University of Virginia Installs and Tests The SDC E70 EntryCheck

Last spring, while we were conducting our interview for The Institutional Locksmith Supplement with David R. Handy, supervisor of housing physical security at the University of Virginia, he mentioned that he always was looking for new cutting-edge solutions for the university. We told him we had one of the latest standalone access control units around, the SDC E70 EntryCheck and he said he could use an easily programmable keypad solution for their storeroom where more than $500,000 worth of locks and supplies were kept.

Located in Charlottesville, the University of Virginia is ranked the nation's #2 public university and 23rd among all national universities. This is fact is even more impressive when you consider that only three other public universities are in the top 25. UVA. has the highest graduation and retention rate of any public college or university and is tied for 9th overall.

The University opened for classes in 1825.

About 65 percent of the 19,200 students at the University are Virginia residents; the remaining 35 percent are drawn from across the U.S. and over 100 countries.

The sprawling UVA campus is constantly expanding. The in-house locksmiths are responsible for about 200 buildings (that's about 10,000 doors and 20,000 keys). David estimates that they change over 1,000 locks in a calendar year. The routine lockouts, semester rekeys and those unplanned emergencies and new installations keep David and his posse of seven hopping.

During our brief visit to install the SDC EntryCheck, Handy's staff had to run out half a dozen times to assist students, faculty and outside contractors, even though it was Christmas break and no classes were in session.

The SDC EntryCheck is designed to install quickly, which was fine with Handy and Mark Madison, who were running all over the campus during what is considered a slow time for them.

Because they are out on service calls most of the time and the storeroom is unattended, Handy was looking for a lock that would allow easy access to the room without having to give out keys. The SDC would also allow him to obtain an activity log of who entered the room, if necessary.

The tube also provides for a simple yet robust attachment of the inside and outside trim to the door. A large gland nut and lock washer guarantee that the unit will stay put.

As mentioned, Handy and Madison face enough challenges on a good day so that they weren't looking to perform a difficult installation. On the contrary, they found doing the installation relaxing and therapeutic, compared to the issues they face with other hardware on campus.

When we realized that the programming instructions were not available (why is not important, but in fact, this happens to all of us at one time or another), Handy was able to call up SDC and within moments he was back, smiling at the prompt and courteous treatment he received form Kelly. The instructions were faxed in within five minutes after he called.

Clients and end-users, even sophisticated professionals like Handy and Madison, recognize the value of having capacities and features available, but not having to pay extra upfront, or getting loaded down with complicated programming and management for less complicated applications.

The UVA locksmiths admired the quality construction of the EntryCheck, which they felt was equal to the quality of the ANSI Grade 1 commercial locks, and actually thought the latch supplied with the EntryCheck was better quality than what they were using daily. The E72 is a Grade 1 cylindrical lockset, which meets the UL three-hour fire rating and ADA requirements.

E72 EntryCheck Standalone Access Control
The battery-powered standalone E72 EntryCheck provides controlled access for high security applications with multi-level security requirements or applications with minimal requirements for the control of pedestrian traffic. The E72 EntryCheck's extensive versatility and sophisticated features were once only available from hardwired systems. Standard features include: