Access control for sports clubs

Customer

TV Erlenbach

Market

Tourism, Sport & Culture

Company size

Small company

Country

Germany

More time for sport.
An electronic access control and key management system for all departments.

The Turnverein Erlenbach am Main has existed since 1905 and is an integral part of the town of Erlenbach with over 650 members. Over the years, the club has grown steadily and currently includes the departments of handball, volleyball, rhythmic gymnastics, gymnastics, athletics, acrobatics and dance, as well as other sports and leisure groups such as parent-child gymnastics, children‘s gymnastics and senior sports.

For some time now, TV Erlenbach has been using an ecos terminal with a fingerprint reader to control access to its sports facility. In combination with an electronic key cabinet, it can thus clearly track which people enter the hall at what time.

Products used:

Key cabinets

Terminals

ecos webman

“In terms of price, it was no different than normal locking systems.
The advantage of this system is that all the keys stay in the hall […]
and so we don’t have to duplicate any more keys.”

Jürgen Wehkamp – Vice Chairman Youth

The challenge:
Many departments with own key

Before the introduction of electronic key management systems, countless keys had been in circulation for the gym. There was no overview of who had which keys and at what times they went into the gym. Chairman Josef Hauck describes the situation: “In the old gym, every exercise leader, trainer or board member had their own key. However, this was never properly and consistently documented.”

Due to the large number of departments and athletes, this circumstance made the organisation of the association very difficult. It was difficult to keep track of who was in possession of which key and who had independent access to the hall. Access to sports equipment and materials was also often unclear, as it was not possible to track who had taken out which equipment last.

When the construction of a new gymnasium began in 2019, TV Erlenbach decided to provide a better overview of access to the hall and keys. Accordingly, a solution was sought to make access to the new gymnasium easy and flexible at set times. This was particularly important as the hall is also used as a school gym in addition to the club.

In addition, the many different keys, e.g. for the technical room, the changing rooms, the office and also for the materials of the different departments, should be accessible to the authorized persons at any time and the use should be traceable.

To be able to implement this, TV Erlenbach needed an electronic key management system with an intelligent rights concept. Since this was to be installed inside the gymnasium, a solution had to be found at the same time for regulated and traceable access to the hall.

Our solution:
Key management with access control

The electronic key cabinet with 40 slots was able to meet all requirements in combination with a terminal for access control. Both systems are equipped with a fingerprint reader as well as our cloud solution ecos care.

Since the completion of the new and modern gymnasium in August 2020, the more than 650 members of TV Erlenbach and the teachers of the resident school have been using the electronic key cabinet as well as a terminal for door access control. Thanks to the cloud solution “ecos care”, management is possible quickly and from any location without the need for a separate server or an additional PC.

The respective person authenticate themselves directly at the terminal in front of the entrance door via their personal fingerprint. There, they are automatically granted access to the hall within the individually defined time periods. Due to the simple handling with the help of one’s own fingerprint, the acceptance of the new solution has been given from the very beginning. Teachers, coaches as well as individual athletes can use the gym at their respective training times without having to have a key. Senior sports members also no longer have to wait outside the door, but can conveniently enter the hall with their finger.

In the event that a member has not yet been created or external visitors wish to enter the hall, it is also possible to use the video communication at the terminal to call the responsible teacher, trainer or member. Via the ecos app, the call appears on the smartphone, for example, and thanks to the built-in camera, authentication can take place and the door can be opened by remote release.

In the key cabinet inside the gym, the various keys for sports equipment or changing rooms are stored safely and in an organised manner. This ensures that all keys are available and on site at all times

The result:
Traceable access to the sports facility

Thanks to the modern and efficient solution for access control and key management, the club now has constant traceability of who was in the gym at what time and took out a key.

Access can be controlled in such a way that athletes can only enter the gym at their respective training times. This eliminates the need to lend keys internally, organize them laboriously or even duplicate them. Jürgen Wehkamp, vice-chairman of the youth, sums up the situation aptly: “So far, about 230 users have direct access to the hall. You can’t even have that many keys duplicated and traceability would be impossible here.”

Thanks to the access control system, there is also no longer any concern about unauthorized persons entering the hall. Especially in the evening or in winter, no one has to wait outside the hall any more, but can enter the gym themselves or by means of video communication and remote release of the door. This is also a great safety aspect with regard to the school children and members of the children’s gymnastics.

Key numbers

650

Members

Divisions

Systems