[CAUT] locked practice rooms

[Fred Sturm]

Our system at UNM is similar to Dave's. Key swipe access to the doors  
leading into the area, then key locked grand piano rooms (and  
percussion and some other). The key swipe doors are held closed by  
electromagnets. WHen the fire alarm is activated, they automatically  
are unlocked.
	For events where a lot of people need to use practice rooms, we  
usually have someone posted at one of the key swipe doors for the  
duration - work study or volunteer. If access to key locked rooms is  
needed, they are simply left unlocked for the duration. Upright  
practice rooms are always unlocked.
	Our key swipe doors were installed for personal safety reasons, as we  
had vagrants camping out nights and weekends, and students were  
rightly disturbed.

Regards,
Fred Sturm
University of New Mexico
fssturm at unm.edu

On Feb 11, 2010, at 9:24 AM, Porritt, David wrote:

> Don:
>
> Our practice room area is locked and access is by swiping the school  
> ID card.  Inside that area, the grand piano practice rooms are  
> locked requiring a key.  Students get keys for the grand piano rooms  
> (they’re all keyed the same) if they are registered for applied  
> piano.  When we have auditions, or reasons for outsiders to have  
> access, the practice room area is simply unlocked.  If people need  
> the grand piano rooms someone is assigned to give them access, or  
> the doors are temporarily blocked open.
>
> We did have one problem come up because fire codes required that  
> area to be open.  That was fixed by having the locks on the practice  
> room area tied to the fire alarm system.  If we have a fire drill  
> the doors are automatically unlocked as the alarm sounds (a system  
> not unlike a prison system).
>
> Since we’ve made these changes we’ve had far less of a theft  
> problem, and so far vandalism has been eliminated.
>
> The fire code problem took some creative thinking on the part of the  
> architect but it works very well.
>
> If you have questions about our system just let me know.  I’m  
> retired now and have the time!
>
> dave
>
>
> David M. Porritt, RPT
> dporritt at smu.edu
>
> From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf  
> Of Donald McKechnie
> Sent: Thursday, February 11, 2010 8:52 AM
> To: caut at ptg.org
> Subject: [CAUT] locked practice rooms
>
> List,
>
> After the vandalism in the practice rooms in December I stepped up  
> my push to have the practice rooms locked. I thought this would be  
> the best chance but I'm still running into opposition. The concerns  
> expressed are valid so I'm trying to find solutions.
>
> Besides the cost, the primary opposition against locking the rooms  
> is access. We have many people coming in the building that need to  
> use the practice rooms. The school hosts conferences, competitions  
> and workshops such as MTNA, etc. Also, on our audition days the  
> rooms need to be open and outside accompanists occasionally need to  
> use these rooms. All this is seen as a logistical nightmare to allow  
> access when needed.
>
> Due to the layout of the building and fire codes we do not have the  
> means to lock the doors into the practice room area. Hiring  
> personnel to police the area is not in the realm of possibilities.  
> We have been discussing security cameras and that may happen.
>
> I do not have any good answers to the concerns so I'm throwing this  
> out to the wisdom on this list. Are there any experiences like I  
> have outlined? For those who have locked practice rooms, how do you  
> handle giving access to outside folks?
>
> Regards,
> Don
>
>
> Donald McKechnie
> Piano Technician
> Ithaca College
> dmckech at ithaca.edu
> 607.274.3908
>
>
>
>






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