A generally accepted principle for providing optimum security for most large facilities involves a concept called “Concentric Circles of Protection”, which involves the use of multiple “rings” or “layers” of security technology. The premise is that the initial layer of defense shall begin at the perimeter of the site, with additional layers spiraling around the facility as you move inward toward the building itself and its high-value assets and people.
This strategic deployment of security may range from physical hardware like protective fences and controlled gates access to electronic access control and photo identification badges, that work in tandem with more high-tech digital solutions like video surveillance, data analytics and facial recognition. Whatever the technology roadmap may be, it is the end-user that more often than not calls the shots, leaving solutions providers and systems integrators to ensure the client’s needs for protection, flexibility and accountability are met.
In our continuing series of security solutions roundtables-in-print, Security Technology Executive editor Steve Lasky asked this month’s participants to provide their comments to an array of technology and design questions. Joining the panel for this issue are DoorKing’s Director of Marketing and Regulatory Affairs, Rick Sedivy; Jac Whitmire, the National Sales Manager for DoorKing; security consultant Chester Gilliam of Wizard Works; Paul Hefty, a Technical Sales and Support Engineer II with Aiphone Corporation; and Michael Cowell, President of Secure Site Solutions.
Steve Lasky: When discussing a potential project with a large enterprise client seeking an integrated physical security plan that starts from the fence-line to the front secured entrance to interior entries, what are the key steps from both an operational and technology standpoint to ensure a successful outcome?
Rick Sedivy, DoorKing: Beginning at the fence line, who has access to the property? Employees? General public? Both? How hardened must the entrance gates be? General purpose, restricted access, crash rated? How are the entrance gates going to be controlled, 24-7 guard, or user access control? Is internal access to be controlled? Are there different permission levels involved for both employees and the general public? How will access be controlled? By PIN code, cards, vehicle ID, biometrics, video, or a combination of any of these? Will the system be cloud-based or software-driven from a host computer? Will connectivity of the different components be hard-wired or wireless and what level of encryption is needed?
Jac Whitmire, DoorKing: It is surprising how often there are different, incompatible technologies used on a large project. Take the front vehicle gate for instance. There may be a card reader or long-range reader that uses a completely different credential than the rest of the building does. I have seen instances where the front gate credentials and the building credentials are on completely different databases. Many times, these systems have been cobbled together through the years as budgets allow. Now that there are dual technology devices that work with the long-range reader as well as at the doors this can help make database management much easier.
As a gate operator manufacturer, I think one of the biggest issues comes down to designing the proper vehicular gate entrance. Many end users have unrealistic expectations of how a system will work in regard to cycle time, tailgate prevention, safety, and conforming to the UL325 / ASTM F2200 standard, pedestrian access, etc. Understanding the options to reduce tailgating and reduce gate hits is vital to providing a system that will satisfy your client’s needs. We're always here to help with that.
Paul Hefty, Aiphone: There are several factors that come in to play as we begin a project. To start, we need to make sure all the players are part of the conversation when designing a system. This includes security personnel, operations, and the IT department. All parties need to be aware of what the goal is and how it is being addressed. They also need to know their part and how they will be involved.
Next, we need to make sure that the solution meets all their requirements, including anticipated future expansion. The integrator needs to educate the end-user in what expansion might look like. If there are different manufactures involved, how do the different systems interact with each other? Is there existing equipment that will be integrated? All this should be discussed and worked out prior to purchasing any product. Once a solution is determined, the end-user needs to make sure their personnel will use the system properly. It serves no purpose to have a sophisticated entry system if the personnel is just going to bypass it and open the door. That is why it is important to have all the players in the conversation, including the people that will be using the system.
Chester Gilliam, Wizard Works: First and foremost, you have to listen to the client and make sure you are in sync with the client’s needs, wants and abilities. When we get that first phone call or inquiry, our first inclination is to start building the system before we even have that first face to face meeting. This tends to limit our ability to design a system that meets the client’s expectations right out of the box. In order to meet the expectations of the client, you need to understand a few things about them.
Second, you have to assess what they already have and how it is going to play into the overall system. They might already have some security equipment, or they may just have doors and a fence line, or just doors. Whatever it is you have to include it in your overall plan, whether it can be used, or it has to be replaced. Be ready with alternatives.
Third, you have to provide enough documentation that the client feels comfortable with your solution. This also goes to managing the client’s expectations. We use a lot of drawings to show the placement of equipment, estimated wiring paths, and other unique parts of the overall pan. In the beginning, these may just be an overview and once we get into the project, we start to fine-tune the system and its design. You should also include cut sheets and vendor information as much as possible. This lets your clients know exactly how it will look and if there are other options you may not have discussed yet. This process sets the tone for the overall project.
