Background:

Based in Minneapolis, MN, Niron Magnetics is a rapidly growing innovator in the materials science space, working with materials, machinery, and processes that carry environmental, health, and safety considerations. What began as a small single-building operation has quickly expanded to three buildings, with a new multi-campus footprint underway and their first full manufacturing plant planned northwest of Minneapolis.

With this accelerated growth came the need for greater visibility, tighter security controls, and more efficient emergency management processes across Niron’s facilities. As the organization grew, they faced the challenge of protecting employees working with process chemicals, high-powered machinery, and potential fire hazards—while simultaneously modernizing manual processes that weren’t built for a fast-moving, multi-building operation.

Problem:

Before partnering with Savance Workplace, Niron relied heavily on manual, paper-based safety and security procedures. During emergency evacuations, the Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) team used physical printouts to confirm personnel counts and ensure everyone was accounted for. The process was slow and often difficult—especially during Minnesota winters—making visibility and accuracy hard to maintain.

“We needed to know where people were on campus,” explained Tim Brannigan, who oversees campus security, safety technologies, and IT infrastructure at Niron Magnetics. “With process chemicals and materials, having visibility wasn’t optional. We have the need from a human safety standpoint to know where people are, but the way we were doing it just wasn’t scalable.”

In addition to emergency visibility and safety issues, physical access control also presented challenges, for example:

• The cleaning crew had to manually walk from building to building at night to confirm spaces were empty before turning on alarms.
• Visitor management relied on a clipboard and manual NDA signing, occupying staff time and offering minimal security.
• Unauthorized or aggressive drop-in sales people occasionally made their way into the facility.

As Niron expanded to additional buildings and its first true manufacturing plant, it became clear the existing processes could not support the scale or complexity of their operations.

Search:

Niron’s search for a digital safety and security system was guided by a few critical criteria:

• Ease of use — Staff needed an easy, straightforward way to see who was in each building at a glance.
• A strong visitor management experience — including automated sign-in and document control.
• Improved roll-call during drills and emergencies.
• A reliable partner relationship — not just a software vendor.

While Tim Brannigan wasn’t directly involved in the initial selection process, he emphasized that factors such as cybersecurity, usability, and solution flexibility were essential.

Ultimately, Niron selected Savance Workplace based heavily on the recommendation of one of their most trusted integration partners, LVC Companies. “We put a lot of stock in LVC’s recommendations,” Tim Brannigan shared. “If they said Savance was the partner to trust, that weighed heavily in the decision.”

Solution:

After carefully considering the needs of Niron Magnetics, Savance Workplace delivered an integrated safety and security solution tailored to Niron’s multi-building environment, including:

Custom Status Board for Real-Time Staff Visibility

A custom-designed Status Board gives Niron Magnetics the real-time visibility they were looking for. Integrated with Niron’s Avigilon Unity access control system, employee names and current location (building name) show up on the status board when they arrive, and once they badge out, their name falls off the status board, greatly simplifying the process for after-hours cleaning crews, who can instantaneously verify that buildings are empty before setting alarms.

Digital Emergency Mustering

Finally, Savance Emergency Mustering provides Niron with a fully automated roll-call tool, allowing teams to instantly see who is onsite, where they are located, and whether they have marked themselves safe during an evacuation—dramatically reducing the time and manual effort required during real-world scenarios and drills. This also includes visitors. Since all pieces of the Savance system work together, visitors automatically get added to the roll-call list, and are able to easily check in at a muster station using the QR code on their visitor label.

Implentation:

The implementation journey was not without challenges. Tim Brannigan described the first several months as quite rocky considering the project initially experienced delays and missed expectations. When an early account representative left without notice, communication gaps prolonged the onboarding.

However, once Savance leadership—including Steve Bardocz, Savance President/CEO—became directly involved, the project trajectory changed. Savance reassigned the project with new personnel, including new project managers, account reps, and critical support from Joseph Studioso-Marcus, Support and Implementation Specialist, who played a major role in getting everything back on track. “This project was a great example of strong collaboration,” he says. “Niron’s knowledgeable team helped us work through a complex, unique use case, and the result was a solution that fits their environment and supports their safety objectives extremely well.”

To Niron Magnetics, the difference Joseph Studioso-Marcus made was night and day. “Joseph came on and that kid is magic!” Tim Brannigan shared. “His responsiveness and commitment really stood out. In fact, he almost single-handedly made the difference in this project.”

Niron’s strict policy prohibiting remote access required Brannigan to work closely with the Savance Workplace team, manually performing configurations and troubleshooting steps that would normally be handled remotely. “We definitely had a little bit of a unique situation where the Savance team was not able to remotely access our systems,” explains Brannigan. “That created a bit of a challenge.”

Brannigan’s IT expertise was essential in bridging that gap, especially given the system’s complexity. “We couldn’t have done this if it had gone live during a time when I didn’t have the bandwidth,” he added. “The backend takes some technical navigation.” Steve Bardocz agrees, saying: “It was a game changer to have somebody of Tim’s caliber and commitment on the project. Working with him has been a pleasure!”

Despite the initial hurdles, Tim Brannigan emphasized that the way Savance responded became one of the strongest parts of the partnership. “A partner who bends over backwards to make it right tells you more than if everything had gone perfectly.”

Results & Benefits:

Since implementing the Savance system, Niron Magnetics has experienced an increased level of safety and visibility for staff and visitors. Employees can instantly see who is onsite and where they are, something that is absolutely crucial when working with certain materials and machinery across multiple buildings. The increased visibility has also improved end-of-day security procedures. Cleaning crews now use the Savance system to verify that buildings are empty before setting alarms, replacing a lengthy manual walk-through. “Nine times out of ten, the cleaning crew are the last people to leave and now they’ll look on the status board to make sure that nobody’s here,” says Tim Brannigan.

By eliminating manual name-checking and improving overall emergency and evacuation readiness with Savance Emergency Mustering, Niron Magnetics has also seen significant time savings and increased efficiency during drills. Thanks to the implementation of Savance Visitor Management, the company can not only easily account for staff in an emergency but also for visitors and contractors. “The Savance system has absolutely streamlined the marshalling process,” Tim Brannigan says. “We just grab that tablet on the way out the door, and have designated marshalling locations so people know where to go.”

Scalable Foundation for Growth
Overall, the custom nature of the Savance Workplace platform has provided Niron with a scalable foundation for growth. As Niron Magnetics expands to new buildings and a dedicated manufacturing plant, the Savance system will grow with the organization, giving operations consistent safety, security, and visibility across the expanding campus. With stronger partnership alignment, growing infrastructure, and a scalable digital safety and security platform, Niron is positioned for continued, safe expansion.