Banking on Tensor to provide top class Access Control and fire roll call system

Havana International Bank Ltd, now known as Havin Bank, is based in the famous financial district in the City of London. Way back in 1998, the bank wanted a reliable Access Control and Fire Roll Call system as the company was based on four different floors of the building.

Business Administration Manager, Cliff Rowlinson, explained "It was very important to keep tabs on who is in and out of the building, and we wanted the fire roll call feature that the Tensor system has for the same reason, for use in our drills. The Tensor system seemed to fit all our requirements".

After speaking to a Tensor representative, the bank ordered a Tensor smart card based Access Control network. No problems were encountered with installation of either the hardware or software. Since then the system has been brought up to date with the last upgrade to Win.TA Enterprise a few years ago — and it is still going strong!

The Tensor system fulfils the requirements of door access control, visitor control and time and attendance to create a powerful combined security and time management system. Soft intruder alarms and unexpected door usage email alerts are included in the product.

Cliff pointed out that security is a very important issue to a bank and that is where Tensor's Access Control features excel. He said: "We restrict access to certain areas, like the dealing room for example. There are also restrictions to certain areas for management. It is set up very nicely for our purposes".

"Using the system, you can see if someone has been in a particular area — so if something is amiss you can easily and quickly see this".

The fire roll call regime is simple for employees as the smart cards they use to gain access also serve as an attendance monitoring tool in case of an emergency. Cliff commented, "The fire roll call is useful as we have evacuation drills twice a year. I get my print-out, which the software automatically provides, and I can check the list of staff because they have used their smart cards to clock in and out. The system works fine."

Once bank workers enter the building by scanning their cards, the fire roll call software registers their presence, so they can be accounted for and tallied off with the list that Cliff has. Cliff had nothing but praise for our help desk technical support service in ironing out any software issues, adding, "The help desk is absolutely excellent. I have always had a very good relationship with the help desk people and they have always been very, very helpful".

Cliff told the reporter what he liked most about the Tensor system was the proximity read smart cards. He commented, "I think the smart cards are very, very good — they are almost idiot-proof. I like the fact they don't have to be taken out of a pocket or purse to be scanned. It is a very good system, as I don't like people using a keypad system to gain access. For me a keypad is not as secure a system as the smart cards, which are very reliable".

When asked by our reporter if he would recommend Tensor to other banks and financial institutions, Cliff said "Indeed I would, I have recommended Tensor to other people a few times".

Cliff ended by summing up Tensor with these words: "I have been very pleased with the Tensor system and they are a very friendly company. Above all, the support you get is very, very good. You need that back-up, and that is one of the best features".

Havana International Bank (Havin Bank) Ltd

30 Marsh Wall London E14 9TP