The Customer
Production Services Management Inc. (PSMI), was founded in 2005 with the sole objective of increasing operational effectiveness by reducing tooling and MRO (maintenance, repair and operational) spending. The company started in one location in Saline, Michigan, with one client, and has quickly grown to provide services globally for a wide array of clients across multiple industries.
The Challenge
In July 2017, the PSMI headquarters building was undergoing a renovation and expansion project, which included a new lunchroom. While the company had for some time been considering updating the traditional lock and key access installed when the headquarters first opened more than a decade before, the realization they now needed a secure way to provide access to the lunchroom for approximately 100+ employees jumpstarted the process of identifying a solution.
PSMI IT Manager Larry Puroll explains, “The HR department had originally been responsible for assigning and tracking keys, but over time, as our workforce grew from 15 to 100 or more, and we had employees and consultants who were no longer working with PSMI, we weren’t sure who had keys anymore”.
He continues, “We didn’t have a good way of securing our building with the growing number of keys in circulation. We realized that as we quickly grew, keys had been lost, could have been duplicated, and that doors were sometimes not getting locked at the end of the day. It had gotten out of control, and knowing that the new lunchroom would potentially need to be left unlocked all day long for 100 or more people without having someone to monitor it was worrisome”.
“With VIZpin, we can still provide that access while having the peace of mind that we’re keeping the building, and most importantly, our employees, secure.”
The Solution
Larry consulted Adam Holmes at ALJ Solutions, who introduced him to the smartphone-based access control solution VIZpin. PSMI was impressed by the cloud-based system and decided to have readers installed not only at the lunchroom, but the server room, main entrance and shipping door as well.
According to Adam at ALJ Solutions, “Installation was simple compared to traditional access systems for sure. Everything was a lot easier.”
As part of the transition, Larry became the sole administrator for access control. He distributed a limited number of new keys and transitioned a majority of employees to VIZpin access only. He says, “VIZpin was easily adopted. I simply introduced it in an email that included instructions.” He notes that thanks to VIZpin, he can give access to all employees to three of the doors, but easily limit access to the server room to IT department members and the executive team.
“When PSMI was much smaller, we were able to have all doors unlocked 24/7, but with more than 100 employees, that is no longer feasible, Larry concludes. “With VIZpin, we can still provide that access while having the peace of mind that we’re keeping the building, and most importantly, our employees, secure.”
Highlights
Security: VIZpin’s smartphone-based solution eliminated the worry of not knowing who had keys and the possibility that keys were being duplicated or retained by former employees and consultants.
Convenience: PSMI no longer needs to assign physical keys, keep track of who has them and reclaim them from employees and consultants no longer working with the company.
Cost Savings: The VIZpin solution cost only a third of what that option would have cost.
Originally Posted On: VIZPin
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