The 12 de Octubre University Hospital promotes digital security with SMARTair®
Last modified: 08/06/2026
One of Spain's largest hospital complexes is moving towards smarter, more traceable and flexible access management with SMARTair®, our keyless access control solution.
The 12 de Octubre University Hospital in Madrid is one of Spain's leading healthcare institutions. With over 20,000 professionals, nearly 4,000 doors, and multiple interconnected buildings, the hospital needed a solution to manage its high volume of internal traffic. This solution had to eliminate traditional keys and transform access control into a digital system without disrupting daily patient care.
At TESA ASSA ABLOY, we were part of this process with SMARTair®, our intelligent, flexible, and scalable access control solution, designed to meet the demands of environments where security must coexist with efficiency, traceability, and operational continuity.
Because in any hospital, every door matters. At the 12 de Octubre, this requirement becomes mandatory. This is not only due to the need to protect spaces, equipment, and sensitive information, but also because it helps streamline high-volume workflows, facilitates the work of professionals, and ensures that each person accesses only the areas they need, at the right time.
Digital security for a hospital on the move
Security in a hospital environment cannot be viewed as static. A hospital is a dynamic, 24/7 environment: staff changing shifts, critical areas with varying access levels, patients and visitors in constant circulation, technical services, laboratories, inpatient wards, operating rooms, storage areas, consultation rooms, and administrative spaces.
In this context, traditional management based on mechanical keys presents clear limitations. Copies, losses, changes in access permissions, and a lack of traceability can become an operational burden for security and maintenance teams.
Our SMARTair® range of solutions addresses this challenge with a digital approach. The system replaces manual key management with secure electronic credentials, such as RFID cards, mobile devices, or digital keys, enabling centralized, agile, and traceable access management.
As Ignacio Paños Gómez, Security Director of the 12 de Octubre University Hospital, explains, SMARTair® has become a key component in the hospital's digitalization process, helping to streamline internal traffic flow and facilitate the daily work of staff. His testimony is featured in the 12 de Octubre Hospital success story video, which highlights the solution's role in the hospital's transformation.
SMARTair®: control, flexibility and real-time traceability
The heart of the project is SMARTair®. Its technology allows for managing who accesses the building, where, and when, providing a much more precise view of building security.
From a centralized platform, the hospital can quickly assign, modify, or revoke access permissions, adapting to professional profiles, shifts, zones, schedules, or specific needs. This offers great flexibility in an environment where changes are constant and rapid response is key.
Furthermore, every access is logged, facilitating audits, improving traceability, and reinforcing compliance with internal regulations and protocols. For security teams, this means greater control. For staff, a more convenient and efficient access experience. For the organization, a tool designed for orderly growth.
SMARTair®'s wireless technology has been another decisive factor. By not requiring complex cabling or invasive construction, it allows for progress in the digitalization of access control while minimizing the impact on patient care. In a hospital, where every intervention must be carefully planned, this advantage is especially relevant.
An implementation worthy of the project
The scope of the solution reflects the magnitude of the challenge. At the 12 de Octubre University Hospital, 1,545 SMARTair Pro Wireless Openow electronic access handles, 19 electronic wall readers, 250 communication hubs, and more than 20,000 RFID cards have been integrated.
These figures speak not only to volume. They speak to a paradigm shift: moving from security based on physical keys to digital access management that is more flexible, more secure, and prepared to meet the hospital's future needs.
SMARTair® allows the system to grow progressively, incorporating new access points as the hospital evolves. This scalability makes the solution a long-term strategic investment, aligned with a more connected, efficient, and sustainable hospital model.
More than an electronic solution: a comprehensive approach to access
Although SMARTair® is the core of the project, the security of a hospital complex of this type requires a broader approach. Therefore, the intervention has been complemented by a combination of mechanical, electromechanical, and physical security solutions that reinforce the overall operation of the building.
The project includes an ePED solution for electrically controlled evacuation routes, more than 2,000 ASSA ABLOY DC/DEC door closers, 1,000 high-end TOP panic bars, electromechanical solutions such as ABLOY locks, electric strikes, and electromagnetic locks, as well as more than 1,000 TESA TD60 master keyed cylinders.
Mechanical security locks, fire-resistant locks, and hardware such as handles, pulls, stops, and bolts have also been incorporated. All these elements serve a key function: ensuring that each door meets the specific needs of the space it occupies, whether it's a critical area, an evacuation route, a fire door, a technical access point, or a high-traffic area.
This combination demonstrates that security doesn't depend on a single technology, but rather on the integration of different access solutions under a common principle: to protect, organize, and facilitate the daily use of the building.
ePED
ePED solution for electrically controlled escape routes
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Access control to the hospital digital transformation service
The digitization of a hospital is not limited to clinical or administrative systems. It also encompasses how spaces, workflows, and security are managed.
At the 12 de Octubre University Hospital, SMARTair® helps transform access control into a strategic management tool. It reduces reliance on physical keys, improves traceability, simplifies permission administration, and enhances security without adding complexity to the daily work of staff.
Furthermore, the solution can be integrated with other building systems, such as video surveillance, alarms, and corporate databases, reinforcing its role within a comprehensive security strategy.
The result is a hospital better prepared to meet current and future demands: safer, more flexible, and more adaptable.
Discover more about the project
Towards safer, more connected and more efficient hospitals
In highly complex healthcare environments, security must be precise, flexible, and discreet. It must protect without hindering, control without complicating, and adapt to the pace of those who work every day to care for people.
With SMARTair®, at TESA ASSA ABLOY we help transform access control into an active part of hospital efficiency. This solution provides security, traceability, and scalability, but also confidence: the confidence of knowing that every access point is under control and that the hospital can continue moving toward a more digital, connected, and future-proof model.
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Author: Rogelio Rodríguez
Rogelio Rodríguez is Sales Manager at TESA ASSA ABLOY and has extensive experience in electronic access control solutions for environments that demand security, traceability, and ease of use. His expertise in implementing intelligent systems allows him to explain how technologies like SMARTair can improve daily operations in hospitals and healthcare settings, enhancing both user protection and autonomy.
