IEI LS Series Stand Alone: “Thinking Beyond The Box”

When you select the IEI LS System for your installation, you are buying more than what is in the box.

  • You are buying compatibility with the many other IEI access control products.
  • You are buying the software that is used to manage the system.
  • You are buying the technical and engineering department who will support you during the installation and support your client as they use the system.
The IEI LS is a standalone access control system with an outstanding feature set, and it is easy to install. But what sets the LS apart from other standalone, are the perks.

Whether they deal with the general public or not, most businesses will have visitors and vendors in their space, and it is essential to good security management to limit entry into a premises to only those who belong there. The workplace is all too often the scene of opportunistic crime or the stage where frustration or neurosis are acted out in violent final acts.

Besides the obvious liabilities and hazards to employees, studies have proven that trauma the workers experience as the aftermath of workplace crime and violence leads to loss of productivity or loss of valuable trained employees. Many companies consider their experienced, highly trained employees as assets, just like inventory and customers, and are eager to find ways to protect and retain them.

On the other hand, not all employees are so valuable and trustworthy. Employee theft has eclipsed shoplifting and accounts for the overwhelming percentage of inventory shrinkage. Once again access and door control measures create an atmosphere that is not conducive to these activities.

Most premises have more than one perimeter door and usually there are other rooms and areas within premises where better door control is desirable, even the washrooms. The client may want to start with a primary door to see how the employees adapt to it and if any improvements are noted. If the system satisfies the client, additional doors will likely be added to their system.

The IEI LS is a member of an extended family of IEI access controls, which provide a wide range of features and options. As versatile as the LS is, there are applications where another type of access control may be more desirable.

When you specify IEI, you will be specifying a system that is integrated in every sense of the word. Besides the hardware that's in the box, there's the family of controls, the software which runs them all, networking capabilities, and the technical and engineering support provided by the dealer-oriented IEI factory and representatives.

The IEI line of access controls is extensive, and the technology is mature. IEI has been providing keypad access for many years and their products are designed to do what we need them to do in the real world. Besides the LS Series, other examples of IEI's integrated security access control products we found of particular interest are their Secure Ethernet Gateway; BioRead fingerprint scanner and the Proxpad, which combines a keypad with a proximity reader.

Besides sharing commonalities in aesthetics and operating procedures, these products share another important feature, a unified software management platform which ties the various systems together in a unique hybrid hard-wired and virtual network. This means there is only one software program to learn and one database to manage, and it greatly streamlines programming and housekeeping. Clients are far more likely to add on to an existing system than they are to accept a different brand of system on every opening in their facility.

INSTALLATION/PROGRAMMING
Even though the IEI offers exceptional power and flexibility, the system is designed to install and program quickly and easily.

Models of the LS are now available to retrofit into doors prepped for either mortise or cylindrical locks, and adapters allow use of the LS on doors equipped with exit devices.

In addition to the hole (or pocket) in the door required for the lock body, only a few additional holes are required to be drilled, and the minimal wiring required primarily involves mating up solderless connectors, which are color-coded and polarized to make it hard to make a mistake.

If you or your client are nervous about programming and computers, the LS is sweet. Programming is also designed to be fast.

IEI has provided detailed documentation and universal defaults in the systems so they power up almost ready to operate. Defaults are settings to essential system parameters which are the ones you are most likely to want based on the IEI's past years of experience with thousands of installations.

LS SERIES FEATURES

  • 2000 Users
  • 2000 Transaction log events (this feature available with the software)
  • 32 Holidays (this feature available with the software)
  • 8 time zones (this feature available with the software)
  • Auto-Unlock (default setting 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.)
  • Proximity Card Reader (Model LS2P)
  • PDA Communications (this feature available with the software)
  • Eight user types
  • User lockout
Forced and propped door audio alerts are useful features that elevate the stature of the system to that of an integrated security device. These alerts can be programmed to annunciate locally or connected to external equipment. The duration of the alert is a programmable feature. These events also can be stored on the Activity Log. In order to implement this feature, it will require that a N.O (Open Circuit when the door is closed) door position sensor be attached to the system.

The forced door alert will activate if the door upon which the IEI is installed is opened:

  • While the IEI is in ‘LOCKED' Mode
  • If he door is opened without a valid code being entered prior to opening the door.
  • If the R-E-X sensor is not activated prior to opening the door
The propped door alert will activate if the door upon which the IEI system is installed is opened using an authorized code (or the R-E-X function), then propped open beyond the pre-programmed time allowed to transgress the door.

