Curved glass turnstiles provide security at Liberty Life head office
Founded in 1957 by Sir Donald Gordon, Liberty Life represents Gordon’s belief that all people should have the opportunity to grow their wealth and leave a proud legacy for their family. This belief is captured in the name and the flame in the logo, taken from the Statue of Liberty and imbued with the same meaning of freedom and opportunity.
Nearly 60 years later, and with a presence in 16 African countries, Liberty has grown from being a South African life insurer to a pan-African financial services company, offering asset management, investment, insurance and health products to 3.2 million people across Africa.
Headquartered in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, the Liberty Life building houses thousands of employees and welcomes hundreds of current and prospective customers daily. With assets exceeding R600-billion, this registered financial services provider is geared towards providing customers with a sense of safety, security and peace of mind.
Aligned with this philosophy is an emphasis on the safety and wellbeing of its over 10 000 employees and no less so at its flagship offices. The need to carefully monitor and control the influx of employees and visitors each day led to the adoption of an access control system that is integrated with the company’s time and attendance software.
Craig Sacks, CEO of Turnstar explains that the company was asked to supply 11 Triton curved glass turnstiles to cater for two primary functions. “Primarily, the company needs to ensure that only authorised people are able to access the areas between the lift lobbies and office areas on each of the 11 floors. By deploying the Triton curved glass turnstiles at these points, security is significantly increased as both employees and visitors are required to go through the turnstiles using an RFID card.
“Secondly, in line with its company policy of allowing employees to work flexi-time hours, the system integrates with the existing payroll system to provide human resources with an accurate record of clocking in and clocking out times for each employee. This alleviates any discrepancies which can arise with manual time and attendance systems. As with all of our products, the Triton curved glass turnstiles seamlessly integrate with all of the popular industry T&A systems,” adds Sacks.
The Triton half height curved glass turnstiles supplied to Liberty Life have an aluminium frame and
8 mm toughened glass side door. Designed for harsh operating conditions, these high-volume turnstiles are not only highly functional, with superior levels of security management, but are also manufactured with aesthetics in mind and fit readily into the ambient corporate environment at Liberty Life.
The ultra-heavy-duty electromechanical rotation locking mechanism is a clear example of the 25-plus years’ of engineering ingenuity injected into the turnstiles. With a self-centering rotation system, whereby the rotor returns to its starting position after each rotation, and pressure mat facility, these turnstiles are focused on user safety and convenience. Added to this is the increased security provided by the 60° anti-reverse system, which prevents unauthorised entry by a second person.
Decreased pedestrian congestion and increased personal security, together with the ability to more finitely monitor employee movement, are some of the positive comments received by Liberty Life management.