Property leader Dexus has upgraded the Gateway building in Sydney’s Circular Quay, to feature entry security measures that are increasingly demanded by tenants seeking protection of employees, visitors, and valuable data.
Gateway is Australia’s first office tower to use fully integrated touchless fingerprint scanning to allow authorised office workers and guests into the building.
The building’s new entrance involves a complex integration of security and technology experts, including Boon Edam, Schindler Lifts, Honeywell and IDEMIA (the manufacturers of MorphoWave fingerprint scanning technology). The solution had to work seamlessly to enhance the user experience and building security for tenants and visitors at the 46-storey landmark building in Sydney’s CBD, owned by Dexus Wholesale Property Fund.
“Tenants have a duty of care to protect their employees and visitors as well as valuable data and intellectual property, and they need the cooperation and support of a responsible and innovative building manager such as Dexus to manage secure entry into the building,” says Michael Fisher, Managing Director, Boon Edam Australia (master security licence 000 104 487).
Stephen Hodge, Senior Project Manager, Dexus, confirmed that this was a major reason for the Gateway upgrade. “We have tenants in Gateway who requested ground floor security, so we went out to tender to seek the best combination of sophisticated security and elegance, without being obtrusive to the building’s users,” he said.
Boon Edam delivered the entrance security solution, with speed gates that are the slimmest in the market, which added to the aesthetics, and helped with design considerations within the width of the lift lobbies.
Complex integration
Gateway’s access solution begins with a sign-in system for guests, while authorised tenants will have their unique finger pattern saved. The guest pass, or your finger ID pattern, is then used on a MorphoWave fingerprint, which grants access to authorised personnel.
MorphoWave scans and verifies four fingerprints through a simple hand wave gesture, during which the sensor takes several 3D photos of the fingerprints to extract biometric data and compare with the authorised fingerprints stored in the device. If they match, the user is granted access. This process all happens in less than one second.
Each Morphowave scanner is connected to Schindler’s PORT Technology, which then receives the user’s credential data and is cross-checked in the base building access control database. If the user is valid, a command is sent to the Boon Edam Lifeline Speedlane to open. This interaction is surprising quick with limited latency.
A major part of the solution involves lift destination control, whereby a user’s credentials automatically assign a lift as they are verified and allowed access through the speed gate. This seamless integration was assisted by an existing global partnership between Boon Edam and Schindler Lifts.
The partnership enables Schindler’s PORT 4 mini technology to be embedded into the speed gates at the manufacturing stage in the Boon Edam factory. The design also incorporates a high-level interface between Schindler’s PORT Technology and the Boon Edam speed gates.
Using an advanced algorithm and the integrated Schindler PORT 4 mini lift destination control for visual and audio feedback, a lift is automatically assigned at the same time the gate is opening, for optimum efficiency. The security is controlled by Honeywell’s access control system, integrated with Schindler’s PORT Technology.
Honeywell has been managing the security and building management systems for the Gateway building since it was first opened in 1990. Honeywell Asia-Pacific Solution Architect Leader Rhys Crabb says early engagement at all stages and a commitment to a collaborative approach enabled Dexus to select the best available technologies.
“Dexus placed customer outcomes first and foremost in the project brief, ensuring the delivery of a product that provided tenants and visitors with a premium, modern and secure user experience that is flexible and easy to use,” said Crabb.
Hodge added that “with so many stakeholders, and a strong need for reliability and quality, it was important that everyone knew the goals of the project and worked well together. I’m pleased to say that it was like a perfect jigsaw, and everything came together smoothly.”
“What was important to Dexus is that we were pushing the boundaries to create better experiences, but we’re only doing so with proven products. Boon Edam’s speed gates have been installed globally and locally, and this gave us added confidence that they were the right product for this forward-looking project,” he said.
“Another significant help with this project was that the companies involved built a prototype, located at Schindler’s Head Office based in Sydney, so that the Dexus management and technical teams could test the solution well in advance of implementing it at Gateway. It gave us peace of mind that we’d selected the right suppliers.”
Privacy
Fingerprint scanners were chosen to control access to secured floors and areas of the building, because they provided an extra level of privacy that was attractive to tenants.
“A computer algorithm converts each person’s unique fingerprint signature into binary code – zeroes and ones – and uses that code to grant access,” explained Hodge.
“Boon Edam speed gates have the ability to integrate facial recognition, which could be highly valuable in other projects, but the fingerprint scanners were the right fit for this building. Boon Edam made it simple to integrate them with their speed gates, which helped us meet project deadlines,” he said.
Top service, and a staged introduction
For such a complex project, installation always has its challenges, including managing installation work as people continue to use the building.
Dexus Facility Manager, Gateway, Bill Garrett, was impressed by Boon Edam’s service and installation team. “The Boon Edam installation team always ensured safety was the number one priority and they did a quality job, even with some very difficult to access areas,” he said.
“I’m delighted with the result of the project. One of the major benefits of the new entry system is that there’s a dedicated underground entrance for tradespeople, couriers, and deliveries, which removes congestion and bulky trolleys from the main lobby. It’s all about enhancing the user experience, and Gateway will set a new benchmark for a seamless, secure, and aesthetically pleasing entry.”
Garrett explained that to get tenants used to a totally new system, they adopted a staged approach. At first, the speed gates were there, but left in the open position, then some gates were closed, so that tenants could trial entering using the new technology if they wished, in advance of the entire system being fully implemented.
“In addition to this staged approach, we met with key tenants and allowed them to trial the system in advance. The testing, combined with the staged approach, allowed for a smooth transition to the new security technology,” said Garrett.
A template for the future
Now that the technology has been successfully rolled out at Gateway, Dexus is looking at other locations that can utilise the same harmony of security technologies.
“We are continuing to assess opportunities to implement touchless technologies in new developments as well as in our existing buildings,” said Hodge.
“The stylish and secure entrance at Gateway has been ideal through the COVID pandemic. It manages flow, queries guests on visits to hotspots, if they are feeling any symptoms and can record all entrants to the building, helping us meet Government requirements. And the same features will be beneficial in a broader context, too, to help mitigate against unauthorised entry,” he said.
