Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower), Chicago
Security is paramount at the tallest building in the United States, the Willis Tower. Keith Kambic, CPP, contacted Veristream regarding their visitor management system, iVisitor, when he became Director of Security and Life Safety at the Tower, where protection of the facility was a critical responsibility.
Kambic had previously worked with Veristream’s visitor management system, iVisitor, to protect Chicago’s Aon Center, the second tallest building in the city, and had been pleased with the results. At the Willis Tower, “we were looking for an integration of access control and visitor management” says Kambic, “and Veristream was the only company we looked at who could do it.” Veristream’s iVisitor is the unique solution to the Willis Tower’s needs. The visitors management system provides a comprehensive means of tracking and controlling visitors to the building’s tenants. Building tenants pre-register anticipated visitors, dynamically updating the expected visitor information at the security station and guests registration areas by simply utilizing a standard web browser. When guests arrive, building guards verify the identity of the visitor through the iVisitor system. Once verified, a real-time notification of the visitor’s arrival is sent to the host and the visitors badge is automatically printed, enabling guests access into the building. The system also allows tenants to place individuals on a “barred list,” preventing a person from being approved for entry into the building. “Prior to instituting the visitor management system, the Willis Tower had 1,600 guests on a daily basis,” explains Kambic. “After the implementation of iVisitor, that number dropped to 1,200. What that tells me, as a Security Director, is that there were probably a lot of unwanted guests.” With iVisitor, if an unauthorized person tries to enter the building or an employee tries to register a guests on the barred list, the system issues a flag and the tenant is notified.
In addition to controlling the visitor aspect of Willis Tower, Kambic was also concerned with the security vulnerabilities inherent in the building’s loading dock. To address this concern, Infrasafe also developed a system to track deliveries and register approved delivery companies. Kambic says he is impressed with Infrasafe’s willingness to adapt their systems for the Tower’s needs. “Most companies aren’t going to do that for you, and if they are they’ll charge you a lot of money. Veristream is very open to hearing ideas on their products. They listen to their customers and they will adjust accordingly,” says Kambic. When the tenants of the Willis Tower were first introduced to the new visitor management system, Kambic reports that iVisitor “ease-of-use and unique capabilities quickly won them over”. The first week that iVisitor was operational, tenant participation was at 85 percent; by the second week, participation had reached 98 percent. Tenants of the Willis Tower have given “lots of praise for the system,” according to Kambic. “Our tenants LOVE the visitor management system and the ease of use. They love the real-time feature. They love that once guests check in the tenant gets an email saying the guests has arrived. They love the barred feature. And they love that they can go back and search since the system has been implemented and see how many times someone has been a visitor to them,” Kambic reports. Due to the fact that the iVisitor system is web-based, it did not come with some of the problems Kambic had previously faced with other competing visitor management systems.
“The iVisitor system is hosted around the clock by Veristream; that is critical,” says Kambic. “Other systems are in-house. You buy the system and it is here. The Director of Security doesn’t need to be messing with servers. I just want the visitor management system running.” iVisitor is a hosted system with high levels of security and availability. Kambic does not have to worry about the system crashing or losing valuable information. iVisitor is a “very efficient visitor management system,” says Kambic, “It has to say something if the first and second tallest buildings in Chicago both rely on Veristream’s visitor management software, iVisitor.”
The AON Center in Chicago, Illinois is the third tallest building in the United States. It is a controlled access facility. We see 10,000 tenant employees and visitors daily. Veristream provides a web based visitor management system, iVisitor, which is accessible by all building occupants. Access and use of the visitors management system is by an unlimited number of tenants and users, daily visitors, security reception lobbies, and dock/delivery control users. Security Management is very pleased with Veristream’s support and response to technical glitches. Veristream continues to deliver customer oriented solutions and the latest state of the art in technology. Our investment in iVisitor, Veristream’s visitors management system continues to receive a positive return. The Management Team feels the iVisitor visitor management system has been of significant value and assistance in meeting the demands of our security access control challenges in the AON Center.
Thomas W. Begg, Jr.,
Director of Security Life Safety
Michael J. Koziol
Manager of Security and Life Safety
AON Center
International Real Estate Firm
A global company with over a thousand properties in portfolio.
“iVisitor is very user friendly. The program is web based so the tenants can access the program from any PC that they choose. The best part of the system is that it dramatically cuts down on our guests wait time in the lobby. Because the guest is already in the visitor management system when they arrive, our security guards simply have to print off their visitors badge and they are on their way.”
Tenant Services Coordinator
International Real Estate firm
