For specialized installations and remote facilities, there are plenty of electronic access control solutions that make business sense. Check out these.
FIRST SOLUTION
To ensure better security for its student housing facilities, has upgraded to exit devices on its controlled access dormitory doors to withstand greater abuse. These exit devices incorporate a deadbolt latching feature that prevents users from forcing the latch out of the jam or roller strike bar.
Bethany, a small
college of national distinction, was founded in 1840 by Alexander Campbell, an
educator, Christian reformer and debater, who provided land and funds for the
first building and served as the College’s first president. Previously, the
College had used conventional exit devices, which served well in most
applications. However, dormitory doors
sometimes were subject to abnormal abuse that resulted in security breaches. According to locksmith Orien Hunter, some
students would pull on the doors until they wandered and the latch disengaged
from the roller strike, allowing the door to be opened. Other damage included
broken lever trim and doorknobs.
At first, electric
strikes were used to control student access, but they did not stand up to the
abuse. Damaged door hardware compromised
security and had to be repaired or replaced frequently. In order to maintain
the necessary security, Hunter worked with Ingersoll Rand Security
Technologies, which provided a sample of the company’s recently introduced exit
device and assisted with installation.
Once it proved successful, several doors in the remaining dormitories
were retrofitted.
SECOND SOLUTION
houses its students in 19 residence halls dotting its north campus. Axis partner CameraWATCH Technologies has worked with the university as a contractor installing the campus wide surveillance system utilizing its fiber optic backbone. The IP video technology allowed the university to use a centralized recording center in ’s main production/server room. In addition to Axis network cameras, CameraWATCH also installed Genetec’s video management system.
To achieve its
security objectives, Grambling’s IT department first set up a network to
provide coverage for selected areas and then implemented network cameras to
monitor residence halls, the newly constructed assembly center, the laboratory
high school and property and receiving areas. Even with these improvements,
Grambling’s IT department isn’t finished yet. Within a year, the university
plans to implement a wireless system that detects motion in sensitive areas
such as the registrar’s office, residence halls and administrative areas during
certain hours. Once motion is detected, the system will send alerts to campus
police in their vehicles. As a result, these types of systems will enhance the
university’s ability to respond quickly. Grambling expects to be able to
respond even more quickly to safety-related events. Campus police in vehicles
will even be able to receive images sent directly from the network cameras to
be able to identify suspects if necessary. As a result, Grambling believes it
will be able to offer students the safest school environment possible.
THIRD SOLUTION
Look for more voice authentication in smaller access control situations. For instance, VoiceVerified, a software as a service provider of voice biometric technologies, has a unique system and method of providing voice authentication to institutional customers having consumers or users. VoiceVerified is changing the way clients authenticate and protect their customers’ privacy by using their voice as the unforgettable password.
FOURTH SOLUTION
It is an IP at the door future. Or is it?
Often referred to as
IP edge devices; the generic term for the practice of placing devices at the
outer boundaries of the corporate network infrastructure. These often use Power
over Ethernet (PoE). There is little doubt that this methodology serves some
applications extremely well such as IP cameras for video surveillance.
Advocates of the concept for access control hold out the promise of labor and
material savings. However, the adoption of IP edge and PoE devices for security
and access control applications remains questionable at best.
Consider the
following. Many IP edge/PoE access control systems essentially require
intelligent readers to be installed at each and every door. The relay that is
used to energize the door strike or magnetic lock is located right at the door.
This is the equivalent of placing your spare house key under your front mat.
Anyone with minimal technical savvy could defeat this type of access system,
gaining access to “secured” areas. Some manufacturers of IP readers provide
anti-tamper switches in an attempt to mitigate this risk. However despite the
added tamper switch, many in the industry recognize this as a significant
security risk and avoid these products for this reason alone. More prudent
integrators prefer to have the door strike or magnetic lock activation device
or relay to be secured some distance away from the door on the secured side of
the installation – as is the case with traditional panel based access control
products which continue to dominate
the market.
IP edge/PoE access
control equipment by its very nature is 100 percent dependant on the corporate
network. Many will argue that network availability for today’s network
equipment runs at 99.99 percent uptime. Impressive. However it should be noted that network
maintenance in most organizations takes place at night or on weekends — the
very periods when facilities are at their most vulnerable, and security is most
needed, according to Steve Dentinger of Keyscan Access Control Systems.
