Brivo Cloud Access Control for a Northbrook Office

Project Overview

A professional services firm occupying a standalone office building in Northbrook, IL approached Vidimost LLC to install a modern access control system. The office had relied on traditional mechanical locks and keys since the building was built, with no electronic access control of any kind. The firm’s managing partner wanted to eliminate physical keys entirely, gain visibility into who enters the building and when, and provide employees with the convenience of phone-based entry. We designed and installed a Brivo cloud access control system with mobile credentials at all controlled entry points.

The Challenge

The firm employed 35 people across two floors, and the building had four exterior doors plus two interior doors separating the reception area from the office suites. All six doors used standard commercial deadbolts with physical keys. Over the years, keys had been duplicated and distributed without consistent tracking. The firm’s office manager estimated that well over a hundred keys had been issued to current and former employees, cleaning staff, and building maintenance personnel with no reliable way to account for them all.

When an employee left the firm, the standard practice was to request their keys back, but compliance was inconsistent. There was no audit trail to know who entered the building outside of regular business hours. The managing partner had also expressed concern about securing the building during evenings and weekends, since anyone with a copied key could enter undetected.

Rekeying the locks was considered but rejected as a short-term fix that would not address the fundamental lack of visibility and control.

The Solution

Vidimost installed Brivo cloud access control on all six doors. Each door received an ACS300 panel and a smart reader. The main entrance was outfitted with a reader on both sides to track entries and exits. The remaining doors received entry-side readers with request-to-exit sensors on the interior.

Employees were enrolled with Brivo Mobile Pass credentials, allowing them to unlock doors using their smartphones via Bluetooth. The system was configured with schedules so that the main entrance unlocks automatically during business hours and requires a credential after 6 PM and on weekends. Interior suite doors remain locked at all times, requiring a credential tap for every entry.

The firm’s office manager has full administrative access to the Brivo cloud dashboard. She can add new employees, set access levels that restrict certain staff to specific doors or time windows, and instantly revoke credentials when someone leaves the firm. Every door event is logged with a timestamp and credential ID, providing the audit trail the managing partner wanted.

Learn more about our approach on our access control services page.

Installation

The installation was completed over a weekend to avoid any disruption to the firm’s operations. On Saturday, we ran low-voltage wiring from each door to a central network closet, installed electric strikes and door position sensors, and mounted the Brivo panels and readers. On Sunday, we configured the system, enrolled all employees, and tested every door for proper operation including fail-safe and fail-secure behavior.

The existing mechanical locks were left in place as a backup but rekeyed to a single master key held only by the managing partner, so they could serve as emergency override in case of a network or power failure.

Outcome

The firm transitioned from an unmanaged key-based system to a fully cloud-managed access control platform in a single weekend. Physical keys were collected and retired. The office manager now handles all credential management herself through the Brivo web dashboard, with no need to call a locksmith or technician for routine changes. The audit trail has already proved valuable during a minor after-hours incident investigation, where access logs quickly confirmed which employees were in the building during the time in question.

Employees have reported that phone-based entry is faster and more convenient than fumbling with keys, and the firm’s partners appreciate the peace of mind that comes with knowing exactly who has access to their building at all times.

Contact Vidimost LLC at (872) 254-5015 or [email protected] to discuss access control for your office.