Building Managers' Guide: Building Access and Security

June 15, 2021

Building managers play a critical role in keeping our campus buildings safe and secure. By knowing the people who work in your building, you know who can have access to an electronically secured building during restricted access hours and who can access specific rooms, labs and offices. This guide includes general procedures and detailed instructions for tasks building managers are authorized to perform.

 

Key Definitions

Here a few key definitions to help navigate your role as a building manager:

  • Building Manager – UT Austin building representatives authorized to request access for building occupants and request temporary access to their buildings outside of normal business hours. These also may include select departmental representatives authorized to request electronic access to their building. NOTE: Additional resources for building managers may be found here.
  • Building Access Control System (BACS) – A system used by Information Technology Services (ITS) and The University of Texas at Austin Police Department (UTPD) to electronically control access to buildings and facilities. BACS can be installed to limit access to areas or provide extra personal safety. Examples include, but are not limited to, door access systems requiring a University Identification Card (UT ID), panic/duress buttons, video security, property protection alarms, and intrusion protection systems.
  • Celebrated Entrance – An entrance used by employees (including faculty), students, invited guests, affiliates, contractors, or any other person authorized to be present during restricted access hours. A celebrated entrance is an obvious and inviting entrance to university buildings and facilities. Each building and facility will have at least one main entrance that is wheelchair accessible. In addition to the required UT ID card and video camera, a celebrated entrance may include an oversized entry gate or door, decorative paving, increased lighting, increased landscape, other decorative features or signage uniquely identifying these entrances from other entry points. NOTE: A celebrated entrance may not always be the main entrance (due to ADA accessibility) nor will it always be a BACS-equipped entrance, e.g., newer buildings where all of the exterior doors have a BAC system, but only one of those will be the celebrated entrance.
  • Card Reader Implementation – In support of the HOP 8-1080 policy, card readers were installed on 33 GPC buildings in March and April 2017. (See https://utexas.app.box.com/v/gpcmap for details.) Building owners and managers were empowered to decide when they would begin using the technology to restrict hours for building access.
  • HOP 8-1080 Policy – The Building and Facility Access policy implemented in Spring 2017 calls for restricting hours of building access in the interest of safety and for creating “celebrated entrances” for general-purpose classroom (GPC) and non-GPC buildings. These entrances may only be accessed during restricted hours by faculty, staff, and students with university ID cards or keys. NOTE: All GPC buildings have card readers; GPC buildings and card reader buildings are the same.
  • List of Buildings with BACS – See https://utexas.app.box.com/v/gpcmap
  • UT Identification (ID) Cards – UT IDs or temporary ID cards are issued to students, faculty, staff and university affiliates. Authorized personnel can use their UT ID to gain access to buildings with card readers after-hours.
  • “Your ID is Your Key” – New campus campaign to raise campus-wide awareness on how to access classrooms, labs, events, etc., after normal business hours.

 

General Procedures

  • Building managers will be responsible for working with the BACS ITS team to serve the needs of their building occupants. In addition, the building manager and his/her pre-approved delegates will schedule normal building open hours, and authorize building “unlockings” for special events.
    • It is advised that building managers coordinate lock/unlock times by contacting the Facilities Service Center to place your request by email: facilities@austin.utexas.edu or call (512) 471-2020.
    • ​Emergency protocol: If you notice suspicious behavior, security concerns, protests, etc. and need to lock all exterior doors to your building immediately, please dial 911.
  • To gain access to a lab or building during restricted access hours, remind your faculty and staff that “Your UT ID is your key” to campus buildings and facilities. It is recommended that you carry your UT ID at all times. If there are special requirements for access, arrangements may be requested through the building manager of the facility you will need to access. For instance, please refer to: https://facilitiesservices.utexas.edu/buildings/ where each respective building manager’s contact info may be found. For additional information during business hours, contact ITS at UT Service Desk: (512) 475-9400 or email: help@ITS.utexas.edu

    ​Hours of operation for the UT Service Desk are as follows: 
    • Phone and Email Support: 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday (closed weekends)
    • Service Desk Walk-in Support at the Flawn Academic Center Lobby (FAC): 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Monday-Friday (closed weekends)
    • ​NOTE: Summer hours may apply. For current operating hours, visit the UT Service Desk website.

 

Review and Update Existing Card Access

  • Building managers are advised to keep a list of personnel with restricted access. Building managers could then audit this list at least once annually or when a faculty or staff member is no longer affiliated with the university due to retirement, etc.
  • If there are special requirements for access, arrangements may be requested through the building manager of the facility you will need to access. For instance, please refer to: https://facilitiesservices.utexas.edu/buildings/ where each respective building manager’s contact info may be found.
  • If a person does not have his/her UT ID card and needs access to a building or their UT ID card access fails during after-hours – do not call the UT Police Department (UTPD) for assistance. Please note that UTPD only allows access in an emergency situation. Scheduling issues are not a UTPD issue, nor is it considered an emergency issue. UTPD dispatchers will advise what to do.

 

Change Door Lock/Unlock Schedules

Once a door's lock/unlock schedule has been determined, changes may be needed for a variety of reasons including summer hours, the addition of a library, or simply changes in the way the building is being used. For security reasons, only building managers are authorized to request scheduling changes. 

  • It is advised that building managers coordinate lock/unlock times for BACS controlled doors by contacting ITS at  seccontrol@its.utexas.edu. For requests to change key operated doors, notify the Facilities Service Center via email at facilities@austin.utexas.edu
  • Emergency protocol: If you notice suspicious behavior, security concerns, protests, etc. and need to lock all exterior doors to your building immediately, please dial 911.

 

Request and/or Update ID

  • To determine if your card has a proximity chip, hover your card over a door reader. It will “beep” if a chip is detected. If it does not have a proximity chip, a new ID card is needed. To obtain a replacement card, visit the ID Center located at the Peter Flawn Academic Center (FAC). If you turn in your old ID card, there is no charge for a new one.
  • “Your UT ID is Your Key” to campus buildings and facilities. It is recommended that you carry your UT ID at all times. If there are special requirements for access, arrangements may be requested through the building manager of the facility you will need to access. For instance, please refer to: https://facilitiesservices.utexas.edu/buildings/ where each respective building manager’s contact info may be found.
  • For additional information about requesting or updating a UT ID during business hours, contact ITS at UT Service Desk: (512) 475-9400 or email: help@ITS.utexas.edu

    ​Hours of operation for the UT Service Desk are as follows:
    • Phone and Email Support: 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday (closed weekends)
    • Service Desk Walk-in Support at the Flawn Academic Center Lobby (FAC): 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Monday-Friday (closed weekends)
    • NOTE: Summer hours may apply.

 

Educate Building Occupants

You can avoid building access issues by informing your building’s occupants about the building’s locking and unlocking schedule, the building manager and his/her pre-approved delegates will schedule normal building open hours, and authorize building “unlockings” for special events. Additional clearances or requests are managed by the building manager for their corresponding facility.

Download the "Your ID is Your Key" Social Media Toolkit and digital assets.

  • Educate building occupants on celebrated entrances and restricted hours. Remind staff to be vigilant when entering or exiting the building during restricted hours to ensure no one else is entering the building.
  • Post new “Your ID is Your Key” signs throughout your building.
  • Post signs with your building’s access hours and points to celebrated and/or BACS-equipped entrances.
  • Provide checklists for faculty or staff who sponsor events after normal business hours in your building to ensure guests can access the events.
  • If there is an issue with my BACS-equipped main entrance, you may contact the Facilities Service Center at (512) 471-2020 or email facilities@austin.utexas.edu