He said that chief security officers should also consider the
following: PoE has strict power limitations that regulate power to the access
controller. This is further complicated by cable voltage drops due in part by
cable lengths and other pertinent power related issues with PoE. As a direct result
driving a quality strike or magnetic lock can be problematic as both strikes
and magnetic locks when activated can severely drop the line voltage causing
intermittent door activations and malfunctioning access control hardware.
Manufacturers of this equipment will advise that a costly line power injector
is recommended to ensure line voltage and wattage ratings are maintained at the
PoE load.
There is another critical flaw with PoE in relation to its use
with security and access control applications. The PoE has a power-up protocol
or routine that leaves nodes (in this case readers) un-powered until a power up
sequence and load impedance check has been satisfied. Manufacturers of this
equipment also recommend the addition of a PoE UPS to mitigate power
fluctuations and interruptions. Considerable additional unforeseen costs are
incurred when an IP edge/PoE based access control system is moved from
theoretical to actual implementation. One should not underestimate the hidden
costs of such systems.
Some advocates reference the convenience of piggybacking IP
edge/PoE access control solutions on the existing corporate network. Although
tempting, just as with Internet based access control products, IP edge/PoE
access control solutions open the enterprises' access control equipment and
software up to nefarious activity such as hacking, and as stated earlier,
hardware tampering. The age of cybercrime gangs is here, and no longer are
these groups satisfied with obtaining sensitive information. They now aim to
take control over PCs and their connected infrastructure. While it is not
desirable to have someone hack into and view or disable a video surveillance
system, imagine how much more damaging it could be if a hacker were to unlock a
door; or enable or disable access control cards at will.
Dentinger suggested
adopting a hybrid access control panel solution. Simply put, the emerging
technology of IP edge/PoE for security and access control applications presents
significant security risks, and hidden “not as advertised” costs. In the end a
hybrid approach with multi-reader TCP/IP equipped access control panels
provides the most cost effective and security robust solution in the access
control/ security market place.
FIFTH SOLUTION
Allina Hospitals and Clinics is a not-for-profit family of hospitals, clinics and other care services dedicated to meeting the lifelong health care needs of communities throughout . Providing 24-hour security and workplace safety are priorities for Allina and were the chief reasons behind the company’s decision to add RedSky Technologies’ E911 Manager to their corporate network.
Allina streamlined and consolidated their 13 corporate offices
scattered around the Twin Cities into one mammoth headquarters complex and
installed a new state-of-the art Avaya communications system that supports a
mix of 2,500 digital, analog and IP voice endpoints spread across 9 floors and
a sub-basement. They required a scalable E911 system that supported all types
of users from a single server so that location information would be kept up to
date at
all times.
SIXTH SOLUTION
Can smart cards make security as convenient and routine as a credit card?
With all the
problems schools face today, the Runnemede School District of Runnemede, N.J.
needed an access system that would best protect the occupants of the school.
The district installed a smart card access system in all three of its
elementary schools.
SEVENTH SOLUTION
Consider one-card convergence.
Even on a smaller size organization, security executives facing
cardholders that must perform a variety of activities, the business strategy
can be convergence on a one-card solution. That’s the case at .
It shifted to electronic access with a central database. The bottom line: a
one-card access control system that will enlarge across all the university’s
facilities and needs.
EIGHTH SOLUTION
A top security strategy – electronic access control – can gain strength through a diversity of security technologies, often integrated. That’s the case for a plant. Robert Bosch Fuel Systems, a manufacturer of diesel fuel injectors, created a new building-wide access control system that also integrated with time and attendance.
NINTH SOLUTION
Consider the
perimeter.
Products that
increase security outdoors and around facilities are in greater demand today.
Security executives are adding more video surveillance while extending
electronic card access controls farther out from sensitive entrances of facilities.
Outdoor and
perimeter sensors detect intruders as soon as they enter a protected area and
before they can gain access to people or valuable assets. Outdoor sensors can
be used either to complement indoor security sensors or as primary security.
TENTH SOLUTION
Even today, some organizations and facilities, often the small ones or at remote locations, still log in visitors through a sign-in book and issue “stick ‘em” paper badges.
However, slowly but
surely, enterprises are upgrading their visitor procedures as they tighten up
on lobby and reception desk security. While fewer than 35 percent in a recent
poll report they have security officers at the main entrance desk, many also
say they have added technology or will soon purchase technology to better
identify and track visitors, including contractors. There are standalone
visitor management systems but they also can connect into the electronic access
control system, too.
