21 Mar IDL – Fastlane Turnstiles
Integrated Design Limited (IDL) was tasked with improving secure access control for an energy supplier in Qatar across 10 interconnected high-rise towers.
Company Overview
A prominent energy supplier in Qatar was looking to enhance its security across 10 office buildings located in the central business district in Doha, Qatar.
The security enhancement project would focus on 10 high-rise towers which ranged from 15 storeys up to 46 storeys. All of the towers are interconnected at basement, ground and podium levels, including a Metro Rail Link bridge connecting to the closest metro station. Over the course of a typical working day, between 6:30 am – 2:30 pm, around one thousand employees enter and exit the site, via various entry points. Security personnel are present on-site around the clock and are located at each entrance, with numbers of security staff ranging between 10 to 20 guards at the various locations.
The Challenges
Access to each building needed to be restricted to only authorised personnel. But, during peak times, the team of security staff were unable to effectively check all individuals entering the facility. The client was looking to ensure that each of its main building entrances would be even more secure. At the same time, design challenges required the entrance control solution to be unobtrusive and blend subtly with the overall aesthetic of the complex.
There were several existing entrance control turnstiles already installed – provided by other manufacturers. Many of these were old, and the units were no longer operational. Spare parts for these units were also not readily available, so a replacement solution was required. Some of the units provided previously by Fastlane products were still reliably operating. With dependability and trouble-free operation being the priority for this project, when it came to looking for a new entrance control solution across the site, the client requested that all units be replaced with Fastlane products.
Timescales
To avoid disruption to normal business operations, much of the installation work was carried out during non-office working hours, over weekends and eid-holidays. Works were carried out at pace: one location (which featured five lanes) was made fully operational during the course of a single weekend.
The Solutions
IDL determined that two separate solutions were required to tackle different areas of the towers, to ensure maximum security and efficiency of operations. The company worked with its local installation partner, Intelligent Technologies, to successfully complete the project. Within the lift lobbies, 25 lanes of the Glassgate 250 were installed. These units are designed for high pedestrian throughput, with the capability to process up to 60 people per minute, giving a total capacity of 1,500 workers and visitors being processed to enter the building every minute.
The bi-directional dual glass barriers are in closed mode as standard, and only open to allow entrance to authorised personnel after a valid card or visitor signal has been presented. In the event of other authorised users trying to use the lane, the barriers will stay open, even if they are walking in the opposite direction, to keep the flow of traffic moving during peak times. The glass barriers intuitively move away from the authorised person and the familiarity of the ‘door-like’ action of the barrier gives users confidence in operating the system, ensuring quick user acceptance.
The 24 beam IR detection matrix in the Glassgate 250 provides unsurpassed tailgate detection and deterrence, with tailgaters detected following as close as 5mm behind authorised users. The glass barriers close quickly and safely behind an authorised person to deter unauthorised access, with a 2-stage alarm response provided should an unauthorised access attempt be made. In addition to the Glassgates, 53 lanes of Fastlane Glasswings were installed. As with all Fastlane turnstiles, these use state-of-the-art optical technology to allow authorised entry after a valid card has been presented.
They also quickly close behind each user to tackle the issue of tailgaters or anyone seeking to obtain access fraudulently. They operate at the same capacity as the Glassgate 250 installed in the lift lobbies – allowing 900 visitors to be processed every minute. This particular product benefits from the glass barriers retracting inside the pedestal. The elliptical-shaped pedestals of the Fastlane Glasswing, coupled with the fast-moving glass wings, offered the level of security and fast throughput that was required for this site, without compromising on the aesthetics, as requested by the client.
For this project, the client requested the Glassgate and Glasswing units be customised with Corian deep black quartz tops to complement the black Calacatta marble pattern on the floor, with black acrylic concealed reader windows built into the turnstiles to provide a seamless finish. Square pedestal ends on the Glassgates further added to the architectural look.
