- Architecture, Planning & Construction
- Audit & Advisory Services
- Bookstore
- Buying Products & Services
- Camp Tontozona
- Facilities & Operations
- Finance & Accounting
- Forms
- Human Resources
- Legal Affairs
- Mail Services
- News & Announcements
- Parking & Transportation
- Police & Safety
- Policies & Procedures
- Property Control
- Sun Card
- Technology
- Trademark Management
- Training & Development
- Travel
- University Club
- Vendors & Licensing
Door Access Control & Surveillance
ISAAC and Sun Card are the Standards
ISAAC (Integrated System for ASU Access Control) is the ASU electronic access control standard. All departments and colleges should use ISAAC to meet their electronic access control needs. Implementation of electronic access control is optional except in those areas that have significant life-safety issues and/or elevated security concerns.
- Each person can use his or her Sun Card as the single "key" needed to access all authorized spaces that have electronic access control.
- Changes to a person's access privileges are made electronically -- no need to issue and retrieve keys.
- There is no re-keying needed when someone loses a Sun Card.
- Records are automatically maintained on who has accessed which doors, and when.
- Doors can be locked and unlocked remotely, on a predetermined schedule or on demand.
- Alarms can be generated if doors are propped open, if someone tries to enter who does not have permission, and so forth.
- Authority to manage access can be distributed, so that individual campuses and units can manage the doors that they're responsible for themselves, without losing the benefits of a shared central database.
You can add secondary identifiers to the Sun Card, such as PINs or biometrics, to virtually guarantee that only authorized users will be able to open a door or access an area.
In addition to its electronic access control functions, ISAAC can be used for managing security video cameras and an associated video archive database. Events associated with door access and with security cameras can be related to each other. For example, a security camera can be set to begin recording when someone enters a particular hallway, or an alarm can be sent if a camera picks up motion during specified hours.
ISAAC can also interface with electronic controls and monitors on devices other than doors and cameras, for example lighting and cooling system controls or temperature sensors. Example uses: turning on lights when someone enters a hallway; sending an alarm to someone when the temperature in a room or in a refrigerator goes above a predetermined level.
All cards used in the ISAAC system are issued by the Sun Card Office.
Getting Started With Electronic Access Control
If you are interested in adding electronic access control to doors in your area, you probably want to know:
- Who can help me develop a plan and get it implemented?
- What will it cost to implement?
- What about access cards & biometric access -- how do I make sure that everyone who needs access has a card or can be recognized by the biometric readers?
- Who will manage the system once it's implemented? I.e., who will add, change and delete privileges for people to access the doors, set up automatic lock and unlock schedules, and so forth?
Who Helps You Get Started
For major building and remodeling projects, the project manager from Capital Programs Management Group should make sure that the contracted vendor is involved in the project beginning with the design phase, and that the design incorporates the hardware, conduit and wiring necessary to accommodate electronic access. It will save money and simplify on-going access management to group functions with shared security needs and shared security management procedures together.
ISAAC uses the Lenel OnGuard system and Lenel hardware. University Business Services manages the contract with Henry Brothers Electronics (HBE) for purchase and installation of electronic access control.
HBE will arrange a site survey that will result in the preparation of an installation quote and an estimate for on-going maintenance. Those who will be involved in installing or managing access should participate in the site survey. For small projects this will likely be you and any colleagues who can help define needs, someone from University Business Services, someone from Lock Services (Tempe, Polytechnic and Phoenix Downtown campuses) or from Facilities Management (West campus), and a representative from Henry Brothers Electronics (HBE). For larger projects, project managers, project architects, engineers, contractors, and information technology personnel may also need to be involved.
If you decide to proceed with the project, you will issue a Purchase Order to HBE in the amount of the quote. The will coordinate installation as needed with you, HBE, Lock Services or Facilities Management, and Data Communications.
Approximate Costs
Installation costs for door access control vary depending on the type of door hardware used and the number of doors being installed. Costs range from $1,500 to $2,500 per door for installations of 8+ doors. If you are installing controls on only one door in an area that does not already have electronic access control, cost may be higher than $2,500 for that door -- there are some components that are normally shared by many doors, making the cost per door less.
Costs will be higher if you need to include biometric readers for added security.
The cost for video security cameras is highly dependent on the type of security system that you elect to install and on whether you can share an existing network and video recording system. The basic infrastructure to support video cameras -- network and servers -- will cost in the neighborhood of $15,000 to $20,000. Once that infrastructure is in place, cameras that can use it can be installed for $1,500 to $2,800 each.
Access Cards, Sun Card Vouchers, and Biometrics
In most cases, the Sun Card issued to a student or employee will be the access control device used by ISAAC. The Sun Card Office can work with you to provide cards for those people who need access but are not normally eligible for a Sun Card:
- "Affiliate" Sun Cards can be issued to individual contractors or other affiliates under the responsibility of a contracting or sponsoring department.
- If it is not practical to issue cards to individual contracted employees because of large variable work forces or because the access need is of short duration and temporary, contractors may be issued generic "contractor" cards. A contractor card has the word "contractor" with no picture and no individual ID printed on the front. Either you or the contractor must formally agree to maintain control of the cards and be able to say which person has a given card at any point in time. Departments are charged $10 each for contractor cards.
The Sun Card Office will provide free Sun Card vouchers to Segment Managers that have ISAAC installed. Segment Managers may issue these free vouchers to employees who need a new card for access purposes. This includes full-time, part-time and student employees. Individuals must bring a signed voucher to the Sun Card Office to be issued a new card.
Management Options
Access to spaces assigned to units can be managed through ISAAC by the units themselves. Lock Services may manage access for areas that may not want to administer the system. In all cases the occupying unit becomes the primary security agency for that area and must be willing to ensure that all the security requirements of the University are met.
Distributed management authority requires the appointment of a Segment Manager. Segment Managers must be full-time ASU employees. The Segment Manager will learn to use ISAAC to establish permissions and alarms, schedule locking and unlocking of doors, and so forth. Consider the following:
- Administering ISAAC requires roughly 1 FTE for every 100-200 doors, depending on circumstances. If you have a lot of students that you are expiring each semester and a lot of continuous dynamic changes, the ratio may be closer to 1 to 100. Generally, you need more than one person trained on administering ISAAC.
- Administering ISAAC is mostly a data entry job, so appropriate job titles that can be used include Administrative Assistant and Office Specialist.
- Training for Segment Managers is available from Henry Brothers Electronics as part of their contract with ASU.
- ASU's Segment Managers meet periodically, and publish a Segment Manager's Knowledge Base for their shared use.
If you are part of an organization or area that already has a Segment Manager, you may be able to accomplish your goals by working with that person to obtain Area Access Manager privileges or some other custom set of privileges.
If you have a small installation, you may want to work with Lock Services to have them process requests from you to manage access. At the West campus, Facilities Management (602.543.3444) will provide this service.
Segment Managers often appoint or work in conjunction with other local support who may assign or revoke appropriate access levels to areas they control. Also,ASU part-time and student employees may be assigned alarm monitoring responsibilities, including the ability to remotely unlock and relock selected doors. For security reasons, no other ISAAC system management responsibilities may be assigned to ASU student or part-time employees.
Individuals may not have segment administration authority over their offices, labs, and other spaces. Segment Managers function at the unit level.
To find out more about the ISAAC system, please contact University Business Services at 480.965.3132.
