The University of Sheffield was voted number one for student experience in the Times Higher Education Student Experience Survey 2014-2015, and named UK University of the Year in the 2011 Times Higher Education Awards. The University "stood out as a result of a strategy based on its values and rooted in its founding principles" and was praised for its "determination and grit" in focusing on the local community.
The University has nearly 25,000 students from 128 countries, and over 6,000 staff. It is a popular choice with applicants, and once students arrive, they often enjoy the experience so much that many choose to settle in Sheffield after they graduate.
The challenge
The Estates and Facilities Management team at the University of Sheffield maintain in the region of 430 buildings with a gross floor area of over 400,000m². The majority of the buildings are located to the north west of Sheffield city centre, with additional facilities at Waverley, Rotherham, Harper Hill near Buxton and Beighton to the south east of Sheffield.
Each of the 430 buildings uses a specialist access control system which is controlled at a single central location. This is used to manage building entry and exit throughout all of the campuses. The University required a single specialist contractor to install, repair and maintain all of these doors on a 24/7 basis.
The solution
Gough & Kelly won the contract in 2008 and have held it ever since. We are one of only 10 companies in the UK that specialise in the access systems installed at the university and have more than 15 years’ experience of the system.
We run a dedicated team of engineers in Sheffield to take care of the requirements of the university. That same team also provides a response within 20-minutes to any fault that occurs during the normal working day.
The future
We continue to keep the system up to date with new software releases and work closely with the software provider to ensure that the university system remains futureproof.