However, utilizing existing Mercury hardware made the transition a smooth one. The takeover required a high level of planning, coordination and staging to convert to the NetBox solution site by site. The browser-based NetBox system enables the team to easily make these configurations and monitor access events with the click of a mouse to determine who is coming and going. Access levels for employees were further defined for critical infrastructure such as data centers and bus control centers. UTA developed standards for which doors were open to the public versus to employees. Inputs connect to door position switches, and outputs drive piezo sounders, audible alarms and strobe lights. The system head end was replaced with a LenelS2 NetBox Enterprise system, which also seamlessly integrated with intrusion detection by connecting to existing Mercury panel inputs and relay outputs. The initial system takeover included nearly 320 card readers across the eight main facilities and several smaller buildings. “The zero-software footprint, browser-based system was a deciding factor for the UTA IT group, along with the user friendliness of the system,” observes Edmunds. Stone Security recommended transitioning to LenelS2 NetBox™ access control system to address ongoing cost concerns as well as ease of use. “We knew that we would be able to address the project one step at a time to spread out installation costs and make deployment easier.” Solution “We saw an opportunity for conversion by using the open platform Mercury hardware in UTA’s existing system,” explains Joey Edmunds of Stone Security, the systems integrator for the project.

UTA wanted to upgrade its access control system for lower cost of maintenance and greater ease of use, while accommodating future expansion. Over 2,500 employees operate and maintain light rail, commuter rail, streetcars and buses from the Salt Lake City headquarters, eight major hubs and other storage facilities. Utah Transit Authority (UTA) provides transportation for the three million people throughout Utah’s 1,400 square-mile Wasatch Front, including Salt Lake City and other nearby metropolitan areas.

Uta transit authority