Ground Support Worldwide - 17

traditional padlocks, unlocking instead with
the Vault Enterprise app. Vault Enterprise
also enables administrators to easily grant
and revoke access to the padlocks.
"All of our products now have a brain
inside them and they're electrically driven.
So you can actually unlock any of our new
Bluetooth lock products using either your
phone with our companionship app, where a
user can just walk up, push a button to wake
up a lock and then touch a button on their
screen in our app and it'll unlock that lock,"
describes Brad Smith, director of software
product management at Master Lock. "So
very, very easy and seamless. There's no key
whatsoever."
The padlocks also have a directional,
numeric keypad on them for a secondary
unlocking option - a great choice, Smith
says, for granting short access to temporary
personnel, such as repair contractors.
"You can facilitate access to that lock
using an actual code-based system, both a
permanent one that you can change on the
fly as well as assigning a temporary code
that constantly changes. You can give temporary access and not worry about having
to revoke that access," adds Smith.
The upside to the keyless system is just
that - no key - meaning there's never a
worry of losing a key, or having one copied or stolen. These were all concerns that
Southwest had prior to the switch over.
"Previously, we utilized mechanical
padlocks to immobilize luggage tugs and
ensure employees couldn't access tugs if
they weren't authorized to do so. There's the
risk of employees losing physical keys, an
individual making duplicate keys, or former
employees forgetting to return keys before
leaving. By leveraging Master Lock Vault
Enterprise, which integrates Bluetooth-enabled padlocks, a mobile app and web platform, we eliminated the need for physical
key management altogether and gained the
on-demand access we needed for efficient
management," elaborates Brumm.
Keyless, however, doesn't mean less
secure.
"We emphasize the needs of the highest
security applications, both in aviation as
well as instances of oil and gas and power
and utility companies that are using these,"
says Smith.

Photo courtesy of Southwest Airlines

GROUND SUPPORT
EQUIPMENT

The overarching benefit of Master
Lock's keyless systems is an increase to
user accountability. Each time a padlock is
accessed, the phone unlocking it is logged
and tracked.
"The fact that people are using these
codes or their phones, we're able to track
when those locks are opened and how and
by who, and then that lock, because it's got a
brain inside of it, will actually record those
interactions and then synchronize those up
to our platform so that administrators can
see who is opening those locks - where
on a map those locks are being interacted
with, opened and closed, and who, where
and when those are being used," Smith says.
"All that happens behind the scenes.
There's no plugging cables in or trying to
do a data upload or download. All of this
is built in behind the scenes in our platform," he continues. "If a tug gets secured
and locked up and parked in another spot,
maybe different than where someone was
expecting and they're going, 'boy, where's
that tug?' They can actually just look at the
app and see it on a map and hone in on it."
"By using a keyless solution and assigning
employees access to luggage tugs by user, we
are able to ensure the right employees have
access to the right equipment at the right
time. And through audit trails available
in the Master Lock Vault Enterprise web
interface, we can track previous lock activity
and identify the luggage tug's last accessed
location, allowing us to track down luggage
tugs when needed - ultimately increasing
accountability," Brumm adds.
And privacy advocates can rest easy
knowing that Master Lock has taken steps
to secure personal data. Smith says Master

Lock never continually tracks a worker's
phone - only logging the time and location
where the Vault Enterprise app interacts
with a padlock.
The boon Master Lock's keyless products have had to Southwest's security and
administrative peace of mind while evident,
wouldn't have been possible without the
padlock's ease of integration and support
from the employees using them.
"Master Lock was able to implement and
shift access to the Vault Enterprise system
and train employees in just a few hours
combined," says Brumm.
"What took the longest time was just
helping inform their teams of the new product and making sure they have their app
and user account installed, which is very
easy. It's just like if you sign up for a Gmail
account - they get an email, they reset their
password and they're up and running. So,
from that respect, it really only took probably a couple of days," says Smith of how
long it took to get Southwest operating on
Master Lock's system.
"Employees were able to adapt to the
Bluetooth Padlocks fairly quickly and
rated their overall satisfaction of Master
Lock Bluetooth Padlocks at a four out of
five stars. In a busy, time-driven environment like an airport, our employees value
the efficiencies that give them time back in
their workdays. Our employees love that
they now can access tugs on demand and
do not need to physically go anywhere to
retrieve or return keys," adds Brumm.
The partnership between Southwest and
Master Lock is ongoing at Denver International Airport and Brumm says they're
sharing their experience using Master

AUGUST 2019

AviationPros.com

http://www.AviationPros.com

Ground Support Worldwide

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Ground Support Worldwide