F.Y.I: In burglar alarm installations, the contact type used is typically N.C. (Closed Circuit when the door is closed).

The typical magnetic door contact has two parts: the switch to which wires are attached and the magnet. Typically in an alarm installation, the switch portion is attached to the stationary door frame, and the magnet is mounted on the door. As long as the door is closed, the circuit is closed and indicates ‘secure' to the monitoring panel.

N.O. contacts are rarely used on security systems unless an end-of line resister is employed on the protective loop circuit. When connecting a N.O. magnetic sensor to the IEI unit, the switch portion of the sensor could be mounted on the door and the magnet would go on the stationary doorframe. These should be mounted on the protected (interior) side of the door. This will keep all the wiring on the door.

REX (Request-To-Exit) input is useful for applications where it is desirable to be able to momentarily unlock the door to admit individuals who are not authorized system users. A doctor's waiting room would be just one application for a remote R-E-X sensor. The use of a R-E-X sensor is also required to suppress ‘Forced Door Alerts' which will occur whenever someone attempts to leave a protected area where the Forced Door Alert is implemented. An interesting feature offered on the LS2/LS2P is a switch built into the inside lever trim which can be connected to the R-E-X input on the IEI to suppress Forced Door Alerts without requiring the installation of an external R-E-X switch. (An additional remote switch would still be required anyway if the client wishes to remotely control access.)

USEFUL CODE TYPES
Master Code: This is analogous to a Great Grand Master. A default code is set at the factory and the installer must install his own in order to commission the system. The client may also change this code after you leave. This is not a good idea because if they screw up, the ability to further program system might be inhibited without a reset. Better to let them play with the Supervisor Code which enables them to enter and remove users, but not to alter other system settings.

User Codes: Up to 2000 unique user codes may be enrolled. User codes may be from one to six digits in length. Keypad prompts prevent the same code to be enrolled for more than one user. A user may be entered as one of eight different types.

User types include:

  • Extended Unlock: Opens the door for periods longer than the standard door open time (good for handicapped or deliveries).
  • Toggle: Good for supervisors who are first to arrive and last to leave, unlocking the door during normal business hours.
  • Single-Use Code: Good for vendors and visitors who will only be granted access one time.
  • Emergency: These users cannot be locked out by other programming; will continue to operate the unit below the Low Voltage Inhibit Threshold.
  • Communications Enable: Used by the system administrator to begin an data upload/download session from a PDA (LS2/LS2P models).

LS SERIES FEATURES

  • Indoor/Outdoor
  • Durable, metal alphanumeric Braille keypad.
  • Electronics are coated with a UV cured weather shield to provide weather resistance n any application.
  • A wire raceway aligns the unit and protects the wires from water and fraying.
  • A neoprene gasket seals the exterior portion to the door.
  • Non-volatile eeprom memory allows in-shop programming.
  • One non-handed unit for both indoor and outdoor applications.
  • Wire Raceway provides clean installation and protects wires inside door.
  • Programs the same as all IEI products.
  • Selective Lockout of groups of users.
  • Error Lockout for successive invalid entry attempts.
  • Two-stage low battery alert assures entry.
  • Propped door and forced door alerts when used with a standard magnetic switch.
  • Request-to-Exit allows door to be unlocked from a distance.
  • Four standard AA batteries provide up to 150,000 operations (100,000 LS-2P).

LS-2 & LS-2P FEATURES

  • 2,000 individual users per lockset.
  • 2,000 transactions stored per lockset.
  • Wireless lockset programming and audit trail retrieval with PDA running Palm© OS version 3.5 or newer.
  • Managed with HubManager ™ Professional Software version 4 or newer.
  • Unlimited Access Levels including Time Zones and Holidays.
  • 10,000 users per system.
  • Unlimited Sites.
LS-2P FEATURES
  • Read most HID proximity cards and fobs.
Users can be Code; Card; or both Code and Card. The LS-2 and LS-2P can be managed with IEI's HubManager Professional access control software using a handheld PDA to wirelessly transfer data.

About the Author

Tim O'Leary

Tim O'Leary is a security consultant, trainer and technician who has also been writing articles on all areas of locksmithing & physical security for many years.