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The West Edmonton Mall (WEM), in Alberta, Canada, has selected and installed Synergis from provider Genetec for a major access control system upgrade.  

The West Edmonton Mall (WEM), in Alberta, Canada, has selected and installed Synergis from provider Genetec for a major access control system upgrade.

 

With the completion of the initial phase of the upgrade, the security staff at WEM use Synergis to protect over 70 doors in North America's largest shopping and entertainment centre, with plans to continue expanding the system in the near future.

 

Before implementing Synergis, WEM had two disparate access control solutions in place, which required several different access control cards, creating an administrative nightmare and taking up valuable resources in both the security and human resource (HR) departments. With the help of Contava, an Alberta-based security reseller and integrator, the new upgrade to Genetec’s Synergis access control solution proved to be extremely beneficial, as it provided WEM with the tools to be more efficient in response to critical situations.

 

"One of the main benefits we experienced with Synergis is the ability to integrate it with our Windows Active Directory," said Joseph Schuldhaus, vice president of IT for WEM’s owner and manager, Triple Five Group of Companies.

 

"When we onboard an employee using Synergis, the same tool that creates an employee record and badge, will at the same time update the active directory structure," he added. And the Active Directory integration in Synergis has taken a lot of the day-to-day administration work away from HR personnel, who no longer have to wait for security to issue or activate a badge.

 

With Omnicast, Genetec’s video surveillance solution, already managing over 800 cameras at various Triple Five Group owned and managed properties, the integration of two solutions from a single provider has been another key benefit for WEM. In real time, dispatch can see video of a door being opened, along with the credentials of the employee who is accessing the door. The intrinsic compatibility of both solutions also has allowed WEM to build and successfully implement an innovative application for remote door release.

 

WEM also plans to take advantage of additional benefits, such as fully integrating the mall floor plan into Synergis, so that communications officers can have a better view of where doors are situated.

 

www.genetec.com