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California Nonprofit Protects New LA Headquarters with Best-in-Class Altronix Access Integration Solution

Western Audio Visual & Security / California Community Foundation Case Study

The California Community Foundation (CCF) is a nonprofit provider of donor-advised funds, and effectively one of the 100 largest charitable organizations in the United States. Since its founding in 1991, CCF has made it their mission to lead positive change within Los Angeles communities.

To further its mission, in 2015 CCF committed to grant $1 billion to Los Angeles County nonprofits by 2025. Since then, over $846 million has been donated to various educational, housing and heath-centric causes across the county. It was this same commitment to speed and efficiency that proved to be essential when it came to securing CCF’s new headquarters facility.

CCF recently purchased a 55,000 sq/ft office building in the heart of LA’s Central Business District. To secure their expansive, four-story building and attached parking garage, CCF turned to Western Audio Visual & Security (WAV) to install a new access control solution. The required solution needed to be state of the art, easy to install, convenient and include room for future growth opportunities. That’s what ultimately led WAV to recommend and install Trove™ power and access solutions from Altronix integrated with LenelS2 controllers.

Partnering For Success

WAV specializes in the design, engineering, installation and service of customized professional security systems. With over 32 years of industry experience, WAV owes its success to delivering high performance, quality systems with a heavy emphasis on providing customers with outstanding support. Based on these criteria, WAV was the perfect integrator for this project.

Given that CCF was retrofitting the entire building to suit their needs, there were many system design and installation challenges that needed to be addressed before taking occupancy. One of the challenges was a lack of physical space to accommodate new equipment. Jesse Martinez, security operations manager, stated that WAV chose Altronix Trove to overcome this issue. Trove easily combined the required LenelS2 controllers with Altronix power distribution to streamline deployment.

“We had installed Altronix Trove access and power solutions on a few recent projects, and knew it was perfect for installations similar to this where there is limited real estate to accommodate multiple enclosures. And since we knew that Altronix Trove seamlessly integrates with LenelS2 controllers, system deployment was a breeze!”

Altronix Trove access and power integration solutions easily combine Altronix power and accessories with access controllers from the industry’s leading manufacturers, including LenelS2 OnGuard and NetBox. WAV selected Altronix Trove3SS3 kits pre-configured with Altronix power and sub-assemblies, which easily accommodate access controllers supporting up to 28 doors combined in a single housing with battery back-up.

“The first stack we did was a full set, so it was seven blades, which supports 14 doors,” said Martinez. “And then we added the second panel with seven additional blades to handle a total of 28 doors.”

Space conservation was critical as the data center had to be maximized for installation of data racks as well, explained Martinez. Altronix Trove facilitated installation of the required access equipment alongside the building’s network and IT infrastructure.

“A single Altronix Trove enclosure was mounted on the wall, which gave us the extra space we needed for data racks. This install was about making the most of the available real estate. Traditional access systems require controllers and power supplies in separate enclosures that consume a lot of wall space. With Altronix Trove, everything we needed for this system neatly fit in one wall-mounted enclosure.”

Support When Needed

As the security operations manager at WAV, Martinez wears many hats. While he does not frequently visit sites to conduct installs much anymore, he made an exception in this case. While personally working on this project, Martinez noted how helpful the Altronix customer support team was.

“I took it upon myself to call Altronix, and their customer support team walked me through the installation step-by-step,” Martinez said. “They explained why and how all of the Altronix power supplies were selected and preconfigured, what the voltage rating was for this system configuration and why this was the preferred solution.”

Martinez’s experience with the Altronix customer support team reinforced his belief that an installer should never hesitate to contact a manufacturer to help get things done right the first time. “I’ve experienced that the average installer doesn’t feel comfortable calling tech support for whatever reason. Maybe it’s a pride thing, but I always tell my team that tech support partners like Altronix can be their best friend because they can help avoid future issues and save valuable time. And like I said, Altronix just walked me through the process and made it simple.”

Move-In Ready, Upgrade Ready

As it stands, the new CCF building is still undergoing renovations. When CFF takes occupancy, there will be plenty of new security measures in place, including new vehicle gates connected to the LenelS2 access system and integrated video monitoring system.

To help ensure smooth operation of all the newly installed systems, the IT staff at CFF is currently being trained. According to Martinez, this has allowed WAV to move on from the project knowing that CFF’s on-site personnel can get up and running quickly.

Martinez also noted that Trove includes preconfigured power distribution with plenty of space for future system expansion when necessary. Additionally, Altronix products are backed by a lifetime warranty.

“There was definitely a lot of room to accommodate all the power and controllers we needed for the current system, and it’s nice to have room for future growth,” said Martinez. “If the customer wants to expand the system a year from now, maybe add more devices, we won’t have to add another enclosure because the Trove allows room for expansion.”

Closing in on their goal of $1 billion in funds granted, CCF is eagerly awaiting the move into their newly renovated and secured facility – a project that WAV was thrilled to participate in. Martinez and his team are extremely pleased with Altronix. “WAV intends to specify Altronix long into the future as they are an asset that contributes to our success,” concluded Martinez.