02.02.2012

ING Bank Amsterdam - proxSafe maxx in an Elegant Design

Quick access at ING Bank in Amsterdam with electronic key management from deister electronic

The ING Acanthus office building in Amsterdam Zuidoost is one of the outstanding office complexes in Holland. More than 47,500 sqm office space and 610 parking spaces are accommodated in the architect-designed three-tower building. One of the tenants is the ING Bank, one of the largest banks in the Netherlands.

Many of the open, flexibly-designed rooms can only be opened by security personnel. For the approximately 125 employees, this often meant tiresome waiting periods. The administrative effort required of the security personnel was enormous; at least five hours per week were spent handing out keys. Checking that they had been returned was almost impossible; every year many locks and keys had to be replaced incurring unnecessary expense and driving up operating costs. Rob Huisman, Security Officer of the Retail Division, was convinced by electronic key management from deister electronic.

Since 2009 the keys have been kept in four proxSafe maxx cabinets. ING is so convinced by this easy-to-use system that an extension is already being planned. Employees log in at the operating terminal with their existing employee pass and so can collect the keys assigned to them. An LED automatically shows the user the correct slot in the proxSafe system. And deister electronic was also able to fulfil an additional security requirement.

ING wanted to have a record of which employee had returned a key. Each key is attached to an electronic keyTag which has a transponder chip encapsulated in it. When returning a key, an employee first logs in to the operating terminal with their employee pass, then the system identifies the key being returned with the aid of the keyTag and an LED illuminates to indicate the correct slot. The proxSafe Commander software records this operation precisely so that the information is manipulation-proof and available for reference at any time. The software also allows the authorisation of individual users to be changed with just a few mouse clicks, or access can be denied completely. “For us the simple and direct access to historical records is of great significance. We can now trace accurately who withdrew which key and when. Since we have had electronic key management, we have never had another lost key”, reports Rob Huisman.

But it is not just the elegant design of the proxSafe maxx cabinet that convinces ING, the system operates exceptionally reliably and is completely maintenance-free. The proxSafe maxx cabinet currently operates in standalone mode, but it can be connected to the existing network at any time. The Commander software is web-based; administration can be carried out simultaneously from several workplaces and requires no additional licences. According to Rob Huisman, this is an additional advantage with which ING Bank will, in future, save a great deal of time and money.