Access management for teaching rooms at Université Paris Dauphine
All of Blue Wire's teams have once again been called upon to build an integrated system for managing access to teaching rooms, based on an interface with the national university timetabling platform.
The challenge: access control for 250 teaching room doors
Blue Wire was consulted to put in place a system capable of managing bookings for 250 teaching or meeting rooms.
For security reasons, the University wanted to filter access to each room (or meeting room) so that only pre-authorised students and teaching staff could enter, using Dauphine's software solution for university-wide timetabling (ADE by Adesoft). The same approach applies to meeting rooms, whose occupancy is scheduled through MS Outlook.
At the same time, high-security areas had to be protected in line with ANSSI standards (the French National Cybersecurity Agency). In addition, every door has to be connected to the fire and attack alarm system so that it can be unlocked or locked accordingly. As part of the same project, digital touchscreens were installed in the corridors so that students and lecturers can view the day's bookings for the rooms linked to each screen, along with a list of rooms available elsewhere in the building.
The requirements set for the access control system
Further expectations for the access control system were defined as follows:
A non-proprietary system;
Open to integration (an open, high-quality API);
A modern platform – scalable, with a web user interface, offering the benefits of current technologies;
Compliant with ANSSI security standards;
Excellent support from the software publisher.
The solution put in place
The CredoID software suite from the publisher Midpoint was selected to cover an access control network based on readers and controllers from the manufacturer HID. On this basis, Blue Wire developed a tool covering:
Replication with the university's LDAP directory to create users and credentials (Who);
Replication with the University's timetabling tool and MS Outlook to create access levels (Where and When);
Management of the on-site screens (content and firmware updates – Android development).
Two access control networks were installed: one for managing the teaching rooms and one for managing the high-security areas (in line with French ANSSI recommendations).
The day-to-day outcome
The University's premises are now under secured access. The security team no longer has to unlock or lock every teaching room more than twice a day.
250 access points are now managed automatically and securely, providing practical day-to-day use for more than 10,000 people. Every two hours, as classes change over, the access rules change too, and access rights are automatically updated for all teaching rooms, meeting rooms and people. Countless staff hours are saved, the learning environment is more secure, and any student or lecturer can easily find a free room when needed, helped by real-time information displayed on the on-site signage.
