PHOTO COURTESY OF ALPRO

Alpro Architectural Hardware, a division of IEC Limited, has supplied its waterproof access control keypads to the principal ferry operator in Scotland, Caledonian MacBrayne. Caledonian MacBrayne serves 45 ports across the west coast of Scotland and sails to 24 destinations including islands such as Arran, Bute, Mull and Iona. Alpro’s marine keypad is waterproof to IP68, the highest certification available in terms of protection against ingress of water.

Keith Parry, divisional sales manager at Alpro, said, “There are very few waterproof keypads with IP68 certification in the marketplace and still fewer with the levels of vandal resistance and aesthetic appeal offered by Alpro. These keypads combine simple installation with ease of use. They are proving a default choice in environments where protection against corrosion, reliability and maintenance-free performance are at a premium.”

The bright aluminium keypads are vandal-resistant and suitable for up to 200 users. They are available as self-contained or two-part units and there are surface or mortice-mount variants for both. The keypads are ensuring that access to operational sections of the ferries is restricted to appropriate personnel, contributing to safe operation and protection of passengers.

Benefiting from piezoelectric technology, whereby pressure on the sensors is converted to an electrical charge, the keypads have no moving parts. They are suitable for both internal and external use. With space on even large ferry vessels  being at a premium, installers and end-users will appreciate the slim-line design with dimensions of 44.5 mm (w) x 181 mm (l).

The units’ security plugs offer tamper resistance, and users can employ various length codes (from 4 to 8 digits) simultaneously. There is a 2 amp chargeover relay and the anodized graphics contribute to durability. There are timeout functions for both code entry and programming.