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Exercising via mobile

Thorbecke College in Rotterdam offers facilities for students studying sports qualifications. Their on-site gym, Stoker Fitness, was established at the college 17 years ago, following the opening of several other small gyms in the Rotterdam city centre.

Prior to the Paxton10 installation, Stoker Fitness members could only use the facilities during regular opening hours, when the building’s supervisors were present. The gym industry is changing and according to co-owner Willem-Jan Stoker, the current trend is for members to have flexibility and more time to exercise at their own convenience. This means that gyms are now expected to be open 24/7 and they need to have a security system which monitors and secures the facility and equipment without the gym’s employees present.

To update their security system, Stoker Fitness contracted Ricor Security. The primary requirement was to give members access via their smartphone. At the time, this solution was not available in the market, Stoker said: “With the help of Ricor Security, we have been looking for a solution that will allow members of Stoker Fitness to access the gym easily, without the need for our staff to be present.”

Mobile solution

Paxton10 provides next-generation access control and video management in one simple system, providing a platform that is easy to manage and user friendly, with no key fobs or traditional keys needed. Offering access via smart devices and the ability to monitor sites remotely, the combined system’s modern, simple software was the ideal choice.

Lorenzo van Emmerik, video systems expert at Ricor Security, said: “With Paxton10, we were able to provide simple access control in combination with mobile access via the Paxton Key app. It was simple and easy to achieve with this new system.”

Using the Paxton Key app, available for iOS and Android, members of Stoker Fitness can open the controlled entrances to the gym with their smartphone or smartwatch. The smart credentials are created in seconds using the web-based Paxton10 software and remotely issued to a new user via an email sent directly from the system.

Additionally, the gym members arm and disarm the burglar alarm system upon entry and exit, ensuring the site is secured when empty, but minimising any risk of false alarms when the gym is in use. This is achieved by using the Paxton10 Alarm Connector and the Trigger and Actions feature to automatically switch the alarm on or off when a user presents a valid smart credential.

The main advantage of the new system is that members can now make use of 24-hour gym access, while maintaining the required level of security for the site. Regular opening hours are a thing of the past and the gym operates with complete flexibility for its employees and members.

Overall, the Stoker Fitness owners, employees and members have found the Paxton10 system easy to use and can be managed remotely so site managers no longer need to physically attend the site to create users or manage system updates.

Stoker concluded: “Monitoring the system remotely and being able to check in and see that everything is going well gives me convenience and peace of mind.”

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