ICS Keys Management System | Administrator Documentation
Managing physical keys begins with defining buildings and rooms. Once buildings and rooms are defined, keys can be associated with them.
Keys generally have two numbers; a key number and a serial number. A Key Number is used to track which keys give access to which rooms and buildings. A Serial Number is used to track an individual key of a certain key number. There may be keys sharing a Key Number but Serial Numbers will always be unique under each Key Number.
For example, the Key Number 54321 might grant access to Building A room 123. If there are five physical keys with the Key Number 54321, each key will have a unique Serial Number on it, as well as the key number 54321.
There are several tasks related to Key Management:
Buildings are defined by two traits: Building number, and Description. The building number is the same number used on the UCI Campus Map. The building description is a short phrase to describe the building. For example, the Social & Behavioral Sciences Gateway building is number 214 on the campus map, and has the description 'SBSG' in the ICS Key Management system.
To define a building in the ICS Key Management system follow the steps below:
There is no way to delete a building once one has been created, but current building descriptions may be edited. To edit a building description follow the steps below:
Rooms are associated with buildings, and each room has two traits; Room Number, and Description. A building must be defined before a room can be created. When viewing a room, there are two room numbers. The first room number is the tracking number for that room in the ICS keys Management system. The second room number is the physical room number. The room tracking number is often hidden by the system and is maintained automatically. The physical room number is editable and maintained by the admin user.
Note: If a key can open multiple rooms then the key number can be a description of what it opens. For example 'BATHROOMS' or 'ELECTRIC'. The Key number is not limited to numeric characters. The description can be used to explain in more detail about what rooms are accessible as a group.
To define a room in the ICS Key Management system follow the steps below:
To edit a room description follow the steps below:
Unlike buildings, rooms can be deleted. To delete a room follow the steps below:
As mentioned above there are two numbers on a physical key; the Key Number and the Serial Number. The Key Number is used to determine which room and building the key can access. The Serial Number is used to track how many keys of a particular Key Number exist. Once a building and room have been defined, a key number may be defined to track access.
To define a new Key Number follow the steps below:
There are two check-boxes on the Key Box definition page: Retired, and Only Admin/Analyst can choose. These options are usually used in other maintenance tasks, but left blank during initial key definition.
The Key Description and Tag are not often used, but if they are, they can be edited. To edit the Description or Tag follow the steps below:
Once a Key Number is defined it can be associated with a room and building. A single key number may be associated with multiple rooms and buildings. Follow the steps below to associate a key number with a room and building: To define a new Key Number follow the steps below:
If a key gives access to multiple rooms, repeat the steps above choosing the same 'Key Ref' and each of the different rooms until a key/Room association is created for all the desired rooms.
To modify a Key/Room entry, follow the steps below:
If a key no longer gives access to a room the Key/Room entry can be deleted. To delete a Key/Room entry follow the steps below:
After buildings, rooms, and key numbers have been defined, and Key/Room associations have been created, Serial numbers can be used to create the final step in tracking a physical key. A Serial Number ties together all the defined information and associations to create a key in the ICS Key Management System. A Serial Number should be created for each physical key. When a serial number is created for a key, it is listed as in the 'KeyBox' by default, and can be assigned from there.
To create a key in the ICS Key Management system follow the steps below:
Note: There is a yes/no option to 'retire' the key. This is usually left on 'no' during key creation. It may be changed to 'yes' later once the key is retired.
To edit a key/serial entry follow the steps below:
If a Key is no longer needed, it doesn't need to be deleted, it can be retired. Retired keys are kept in the system so their history remains searchable and they still show up in some reports. It is preferred to retire keys than to delete them.
to retire a key follow the steps below:
If a key must be deleted, follow the steps below: