SABC Auckland Park opt for Speedgate Express lanes and special needs gates
With 20 radio stations and three television stations, South Africa’s largest broadcaster – the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) – plays host to thousands of employees and visitors daily. In addition to the various broadcasting buildings, the Auckland Park campus is also home to the Radio Main Control (RMC), an area that requires the highest levels of security.
Ensuring that only authorised people enter the premises is a logistical challenge that calls for reliable and accurate access control technology. The SABC’s mandate to broadcast unbiased information to the population is underpinned by its unfailing ability to ensure that no unauthorised people gain access to the various broadcasting points.
SABC’s Auckland Park headquarters in Johannesburg recently experienced an upgrade to various reception areas in buildings around the large campus. In order to comply with the stringent security regulations subsisting at the SABC, only the highest quality access control hardware was acceptable. After an exhaustive examination process, Turnstar was selected as the technology provider.
Craig Sacks, CEO at Turnstar, explains that the solution, comprising 22 Speedgate Express Lanes and five automatic Special Needs Gates, was considered to provide the optimum combination of ease of use with high security levels.
While the primary function of any access barrier is to provide the facility with management of traffic flow of authorised people, two other factors play a role in the successful deployment and acceptance of the solution. The barrier should allow people to pass through as easily and rapidly as possible in a safe manner. Secondly, the barrier should complement the existing ambient aesthetics of the location. The Speedgate Express Lanes achieve this with aplomb.
Also known as wing gates or flap gates, Speedgates allow one to monitor admittance, manage crowds, and keep track of employee movements into and out of the building, without hampering the flow of traffic. The Speedgate range has a number of stainless steel cabinet configurations as well as three different lane widths: 550, 650 and 900 mm. Like all Turnstar products, the Speedgate is compatible with all third party access control, ticketing and time and attendance systems.
These waist-height ultra high-speed barriers were the winner of SASSDA’s best stainless steel product of the year in 2012 and feature glass wings which retract into the attractive and durable cabinet. The optical safety sensor array ensures that no person will be trapped in the barrier on closing and the sophisticated anti-tamper and anti-tailgate detection increases the level of security provided.
Recognising the need for a solution that caters for visitors who are unable to walk through the barriers, such as people in wheelchairs and children in pushchairs, the Speedgate Express Lanes are complemented by the automatic Special Needs Gates. These barriers have a frameless toughened safety glass wing with an automatic 180° opening, for maximised ease of use.