Dallmann Systems opening Kentucky office

JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind.—Thanks to a multi-year university project and an acquisition, Dallmann Systems is opening a second office in Lexington, Ky., and is expanding business in this region.

Dallmann is working on a major integration project at the University of Kentucky. “The initial phase is an approximately $3.7 million installation for 18 buildings. We're doing that right now and then we'll be contracted over the next five years to do over 300 buildings on and off campus,” said Tom Dallmann, CEO of Dallmann Systems.

Those buildings include the University of Kentucky's colleges of pharmacy, agriculture and nursing, and its athletic facilities.

In March, Dallmann acquired Machetim Enterprises. The former owner, Mark Welnicky, has joined Dallmann as a project manager and as head of Dallmann's Lexington branch.

Welnicky brings with him “a body of work in this area” and throughout Kentucky, Dallmann said. The company has also hired two technicians who will work out of the Lexington office.

Dallmann said the university job has “several different components,” but the lead piece of equipment is Next Level Security's unified security management system. The university wanted to have access control and video surveillance from a unified platform. It also wanted a package that includes video analytics and mobile applications so iPads and iPhones can be used to perform various functions associated with the Next Level system, Dallmann said.

The contract calls for a one-card access control solution. Dallmann is in the process of rebadging 40,000 students and employees. “That is a monumental task,” he said.

Dallmann is repopulating the university's existing database and everyone has to be “re-ID'd with a new picture, and new graphics for the ID card front and back.”

Dallmann said the card is unique to any job his company has ever done. “We're providing a multi-technology card [with] HID iClass and proximity technology,” he said. The company had to include proximity technology on the card because several legacy access control systems will be upgraded over time. The card also includes magstripe and barcode technology.

“That card is used for just about every function that the student or faculty or staff [might do on campus, to get into the] library, football or basketball games, to purchase food at student center, or pay for parking,” he said. “It's an ID to get into dorms.” The credential will also let certain cardholders in or out of specific locations in a lockdown situation.

The Next Level system will incorporate a remote escort system, where a student or staffer can have a virtual police escort to a car, dorm or parking lot. The cloud-based system ties the student's iPhone into the campus video network so campus police can “accompany” the person to their destination.

In addition to the video and access system, the project includes an extension of the university's mass notification system. Dallmann will install 26 Talkaphone stations and 700 Valcomm speakers “that are IP-based and report back to an Informacast system,” he explained.

The first phase of the project, the 18 campus buildings, is scheduled to be completed Aug. 31.