributed intelligence, door plan and additional user rights. The units feature built-in TCP/IP connectivity, meaning that installers can piggyback on existing conduits. This not only reduces engineering disruption on-site but is a green approach in terms of minimizing material usage.


Thorne Access & Security is also responsible for surveillance at the stadium and has installed dome cameras, upgrading from legacy static units. "The next phase will be to link ACT's access control to the stadium's surveillance," Thorne said. "If a staff member, legitimate visitor, intruder or even an inquisitive fan seeks unauthorized entry, an intelligent edge device will react to a signal from the door controller. The device will fire to a preset and instruct adjacent cameras to record the event. A further development, planned for the summer, is integration of the ACT access control with an intruder alarm system from Texecom."