Inspiring Youth Innovation
Shore Junction and ICT
Shore Junction is a not-for-profit youth innovation hub in Takapuna, on Auckland’s North Shore. It offers free facilities for those aged 13-24 to try new experiences in areas such as technology, enterprise, and music. After a complete facelift, the former RSA (Returned & Services Association) building now contains everything to equip the next generation for success. And in a nod to its past, the dog tag memorial wall allows these youth to learn about the heritage of the site, while preserving the memories of local returned servicemen and woman.
Project Highlights
- Remote access to grant access, check door status, disarm alarm, and view video
- One-step, unified alarm and intrusion detection system
- Simple management of casual users
- Flexible reporting for governance and funding requirements
The system is fantastic. Working with ICT has provided a robust solution and we’ve had no problems with implementation.”
- Richard Ertel, Head of Technology at Shore Junction
The Story
Shore Junction has been a youth-led community project from the beginning, driven by a co-design process. As a multi-use facility with both casual youth and business users, there were many requirements around safety, reporting, and remote access that needed to be addressed. And with a mandate to adapt to their users, it was important that any access control and intruder detection system fit the ethos of the living space and provide the flexibility to adapt to changing demands.
Adaptable in Design
“We had to keep the space flexible as we didn’t know how it was going to be used. Working with ICT allowed us to build out a system that meets our dynamic needs. We can safely manage the space whilst providing secure access” says Head of Technology, Richard Ertel.
With safety a primary concern, Shore Junction can restrict access to certain types of equipment unless the user has been certified. Ertel says “we’ve got the ability to integrate with Protege GX, so for example, if the young person has completed training, we can grant access for the laser cutter on their card and they can present it to use the tool, while someone untrained can’t.”
Remote Ready
As well as reporting, the Shore Junction management needed remote access to Protege GX. Initially this was so they could let users in after hours when they weren’t able to be onsite.
Center Director, Annaliese Hewitt says usage has only grown, “the great thing with Protege is we can log in remotely and check anything. I can check at any stage what doors are open. I can use the cameras to check who’s in the building, and I can set the alarm remotely if needed. I can do everything from home.”
Reporting Made Easy
As a not-for-profit, Shore Junction is responsible for providing regular reports to their funders about the number of young people and visitors that have been into the building.
Hewitt says “with Protege GX, I can pull reports really easily. At any stage, I can check how many people have been in over the last day or month. It keeps track of every young person using the check-in/check-out feature, allows me to pull reports on what doors have been opened, and shows when the alarms were set and disarmed.”
The Outcome
A multi-purpose space like Shore Junction has an ever-changing number of users, so it was important that the ICT solution was simple for everyone to use – from casual visitors, through to center management. And it was also essential that time spent on regular tasks, such as changes to schedules or managing users, was kept to a minimum.
Ease of Use
Thanks to Protege GX, Shore Junction have a truly unified solution. Staff and external users can enter and disarm the building in just one step. When they present their card to the tSec reader, they are granted access and the alarm disarms automatically. No more forgetting or fumbling around for an alarm code.
And as Hewitt explains, there is an additional benefit, “it means that we don’t need to share our alarm code with external users, which is great from a security perspective.”
This ease of use follows through to regular tasks she needs to perform in Protege GX. “Setting up new people on the system is really simple, whether it’s a staff or hot-desking membership. And when new young people come in, I can quickly edit their details, add the new card number, issue it, and then they can access Shore Junction immediately.”
It’s the same when staff members leave. “Youth workers are often studying so their lifestyle changes, which means we’re always having to remove access when they leave.” With ICT, making these changes doesn’t become a chore.
Everything in the Protege system only takes a few seconds to get sorted. And then we’re away”
- Annaliese Hewitt, Center Director at Shore Junction
For Shore Junction, the flexibility, ease of use, and ability to access the system remotely have meant that management can focus on their core tasks of supporting the young people of Auckland’s North Shore.
By providing an adaptable solution to meet the changing needs of this youth innovation hub, ICT’s Protege GX system brings peace of mind and delivers robust security to protect Shore Junction, giving its young people the safe, inspiring place they deserve.
