With a workforce of over 140 employees, two bustling Healthy Food Hubs, and two office buildings, the nonprofit places a premium on maintaining control, monitoring, and ensuring a secure environment for its resources and team members.
HIG provided our organization with an all-in-one system that gives us the versatility to use our badges as timecards and eliminate the use of metal keys. We’ve also been able to incorporate our badge system with our alarm system, reducing issues with false alarms.”
Derick Fritchey
SVP Chief Operations Officer
Client Challenges
Facing the complexities of managing a multifaceted operation, Derick Fritchey, Senior Vice President, and Chief Operations Officer at the Food Bank, identified several challenges. These included the inconvenience and security risks associated with traditional metal keys, the need to streamline visitor management across multiple locations, and the necessity for staff to have flexible access to different areas.
Door Access Control Solution
To address these challenges, Higher Information Group (HIG) collaborated with the Food Bank to implement a comprehensive door access control system tailored to the needs of the organization:
Key Elimination
The access control system eliminated the reliance on traditional keys, minimizing the associated hassles and security vulnerabilities.
Enhanced Security
Any door within the facility could be securely controlled, requiring authorized credentials for access. This ensured that only approved individuals were present within the Food Bank’s premises.
Flexible Staff Access
All Food Bank employees were equipped with programmable badges, offering flexibility in accessing designated buildings and areas. This eliminated the need for manual door unlocking or late-night lockups by management or staff.
Integration with HR
The Food Bank team was able to integrate the door access badge system with the organization’s HR system, streamlining processes related to employee timecards, time tracking, and payroll. This integration facilitates the creation or removal of user profiles and credentials as needed.
Other Solutions & Integrations
The Food Bank has been able to integrate other HIG solutions to boost security and operate more efficiently.
The Food Bank leverages its employee ID badge system and its use of PaperCut to reduce print waste, ensure document security, and allow users to release print jobs at any printer by authenticating with their badge.
The Food Bank’s access control system connects to their video surveillance, supporting documentation of events. According to Derick, “The camera system has saved us a number of times – giving us the ability to go back and secure documentation of a specific event or issue.”
A video intercom system reduces distractions and increases security by allowing Food Bank employees to visually see who is at an entrance before granting them access and allows them to grant access remotely.
“The video intercoms were a critical advantage during COVID, allowing us to still safely communicate with the public,” said Derick.
As the Food Bank continues on its growth trajectory, these systems are easily scalable. Finally, about the experience of working with the HIG team, here’s what Derick Fritchey had to say about HIG’s Cabling and Security Manager.“Tony Robinson (HIG Cabling & Security Manager) is awesome. He is well-versed in all things IT and took the time to teach us how to use all features of the system. Plus, he’s always only a phone call away if we have questions.”
