KeyWatcher and KeyPro
May 26, 2009
KeyWatcher
The newly renovated Plaza Hotel in New York City reopened last year with 21st Century
technologies now working behind the scenes to enhance the landmark hotel's
old-world luxury and elegance. Among the new technologies is a system from
Morse Watchmans to control and keep track of the substantial number of keys
used by Plaza personnel.
The Morse Watchmans KeyWatcher Key
Control System releases assigned keys only to users with the proper
authorization code (either fingerprint identification or a numerical code).
Certain groups of employees at the Plaza Hotel have access only to certain
keys, and management needs to be notified if a key is not returned within a
certain time. KeyPro Performance Software provides activity reports that can be
customized to trace key movements by time, date and user code or biometric
access data, thus providing Plaza Hotel management with complete key control
and a quick-and-easy audit trail.
“It used to take hours of tedious
research and cross-checking to determine who among our personnel had what room
key and when,” said Don Smith, Plaza Hotel Director of Security. “Now it can be
done in minutes with the Morse Watchmans KeyWatcher and KeyPro Software
systems, part of the state-of-the-art technology that has been deployed at the
Plaza Hotel.”
Built in 1907, the Plaza Hotel is a
treasured New York City
landmark. It is the setting for the famous “Eloise” series of children's books
and for several films. The hotel has, over the decades, hosted eminent guests
from the worlds of entertainment, politics and popular culture. The Plaza was
closed in 2005 to undergo a multi-million-dollar renovation, and the newly
reopened property offers 282 hotel rooms and 167 private condominium hotel
units. It is managed by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.
The KeyWatcher Key Control System from
Morse Watchmans is a custom-configured solution that enables the Plaza to
maintain key integrity and control. The system's illuminated key slots make
accessing and returning keys easier, and the system is configured to
accommodate both metal keys and plastic key cards. The system automatically
records the access history of each key, including user, date and time of key
access/return. Morse Watchmans KeyPro Performance Software is a user-friendly
PC application that delivers real-time polling transactions, status, alarm and
reporting capabilities for the KeyWatcher System. The software is accessible
and programmable remotely via an IP connection. Priority email alerts can be
sent to management to inform them of the whereabouts of high-security keys or
to alert them if keys have been accessed at odd hours.
At the Plaza Hotel, the Morse Watchmans
KeyWatcher system is used to control approximately 100 keys, most of which are
key cards used by staff to enter guest rooms. Using KeyPro software, hotel
security management programs access to the keys for each of eight different
groups, allowing for overtime and for unscheduled work hours.
Accurate
and detailed reports generated by the software lists which employees accessed
the keys, when they were accessed and returned, and notifies management if keys
are kept out too long. Logging transaction reports are generated several times
a week, and the system can be queried anytime about which keys are out and who
has them.
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