Evolution has helped to improve the security of patients, visitors and staff at one of Scotland’s largest teaching hospitals thanks to the installation of a fibre optic-based access control technology.
Evolution worked with the team at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (RIE) to upgrade the cabling infrastructure to fibre optic as a more reliable way of ensuring access for the hospital’s thousands of pass-holders.
The new card-based access system has now been installed to manage 227 doors throughout the RIE, further improving the hospital’s security and reducing the need and cost of unnecessary maintenance. The cards are proximity readers and used at controlled doors, while each card also contains a photograph, name and department – acting as an identity card too.
Scott Lawson, Operations Manager at RIE, says: “The system has to manage the demands for access of the 10,000-strong footfall that the hospital experiences daily, and it consistently performs well across the hospital’s entire estate.”
RIE has over 4,000 employees as well as 400 students from the University of Edinburgh, and receives more than 115,000 patients each year for its A&E department alone.
Along with system reliability, the hospital also demanded flexibility, both in the system and in the installation: “The hospital regularly sees changes of purposes for buildings and the requirements for access can alter substantially,” explains Scott. “With the new system, changes can be quickly and easily accommodated; the Evolution solution allows operators to programme and dispense new passes from an easy-to-use portal.”
