UF Electronic Access System Availability

David S. O’Brien, Director, Physical Plant Division

As a natural extension of the traditional mechanical lock and key responsibilities of the Physical Plant Division (PPD), a centrally administered system for electronic access control and monitoring is being made available. After extensive research and discussions with UF colleges and divisions, the Lenel© OnGuard© Electronic Access System has been selected as the UF standard. PPD will be the only UF entity responsible for providing central administration and support of these systems for all UF facilities. PPD has acquired the computer equipment and software and has hired a coordinator to begin providing central administration and support. PPD will be working with UF administration to establish a methodical approach to accessing a comprehensive and validated library of UF GatorOne cardholders and status of each. Each interested division, college or department will be provided appropriate access to this library, to establish and maintain accessibility to the facilities in their domain. These units will be responsible for administering access via their own designated staff. Information detailing financial and operational responsibilities and system installation requirements is being updated and is expected to be in place in the University of Florida Design & Construction Standards located at http://www.facilities.ufl.edu/dcs/ by late February.

The initial thrust of this program will be to support “slide-card” access to campus facilities via the GatorOne identification card. More specifically, we will be concentrating on existing installations, new facilities and renovations with systems, which are already compatible with the Lenel standard. Additional software functionality includes proximity device and biometric access, alarm monitors, digital video camera monitoring and automatic pager/alarm notification. As time and resources permit, access and support for these additional functions will also be provided. It is the intent of PPD to provide managed access for at least one primary exterior (ADA compliant) entry at each E&G and Health Center building. This is a long-term commitment and will be implemented as resources become available for this purpose. Both startup and recurring costs for any additional exterior or interior access points will be the requesting entity’s responsibility. We are currently assembling a list of installations to be integrated with central data administration along with priority and time sensitivity for each. PPD will assemble a priority list based on these parameters. If you have an interest in electronic access functionality or are uncertain if we are aware of an upcoming requirement, please contact Grace Lai at 846-1909 (glai@ufl.edu).

At present we are working with various UF entities (ID Card Services, Facilities Planning and Construction, PPD Architecture and Engineering, Environmental Health and Safety, etc.) to establish lines of communication and protocol for the central data administration and project coordination. Additionally, the University Police Department (UPD) has expressed a willingness to provide video and alarm monitoring services for a fee to the requesting entity. We look forward to working with the various interested parties as we move into this arena of electronic access management at UF.