For over a century, Allegion’s brands have kept people safe and secure with category-leading products specializing in security around the door and beyond. Their brands’ portfolios range from residential and commercial locks, door closers and exit devices, steel doors and frames to access control, workforce productivity systems, and more. Allegion helps its customers navigate the most demanding security challenges by providing innovative and secure solutions, which is precisely what it did with its Canadian headquarters.
Allegion’s regional headquarters and distribution centre is located in an industrial area of Mississauga, Ontario, just west of the city of Toronto. Allegion was previously the door hardware and security business within Ingersoll Rand before becoming a publicly traded entity. The company owned several buildings in the area that were used to develop and produce Schlage, LCN, and Von Duprin products. Since then, one building in the region has become home to Allegion’s Canadian headquarter facility, housing the primary offices for sales and marketing and a distribution centre with some in-house expertise, such as key systems.
Over the years, the evolution of the facility has played a significant role in supporting the Canadian market, personifying the portfolio of brands’ growth. The pace of change has seen the once-manufacturing facility evolve into a sales and distribution centre and the changes inside of it over the years demonstrate Allegion’s commitment to Canada. After occupying the space for several decades, executives at Allegion Canada knew it was time to renovate the Diefenbaker-era facility and turn it into a modern-day, state-of-the-art commercial space.
As a leading manufacturer in the residential and commercial door hardware and access control industry, a significant part of the renovation project was updating the building’s security with the latest access control system. The facility’s first access control system, a standard key system (one of the earliest forms of access control), was updated to a biometric system in the late 1990s. While technologically advanced when installed, this on-premise access control system had been in place for over 20 years, and the facility needed a more modern solution. The building, housing approximately 100 employees with both the Canadian headquarters and warehouse in the same space - now required a system that would accommodate the needs of an increasingly connected world.
The renovation project, completed in the fall of 2019, was an entire office makeover, including updates to restrooms and common areas, and modernizing the overall security of the building. The health and wellness of Allegion’s employees were top of mind throughout the entire process.
The company updated the cafeteria to be fully self-operational with stocked vending machines full of healthy options, an innovative meal prep area, and a beverage centre to create an enhanced experience for the staff. An additional four boardrooms were added with integrated presentation screens and audio. Several walls were knocked down, creating a collaborative open workspace. Standard desks were also upgraded to electronic height-adjustable standing workstations.
Changes to the building’s security highlight Allegion’s commitment to employee safety. The previous on-premise biometric access control system was updated with a modern all-in-one, IP-based reader controller connected to the the company’s in-house software, Pure Access Cloud, a cloud-based access control system available widely in market. As an IP-based cloud system, Pure Access allows for real-time administration and access to exterior/perimeter door openings across the Mississauga facility.
The building now features ISONAS RC-04 Reader-Controllers, found on the perimeter and higher-security doors. Schlage’s mobile-enabled LEB mortise lock and NDE mobile-enabled cylindrical locks can be found throughout the office interior. Each of these products can read standard issue MiFare credentials and also Bluetooth mobile credentials, allowing employees to use their mobile phones to gain access efficiently.
The IP reader-controllers function as edge devices; access decisions are made at the door, and they communicate with Pure Access Cloud in real-time on door activity. The modern access control system allows Allegion to leverage the building’s existing IT infrastructure for the building’s perimeter security without running costly proprietary access control cabling. Lastly, Pure Access Cloud software allows the facility managers to remotely administer and manage Access Control in real-time (from anywhere in the connected world), to the Mississauga location and other regional regional offices in Montreal and Calgary.
Other door hardware improvements can be found throughout the facility. Barrier-free push plates and wave-to-open touchless actuators, in conjunction with automatic door operators, allow easier ingress/egress to boardrooms and washrooms. Glynn Johnson overhead door stops protect doors from damaging the walls without posing a tripping hazard on the floor. Von Duprin electric strikes and electrified lockets have been installed to secure more sensitive areas in the building. And finally, the Von Duprin QEL installed in the front and side employee entrances allow an exit/fire door to be part of the access control solution, featuring the quiet electronic control of an exit device.
Lastly, living the core principle of layered security, the building also features the Schlage brand’s Primus Key system. Deployed primarily as a fail-safe to the access control system, the primus key system is protected from copy, and cannot be easily duplicated. This is done by differentiating the pins in the cylinder and cutting the key to give access to specific locks throughout the facility. Schlage cylinders with added Primus features provide a “next level” upgrade of security that works within the existing key system.
Managing the facility’s doors during the renovation was no easy feat. With approximately 50 doors throughout the building, communicating the nuances of each specific opening across all stakeholders – architect, general contractor, facility management, etc – was of utmost importance. To solve this dilemma, Allegion used their in-house software, Overtur, to coordinate door harware information. This cloud-based software was the centralized place to capture, maintain, and verify door hardware requirements during the renovation. Because door hardware openings are rarely alike, this identified for all stakeholders, which hardware, belonged on what door. Should any hardware need to be changed down the road, the current facility management team will have accurate record of what exact hardware is at each opening along with its service record.
Completed in the Fall of 2019, the technology upgrade to the facility has vastly improved building security, simplified access, and eased administration across multiple facilities while providing a more seamless experience for employees.
Today, the project’s Overtur data serves as a record of all door hardware specifications and maintenance schedules, and will provide future facility management team members vital information on door hardware specifications and upkeep.
The Solutions we used:
The following Allegion products were used in the renovation of the Allegion Headquarters and Distribution Centre:
Contributing Partners
The completion of the Allegion Regional Headquarters and Distribution Centre would not be possible without the support of some of our key partners:
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