"Brivo is one of the best things we’ve ever done,” commented David Miller, VP of Operations for Star EMS. "Years ago, we were pretty much an open building. But we’re in a heavy pedestrian area, so to increase safety and security, we locked all our external doors and garage doors and put in an intercom system. With this system, people had to buzz in and we had to question them before we allowed access to the building.”

Miller and the dispatch staff noted that the intercom system was cumbersome, time-consuming, and a distraction to their primary tasks. The Star EMS building, with 34 ambulances coming and going, was experiencing more than 100 requests for entry a day. "A colleague mentioned Brivo,” Miller recalled, "and it turns out our security integrator, NTM, has a Brivo system installed at their building. NTM gave us a live demo of the Brivo OnAir system, and we made a decision pretty quickly.”

After deciding on Brivo, Miller also worked with a timecard vendor so that Star EMS employees’ access cards would serve as time and attendance cards as well. Now, employees swipe into the building and wave the same card in front of the time and attendance terminal (T&A). Access to the building and T&A recording are now automatic. Miller again, "We’ve increased the safety and ease of use for our employees, and we’ve eliminated a ton of work for our dispatchers who had to buzz in all those employees and guests.”

Star EMS uses their Brivo cloud-based system to manage 233 active users, who include full and part-time employees, long-time vendors, and guests who have are well known and pre-cleared. Access is managed for the facility’s four external doors and an internal door to the main records room. Staff, vendors and visitors are divided into 12 groups, each with specific and different day, time and location access privileges.

Miller and the dispatch staff carefully monitor the system’s weekly reports, reviewing all users and all activity looking for anything out of the ordinary. Miller is pleased with the system’s control and flexibility and he especially appreciates the ability to deactivate an access card immediately—keeping the facility under tight control and enhancing security for all. The Brivo system is programmed to send Miller and other staff automatic alerts in the event of any failed entry through improper card use.

"Now we know who is in our building and who isn’t. Our dispatchers can focus on their primary functions and not buzzing people in a hundred times a day. We still have the ability to question people without cards on their need to enter our building. If you want to secure your building and fully control who can come in and out, Brivo is the perfect system. Who wouldn’t want that?” Miller concluded.