UNUM Eliminates Tailgating, Guards at Employee-Only Entrances
Posted on Thu, Feb 02, 2012
By Boon Edam
One of the most common misconceptions about security entrances is that to defeat tailgating, you have to constantly train people to swipe their badge, not hold open a door for someone, and keep an entrance supervised at all times. While this may be true for general traffic entrances and lobbies, a practical and cost-effective solution exists for employee-only entrances. One company that implemented this solution was UNUM Corp.
"The issue we have with our staff is that they are too polite,” jokes Deborah Morneau, Director, Corporate Security & Safety. “We’re not brought up to close a door in someone’s face, so we hold it open for them, or we let them in behind us.”
Morneau is responsible for ensuring the safety of over 10,000 employees at UNUM, an international disability insurance company with headquarters in Chattanooga, TN, and multiple sites around the USA and the globe. “A key part of my job is to keep our people safe and keep the wrong people out of our buildings,” Morneau explains. “Doors are a particular problem because of tailgating and it can be time-consuming and difficult to train employees.”
Morneau found a Tourlock revolving door from Boon Edam that could integrate with her existing card access system. To enter the building, an employee simply holds his or her access card to a reader and upon authorization, steps into the available quadrant. The door rotates automatically to allow the authorized user to enter while the overhead sensors prevent unauthorized users from tailgating. If tailgating is attempted, the door stops halfway through its rotation in the “+” position relative to the throat openings, allowing the authorized user to continue into the secure area without delay while the tailgater is rebuffed.
With four door quadrants rotating with one authorized user per quadrant, the throughput of the Boon Edam Tourlock is up to 24 users per minute in both directions simultaneously, which can easily handle most employee-only entrances. “Even better,” says Morneau, “is that a few of our operating sites are in cold climates such as Maine; the door saves energy so it’s attractive to facility planners as well.”
Morneau is also pleased with the emergency and safety features of the door. In case of an emergency the door can be remotely locked down. In addition, if there is a fire, the door wings can be set to automatically unlock and either free-spin or collapse to allow emergency egress.
“People hesitate to put this type of door in because they may not think that it’s reliable in terms of mechanical function,” Morneau says. “You don’t want to spend this type of money for a door and then have a security guard still babysit it. But that’s not the case here. Hands down — the door has paid for itself,” she says. UNUM has installed the Tourlock at its headquarters in Chattanooga as well as several other locations in the USA.