Case Study

Smart Locker Loan Automation at Salford University

Denise Crouch

Denise Crouch

The University of Salford, situated near Manchester, accommodates a student population of 20,000. As part of a £650m regeneration initiative, the campus prioritises creating a cutting-edge teaching and learning environment.

In 2012, seeking to attract and serve students more effectively, the university library identified the need for an upgrade. The manual laptop loan process was proving inefficient, prompting the library to transition to a Smart Locker solution.

According to Dominic Marsh, Customer Support Manager, the decision to shift to self-service was driven by the desire to optimise staff time and reduce student queuing. Dominic noted, "We wanted to offer our students more flexibility by providing laptop loans for individual study, improving the quality of their work."

The university library had been long term partners with LapSafe® who were able to seamlessly upgraded their existing Diplomat™ Basic Storage Lockers to the intelligent self-service Diplomat™Pro Smart Locker Solution.

  • At the original time of writing the University of Salford had approximately 240 laptops across three sites. They have since expanded to 696 locker bays across 17 installations, all managed centrally by the ONARKEN® Locker Management Software.

The transition to Diplomat™ Pro was brilliant, and I would definitely recommend LapSafe® to other universities. The self-service aspect has transformed the way students work, offering greater freedom and more effective use of staff time.

Dominic highlighted the positive impact the Smart Lockers have had on students and staff, "The students appreciate the flexibility of borrowing laptops without queuing, and with the self-service smart lockers, staff time is utilised more efficiently."

Across the University Campus, hundreds of students use the smart lockers, their popularity and the convenience of 24/7 access showcase the success of the Diplomat™ Pro

Find out why Salford, along with 80% of UK Universities use the Diplomat™ Pro Smart Locker Solution to provide laptop loaning and flexible working spaces.