Catherine Higgins RegAI, Em-B, talks through the decision-making behind the specification for co-working space Department in Leeds
Department is a shared co-working space for Leeds’s media, creative and digital businesses. It aims to create modern working environments with hospitality, social spaces, and wellness amenities. Department is part of Leeds Dock, a creative neighbourhood already home to Sky Digital and Channel 4.
Em-B Solutions was asked to design and supply a flexible, web-based access control system for the new co-working space. By their very nature, co-working spaces like Department are open to many, and this poses challenges for security and access control, with many people coming and going at different times demanding quick and easy-to-use access, coupled with security for themselves and their possessions. Traditional corporate offices deal with a constant workforce who generally come and go at similar times. Busy, high-traffic co-working spaces have a continual tide of people arriving and leaving, often with different levels of access, including visitors. This makes the issue of security and controlling access more complex than for traditional commercial spaces.
Meeting the challenge
Em-B’s access control team created an integrated access control and security system, including automatics on the main door and speed gates, which control the flow of subscribers, staff, and visitors. Based on the Salto KS system, we supplied an access control system that delivers an advanced security framework on a fully remote and wireless cloud-based smart access management platform that users can operate from their smart phones. The Department management team has control of all functions and features from the web or mobile app to track events and users, unlock doors remotely, or block anyone that leaves on the go, managing all doors, users, and locations in real time. It also delivers advanced security features on a fully remote and wireless cloud-based smart access management platform.
Future proofed
The access control system at the Department is designed with the potential to be expanded to encompass other aspects of co-working life, such as time and attendance software, asset management, lockers, and secure mailboxes/parcel delivery solutions. This anticipates and caters to the evolving needs of a dynamic co-working environment.
