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17th April 2024 Issue no. 701

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Urmet appointed to provide access control

Market-leading audio and video door-entry manufacturers, Urmet, are delighted to have been appointed as the supplier for the first two residential buildings at the 67-acre King's Cross Central development.

Using their latest full IP video door-entry and access control system, IPervoice, Urmet convinced main contractor Carillion, one of the UK's leading construction companies, that their system was simple to install, added greater flexibility for the building owner and was the perfect choice for high-volume, landmark residential schemes.

King's Cross Central is a major mixed-use development site in central London, featuring offices, restaurants and shops, new homes and a university. Planning permission for 50 new and restored buildings and 20 new streets was granted in 2006, making this exciting new site the largest single-ownership project to be master-planned and developed in central London in over 150 years. Urmet supplied the first residential Building R4, which consists of 117 apartments and are now supplying a second apartment block within the site, Building R5.

Residents moved into Building R4 in July and Building R5 is due to be completed in early 2013. There is even a new postcode for the development: London N1C.

Commenting on the installation, John Goodman, Carillion's senior M&E Manager responsible for the project, said, "We chose Urmet's IPervoice product due to its flexibility and functionality that are settng the standard in IP-based audio and video door-entry systems. We were also impressed by Urmet's IT networking understanding, which was crucial to the success of this project."

When researching available products on the market, Carillion specified that they wanted a system capable of doing more than just open doors via a handset. They also wanted the ability to manage other services within the building - something that is not possible with some of the other systems currently available. IPervoice not only allows the system to be programmed and configured in advance and all of the operations to be controlled via its embedded web server, but it also offers other key benefits such as:

PC Concierge Switchboard

The IPervoice system implements the concierge switchboard func=on by using a PC and a specific software application. A touchscreen PC can then be used to manage the switchboard and a night bell system allows the operator or guard on duty to answer calls from any network VoIP telephones within the building.

Resident LiL and Visitor Control

Another key feature of IPervoice is its added layer of resident security with Resident LiL Control. When entering the building, residents simply present their proximity token to any reader. This then calls the li^ to the ground floor and automatically takes residents to their own floor. A similar func=on, operated via a remote lock release buaon on the video monitor in their apartment, also allows residents to send the lift to the ground floor when someone calls them. The Visitor LiL Control then only allows the visitor to select the floor they are visiting, which means they are prevented from entering the rest of the building.

Concierge LiL Control

Similarly, the Concierge LiL Control func=on of the IPervoice PC-based switchboard front front-end means that the concierge can control which floor the lift is called to and when. For example, after a visitor or resident has gained access to recep=on, the concierge can ask them which floor they want, call the lift to the ground floor of the building and then ensure the lift automa=cally selects the correct floor.

The project with Carillion is a classic example of the manufacturer working with the supply chain to ensure that the whole project is delivered as the developer initially wanted. Mark Hagger, Sales and Marketing director at Urmet, concludes by saying, "The fact that our IP-based system was installed gave the building owner true flexibility and future scalability - something that is critical to the demands of today's modern and changing access control market in which building-owners increasingly want more value for money."

5th September 2012