James Madison University: upgrades for better access control

Doors and Hardware, July, 2007 by Beverly Vigue

AS JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY nears its centennial celebration in 2008, it is taking a monumental step toward upgrading access control of more than 15,000 doors on campus. By upgrading its conventional key system to a patent-protected high security system, moving up to computer-managed (CM) electronic locks in critical areas, and adding programmable locks to residence suites, the university is gaining better security through improved control of who has access to which areas.

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Since its founding in 1908, James Madison University (JMU) has grown from a state normal and industrial school for women into today's coeducational and comprehensive university. Known as James Madison University since 1977, JMU includes more than 140 buildings on its 600-acre campus in Harrisonburg, Virginia. It serves approximately 15,000 students, including some 6,000 residents,

At one time, JMU had as many as seven different key systems. Gradually, the university was able to reduce that to two, but the lack of standardization complicated security and maintenance. John J. Ventura, Assistant Director of Operations, Facilities Management, explains, "Keeping up with training for the diverse locksets was difficult. Now we only will have to train on one lock."

Key System Improves Security

In order to improve key control and increase security, JMU is in the process of converting all its locks to the patented Schlage[R] Everest[TM] Primus[R] key way. This eliminates the possibility of unauthorized key duplication, since key blanks are unavailable at local key shops. Ventura says, "The key blanks are only available from the manufacturer, so we have more control because people can't just go out and duplicate them.

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JMU has instituted a campus-wide conversion to the Everest Primus key system, and Ventura reports that they are working on their third building. These include Harrison Hall, an athletic performance building, and the new A-3 building. Ventura notes, "For students alone, we have about 15,000 doors, but we're also converting everything else, including athletic facilities, dining, and. leased properties." Other buildings will be done in sequence, and renovations will incorporate the new key system as they are completed.

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Most of the existing locks are cylindrical, although Jim Meadows, Locksmith Services Supervisor, says the university is moving toward using mortise locks because of they are less susceptible to vandalism. "We also put the Vandlgard levers in a lot of the residence halls, especially Greek Row," he says. "Before, we had to go there several times a week, but we don't have problems with lever damage now." The Vandlgard lever is free-wheeling in the locked position to resist more forceful attacks or abuse.

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Part of the upgrade included designing a keying system that would handle future campus growth. The result was a system based on departmental masters, rather than building masters. Meadow says, "If you have one grand master for everything, it limits your growth." He adds that the cost to re-key a building if a master key is lost could be as high as $20,000, depending on building size. "We also didn't want to have a lot of master keys in circulation, so we took a hard look at who can assign masters and who is authorized to get a master," he says. "A residence building could include dining, or athletics could share part of a building. We broke it down so a person would only have a master for the athletic or dining areas, but they could be in multiple buildings."

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Setting up the key system by departments rather than by buildings has another advantage when staff or faculty members are moved from one building to another. Meadows explains, "If there is an open space in one building that happens to be an academic facility and we need space for an athletic office, for example, we can let the people take their keys with them when they move, and all we have to do is change a few locksets."

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Limiting the number of master keys has its advantages for the users as well as the facilities management staff. "With it comes responsibility and accountability," Meadows explains. "Once they realize that, they don't think a master key looks as good anymore." Ventura points out that the university has specific guidelines to be followed, and authorization for departmental master keys must come from a high level.

Where contractors are involved, Meadows has implemented internal policies that call for the project manager to authorize any keys needed by tradesmen. The project manager must either pick up and sign for the key personally or have the worker take the authorization in and sign for the key himself. He must also specify how long he needs the key and return it when finished.

Residence halls include a hard-wired exterior door control system that uses the university's one-card magnetic stripe card. The system is set up so a student can only gain access to his or her building. Once inside, all doors are controlled by the high-security mechanical key system or programmable standalone locks.