What happened?
Allgemeine Baugenossenschaft Wuppertal eG (ABG) is expanding its use of digital access control across its entire housing portfolio. The basis for this is the digital access system KIWI, which the housing cooperative has already been using since 2020 for various entrances and applications within its own administration. Following a three-month pilot phase, the first residential buildings were added, and the solution is now being gradually rolled out to further buildings.
The details
The introduction of the digital access solution is not happening in isolation, but as part of ABG's ongoing maintenance and modernization measures. The digital access infrastructure is being gradually integrated into the renovation cycle and taken directly into account during measures that are already planned. In this way, the cooperative directly links the structural modernization of its buildings with the further development of its administrative processes.
Christian Theimann, board member of ABG Wuppertal eG, explains the decision based on the cooperative's own practical experience: "We initially used KIWI ourselves, which allowed us to gain experience from our own day-to-day work. For us, it was crucial that the solution proved itself in daily operations and actually simplified processes. This experience has reinforced our decision to now expand its use to our housing portfolio."
In addition to the classic doors used for property management—in particular front doors, common and basement doors, as well as underground garages—ABG is already using KIWI for further applications. Individually controlled bicycle boxes, for example, are also opened digitally. In addition, the cooperative uses KIWI transponders to authenticate its own employees at printers.
Context
For the housing industry, managing access rights across large property portfolios is a recurring organizational challenge. In the case of tradesperson visits, maintenance work, or tenant changes, physical keys traditionally have to be issued, collected, or reordered. For ABG, a key advantage of the digital solution lies precisely in this simplified organization: access rights can be granted digitally and revoked again once a job is completed, without physical keys being in circulation.
Access rights can also be managed centrally in the case of tenant changes. This reduces the administrative effort previously associated with traditional key management. ABG's decision to link the digitalization of its access infrastructure to its renovation cycle also demonstrates a pragmatic approach: rather than carrying out additional standalone measures, the transition is combined with structural work that is already planned, which can reduce both organizational and financial effort.
Practical tips
- A gradual introduction, starting with a pilot phase within the organization's own administration, can help gather practical experience before a larger rollout takes place.
- Integrating digital access systems into renovation and modernization measures that are already planned can help avoid additional standalone measures and the associated effort.
- Digital access rights are particularly well suited for temporary authorizations, such as for tradesperson visits, since they can be easily revoked once the work is completed.
- Beyond classic doors, digital access systems can also be used for additional applications such as bicycle boxes or authentication on devices like printers.
Outlook
ABG Wuppertal plans to gradually extend the use of KIWI to further buildings within its portfolio. Since the transition is closely tied to the ongoing renovation cycle, the further spread of digital access control is likely to take place over several years, in parallel with the cooperative's regular maintenance and modernization measures. For the housing industry as a whole, ABG's approach provides an example of how the digitalization of access infrastructure can be organizationally integrated into existing renovation processes, rather than being treated as a separate digitalization project.
