Integration Reduces Building Access Burdens

When you can increase security while simultaneously improving efficiency, it’s magical ... or at least really good planning and programming. That’s what team members from University IT (UIT), the Registrar’s Office, and the School of Humanities and Sciences (H&S) pulled off when they got together to improve student access to H&S classrooms after hours and on weekends. 

The teams’ work involved integrating Lenel, Stanford’s card reader system, and 25Live, the university’s event calendaring, scheduling, and publishing system.

The integration links classroom spaces scheduled in 25Live to doors in Lenel so that when a class takes place in a linked space, the door automatically unlocks prior to the class start and locks after the class ends. That not only keeps the rooms secure when they are not in use, but creates an efficiency for building managers who previously had to manually program classrooms to unlock and lock rooms.

“The integration of Lenel and 25Live within H&S buildings results in time savings for building managers, because they no longer have to check the 25Live schedule and program their building doors to accommodate after-hour and weekend Registrar events,” said Karla Tomlin, Health and Safety Specialist for H&S Facilities. “They appreciate that they are no longer responsible for ensuring doors are accessible for non-departmental events.”

This new functionality launched this summer in 36 H&S buildings with Registrar-managed classrooms. The project team may consider expanding this service to other buildings after evaluating how it performs in the H&S buildings over the next several months.

A campus-wide partnership

In addition to the core project team members, staff from Land, Buildings & Real Estate (LBRE), and Public Safety were involved to ensure the solution was understood by all persons who play a role in building security and safety.

“We have already seen a decrease in the number of lockouts for classes and events, resulting in fewer doors being propped open, which makes our buildings more secure,” said Sarah Cho, Assistant University Registrar. “This integration was a successful team effort, and I look forward to more departments implementing 25Live to schedule their events and Lenel to manage doors.”