Access Control System Self-Implementation

Marwood Metal Fabrication Limited is a multinational, automotive stamping and assembly company who operates on a one square mile campus consisting of four factories in the southern territory of Ontario, Canada. Henry Peters, the IT director at Marwood, began his search for an access control system in the summer of 2011. The system was recommended to him by long-time ISONAS integrator, Steven Harchuk with Kors Engineering. Peters was ultimately looking for a way to secure each facility while meeting Homeland Securities Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorist (C-TPAT) requirements and remaining within budget. Upon finding ISONAS in September of 2011, Henry and facilities manager, Marv Corless, began the self-install process immediately; first starting with a three reader system. Before discovering the value in ISONAS, all of Marwood’s buildings utilized a standard, hardkey system.

In Henry’s search for the right system to meet their requirements, they had compared ADT’s access control system with ISONAS. When asked what the main factors where for choosing the ISONAS reader-controller over ADT, Peters responded with, “ISONAS was lower in cost by about 20% and even though we could have had an integrated monitoring and access control system with ADT, it was not as robust as the ISONAS access control platform.” Peters also expressed that it was in their best interest to run CAT 5 PoE to each door to take full advantage of the technological capabilities of the readers. He explains that, “We already had the infrastructure in place to run PoE. It would have been very expensive to run conduit to each door to support the ADT system.” The install team for the implementation consisted of Henry, the facilities manager and an electrician. Henry explained that he had no prior experience in working with any type of security system. Although they only began with a three reader controller pilot, Henry says that, “If we had all 13 readers at once, we would have been able to install everything in less than a week. Each reader only took about 30 minutes to install after getting the first one up and running. After I saw that the system worked great, we continued to expand.”

Marwood now has the ISONAS hardware and Crystal Matrix software controlling 13 access points. The ISONAS reader controllers currently monitor access to 12 exterior doors and one IT room on 4 different buildings, across the one square mile of property.

Henry is now able to closely monitor which Marwood employees are in each building. Safety is of upmost concern at industrial facilities. So it is very important to keep a close eye on employees and visitors coming onto the premises. When Henry was asked about the biggest value he saw in using ISONAS, he responded with, “The hardware works great and does exactly what we need it to.” Also, the management software is a great tool. We manage everything from one location and we use Crystal Matrix in a hosted environment so we can log all the data, but the readers are still standalone capable if the network and/or server connection is lost. We are very satisfied with ISONAS system and we have yet to find something we need it to do that it doesn’t.” Marwood plans to continue their expansion of the ISONAS system in the first quarter of 2013. 

About Marwood Metal Fabrication Limited

Marwood was founded in 1990. It started in a 10,000 sq ft facility in the small Ontario community of Brownsville. Today, we have 23 presses , work with some of the leaders in the industry, and employ hundreds of skilled people throughout our three manufacturing facilities and two sales offices located across three countries: Canada, the US and Japan. Uncompromising team commitment driven by customer satisfaction has enabled Marwood to achieve TS 16949 certification as well as multiple industry awards, including the Value Analysis Award from Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc., and two President’s Awards from CAMI Automotive.

About Kors Engineering

Kors Engineering provides comprehensive plant floor and facility systems integration and automation. For nearly 35 years Kors Engineering has delivered its customers in Southeast Michigan and the Midwest efficient systems that provide the best total cost of ownership through flexibility, scalability, and longevity. Having over 25 years of experience per employee on average, Kors Engineering provides a diverse group of services, all directed towards creating customer value through greater operator and equipment efficiency. Our experience in mechanical, electrical, and computer engineering provides value added solutions to all of Kors’ customers. To learn more please visit the Kors Engineering website.

About ISONAS Inc.

ISONAS Inc. has been leading the security industry by changing the game in access control technology. ISONAS has raised the bar by being the first access control company to design and manufacture a cutting-edge, IP-to-the-door solution that eliminates needless complexity—including inconvenient control panels, separate power supply, and dedicated hard-wiring. Our network-based PowerNet™ reader-controllers offer a patented technology that easily integrates with Windowsbased software to deliver more simplicity, greater value, and total flexibility to go places you never thought possible. With 25,000 readers installed worldwide across a broad range of vertical markets, ISONAS provides a proven IP solution that is revolutionizing the industry. For more information, visit www.isonas.com.