Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Grove City, Ohio is comprised of seven buildings, which includes the church, preschool, elementary school, rectory, storage garage, athletic building and modular classrooms. The parish grew from around a dozen visitors daily to now more than 80 people visiting the church every weekday morning and more than 500 people visiting over three separate services each weekend. The elementary school has grown to host more than 300 students and 50 staff members and volunteers, with the preschool adding another 40 students and staff members to the campus tally. With 28 exterior doors now encompassing the fully renovated church, school and preschool, the parish knew it was time for a substantial security upgrade.
A main challenge at the parish was being able to control access at all seven buildings and provide an environment with improved personal security for their staff, students and patrons. The security system the parish had in place consisted of a few standalone keypads and electric locks on a couple of doors with no centralized management or communication. With an influx of people accessing the parish and its facilities, both the facilities director and the maintenance/technology specialist at the parish were ready to find the right access control solution. The new system needed to not just limit access, but also control it.