2010: The Time for Proactive Security

WellPoint’s proactive security approach helps the company understand potential risks before they get to the front door.

The economic downturn and the growing concern about foreign threats has placed increased pressure on CSOs today to beef up protection of physical, informational and personnel assets in their enterprises. This is a very different security world than a decade ago and one that requires Proactive Security Management (PSM). Such a plan enables CSOs to efficiently plan for worst-case scenarios rather than react to them inefficiently. A thorough understanding of a company’s physical, personal and informational assets helps foster such focused security policies. The desire to reach this level of security has prompted many CSOs to restructure their policies toward a PSM approach.

In 2006, the security function at Caterpillar Inc. underwent a complete redesign to its core security processes. The industrial manufacturer put a Risk-Based Security Program in place that standardizes protection of people, information, plant, product, reputation and brand at its worldwide locations. The global security team provides consultation and oversight while the local sites are accountable for execution.
Through proactive planning like this, response time and cost are reduced when a reactive situation occurs, says Steven P. Seitz, global security contract and strategic planning manager at Caterpillar. “By identifying threats and vulnerabilities ahead of time, we structure the response with the necessary resources.”

Mobile and Global

While no manufacturing occurs at Ernst & Young, Washington, D.C., the company’s Director of Security John Imhoff says the organization has something just as valuable: information. To protect corporate and client information, Imhoff says an access control system is embedded with an enterprise system to ensure authorization. E&Y physical security is coordinated with information security to afford comprehensive protection.

Additionally, he notes the company has refocused its PSM to harden the workplace environment against threats, which he says is a direct result of the economy. “Security is about deterring and forestalling a crisis any way you can,” says Imhoff. “CSOs should understand that we are in a changing threat environment and should have flexible procedures in place to recognize these changes and secure their organizations.”

Securing the Ernst & Young can be challenging, with 140,000 employees in 700 offices in 140 countries. Adding to the pressure is the fact that the company’s employees are very mobile, often working at remote sites and traveling extensively. “While on the road, we take every precaution to ensure the information on the laptops is not exposed to threat,” says Imhoff. A travel locator system allows security personnel to remain in contact with employees. The system allows E&Y to know current and future business travel itineraries, proving information on about where people are traveling, when, by what mode of transportation, and where they are staying. The system also supports messaging to travelers either en masse or by location. “If an event occurs at a given destination, we can quickly message people to help them avoid trouble spots and determine that they have not been impacted personally by the event,” he says.

A greater emphasis on international travel has also occurred at the Van Andel Institute of Grand Rapids, Mich., whose scientists are working on cures for diseases like cancer and Parkinson’s, among others.

Kevin M. Denhof, CPP, physical security manager, says his security team – comprised of 30 percent internal staff and 70 percent contractors – expends a significant amount of time and effort on PSM to ensure that skill levels are high during emergency events.

To combat emergencies happening overseas, the Institute is currently testing a geospatial informational system from IDV Solution that will allow the security team to track employees traveling internationally.

“It’s important for us to know about world events that may have an impact on our employees who are traveling,” says Denhof.

Safety is Vital in Healthcare

For companies like WellPoint, a health benefits company, and Lancaster Regional Medical Center (LRMC), protecting employees and assets is vital, but so is assuring the safety of visitors to their sites. WellPoint’s proactive security approach helps the company understand potential risks before they get to the front door. “We reside in multi-tenant buildings around the country, which can pose certain risks, and we are in the healthcare business, which is a hot topic today and one that presents challenges to our security,” says Eric Levine, staff vice president and director of corporate security.

WellPoint hired Koorsen Fire and Security, Inc., a national integrator, to upgrade the security of the organization by installing a new access control system and implementing security standards. “A customer visiting our site must have a good experience and their safety is in our hands,” says Levine.

At LRMC, and its sister hospital just 10 miles away, Heart of LRMC, proactive security management is in place to protect all aspects of the hospital workplace, particularly the emergency rooms. An integrated system of access control, security cameras, and two-way radios from Triangle Communications, Inc., along with ID badges from ColorID, and simple hallway monitoring helps ensure that patients and staff are well protected.

“The economic downturn can cause some to enter the ER intoxicated or combative, while others are homeless and look to us a warm place to stay for a while,” says Hatfield. “Our PSM gives us greater control over who is entering the buildings.”

Strengthening control is what security in 2010 is all about. And there is no time to be stagnant, as this is a dynamic time in risk management. The pros agree that proactive security management addresses this changing environment and keeps CSOs ahead of the curve, a strategy not deployed in years past. “If we look back just 10 years ago, we would see that our security efforts were misfocused and not as in-depth as they needed to be,” says Imhoff. “We were weak compared to today.”

Best in Class Living with Best in Class Security

Escala is a condominium tower that adorns the skyline of Seattle at the corner of 4th Avenue and Virginia Street. The building has private elevators to most units, a private club, large balconies and upscale finishes. Escala will eventually include 280 condominium units ranging in size from 950 sq. ft. to 16,500 sq. ft.

In a high-end project like Escala, providing a high level of protection for residents is part of the unique selling proposition for the condominium. The architects were looking for an integrated approach with video surveillance and access control all managed through a single system. Access to the building is managed in sections; residents are allocated a specified elevator for their section that they use to gain entry to their apartment. They do not have access to other sections or elevator lobbies. Residents see this level of security as part of the benefit that differentiates Escala from other condominiums in the area.

To maintain the security level, all lobbies had to be completely covered by video surveillance using multiple cameras across each floor. Residents also control who has access. The entry control system lets residents view who is requesting entry to the building and can independently allow or deny access on a person-by-person basis.

The Architects’ and Engineering Specification (A&E) for the building required operators to be able to control doors and monitor video from both their security head-end (control room) and the concierge’s desk in the main entrance lobby. All the cameras are recording video 24/7 at 25 FPS (frames per second) with video being archived for 30 days. The architectural design also specified that all cameras be unobtrusive and the ambience lighting in the lobbies required cameras to deliver high quality video even in low light conditions.

The security is provided by an integrated solution using Infinova cameras for video surveillance, S2 Security for access control and On-Net Surveillance Systems for video management. The final system uses more than 100 low-profile minidome cameras to cover the elevators that service Escala’s 31 floors with all doors being on camera and controlled electronically.

Indoor color-fixed minidome cameras feature a high-resolution sensor that provides high resolution and low light sensitivity. The architect’s specification required the cameras to disappear in the residents’ areas, and at the same time, they had to be a visible deterrent to potential perpetrators externally and in the parking garages.

The cameras’ design worked well with Escala’s high-end décor. They were small and discrete so as not to be obtrusive to residents.

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Cindy Dubin is a contributing writer for Security magazine.