When it comes to testing new technology, there’s no tougher audience than teenagers. They’re tech-savvy, quick to judge and rarely sugar-coat their opinions. So when ZST Suwalki, a technical secondary school in Poland, agreed to trial our ECHO smart locks, we knew we’d get honest feedback – and a serious test of performance.
The verdict? ECHO passed with flying colours.
The challenge:
ZST Suwalki is spread across two campuses, with students moving between them several times a day. That made traditional locker access a daily challenge. The school needed a secure, flexible system that allowed students to easily use lockers at either site.
For several months, talks had been held between Euro-Locks Poland and our project partner, storage cabinet specialist Malow, on how to create a system that would ideally suit the school.
Initially, the plan was to install our RAS (Remote Allocation System) locks. But Euro-Locks’ Piotr Gulski saw a better opportunity. He introduced Malow to ECHO, our next-generation smart lock powered by battery-free NFC technology.
What really made ECHO so right for this project, though, was our ‘registered public’ function – which ensures a student must vacate a locker in one location before opening another one elsewhere. For a school with lots of movement, this was the perfect solution.
Thanks to Malow’s confidence in ECHO and the agreement of the school, it was chosen to be tested.
The approach:
Working closely with the school and project partner Malow, we helped tailor the setup. Two sets of lockers (16 doors each) were installed, while a single class of 22 students was selected for the pilot.
Using 32 ECHO 3450 units, admin and user data were first uploaded to the system. Once lockers were physically installed, our team provided full training for school management, staff and students. The locks were then connected to the ECHO app – all ready to go.
The project was formally launched in a small ceremony, attended by school principal Mr Lech Boniszewski, Malow’s President Mr Roman Kaleta, and Euro-Locks’ own Piotr Gulski, who addressed the students and shared the vision behind the smart upgrade.
Now it was over to the students.
The results:
After the trial, students were asked to share their feedback. The results speak for themselves – not just about the tech, but about how it worked in the real world:
- 100% of active users rated the one-locker-at-a-time function ‘very highly’
- 89% of active users found the ECHO app ‘intuitive to use’
- 100% of active users would ‘recommend the locks to others’
- 100% of students rated the administrator’s locker management as ‘very effective’
And perhaps the most telling metric?
The concept of opening lockers with a smartphone was very highly rated (96%) – a strong signal that digital access simply makes sense to this generation.
Benefits in brief:
For locker manufacturers and school leaders considering the leap to smart access, ECHO proves it’s not just about innovation for innovation’s sake. This is about solving real, everyday problems that make our users’ lives easier.
ECHO smart locks deliver:
- Security – No lost keys. No codes. No forced entries.
- Convenience – Lockers open with the tap of a smartphone.
- Eco-friendliness – No batteries, less maintenance, more sustainability.
- Efficiency – Space is used better. Admin stays in control.
- Remote access – Monitor and manage lockers from anywhere.