Michael Cowell, Secure Site Solutions: Understanding both the physical challenges and limitations of the site coupled with understanding your customer's operations and concerns are both equally important when designing any solution. Physical site assessments are generally straight forward but when you include day to day operations, workflow, and company culture the solutions can become a bit more complicated and challenging. So, understanding how a site will operate with respect to employee safety and security from parking to internal control and monitoring, how vendors and visitors will be acknowledged to the site and be monitored or escorted while on site are just a couple of considerations. The surrounding area and challenges from adjacent businesses/areas should also be considered. Uncovering and understanding how this information plays into your customers’ needs are how your design should start and where the opportunity to be more than just a hardware salesperson can provide the most value to your end-user.
Lasky: Interconnectivity and advanced communications are prime security motivators in a campus-type environment. How can you design a solution that will protect people and assets that is proactive and provides data-rich analytics?
Sedivy: The industry is moving more towards wireless communications for the interconnectivity of access points and the system controller. 900 MHz systems have improved dramatically over the years as system integrators and installers become more comfortable with wireless systems and are learning to love them because of the advantages they have over hard-wired interconnectivity. Connection to the system controllers nowadays is typical via a hard-wired network (Internet) connection or is cellular-based.
Hefty: Network-based solutions are the simplest method to provide security and required analytics. If multiple manufactures are involved it is important to determine how the systems will integrate. Will it be dry contacts going into a REX input or data going over a network? Whatever the method, the next step is determining what data is important. Communication with the end-user is key in determining this. The security system may be able to pull the most detailed reports, but the customer may only want a simple report. Once you have determined what the end-user wants, you can determine what data logging is needed.
Gilliam: There are a lot of new technologies that allow for the use of automated analytics. Most of these are camera type systems that have the ability to track movement, account for missing objects or objects left, count people, and even see hidden objects on people by using thermal technologies. But you cannot just deploy a camera system and count on it to do the job. You have to set up a system that has chokepoints where you are managing the flow of people. This gives you a starting reference point. It might be a gate system, turnstile, door, or even a hallway that is the most common point for entrance and egress. This also may not be a single point and most likely will not be on medium to a large campus. You can only manage what you can control.
Beyond cameras, there has been a great deal of technology advances in the area of RFID tags. We all use credentials such as fobs and cards to track the movement of people throughout a complex when a person uses their credentials to gain access to a certain area. With the use of more smart devices credentials becoming more commonplace, the same technology can be added to objects to manage their movement. By placing active readers in the ceilings of hallways and rooms or at doorways, you have the ability to track not only objects but people as well. These readers can report back to analytical software that can give feedback to security personnel and/or other security systems.
You have to leverage technology and, in most cases, connect systems that otherwise would be standalone units to work with each other. You cannot let the camera system look for problems and record them or report on them. Having the camera take a picture of a person using their card at the door only gives you the ability to see what happened. We need to be taking a more proactive approach and letting the systems talk to each other so we can react when events occur, not after the fact. By leveraging different systems and building bridges between them, we can do just that.
Lasky: With the migration to smart technology and sophisticated mobile apps helping to drive new systems solutions, what type of disruptors do you see on the horizons that could change how integrated systems featuring access control, video and IP video intercoms will function in the next 5 years?
Sedivy: We are probably going to see smarter systems that are motion activated and can respond to voice commands, like Siri on your smartphone. With all that is going on right now, I wonder what the future holds for keypad and some biometric systems that require touching for use. The same may hold true for touch screens. Will users in the future feel safe using a device when it has been touched by many unknown persons?
Whitmire: The push to have everything smartphone-based is on and we see this and are developing systems to address this need. One thing we all learned from the COVID-19 outbreak is that non-contact systems are in demand and this will need to be addressed. Just when it looked like the industry was migrating to touch screens these showed their extreme downsides when suddenly everyone became aware of limiting touch in public places.
Hefty: Smart technology, specifically mobile apps, are always a bit tricky. One of the bigger concerns with mobile apps is that the base platform is constantly changing. Apple and Android are always improving their platforms to meet their customers’ needs. This can radically change how a mobile app is created or maintained. A mobile app that may have worked for the last two years can now be rendered useless if it violates the platform’s current policies.
Matching mobile app development with platform changes is becoming a full-time commitment. With video intercoms calling a mobile app, we are seeing specific platforms forcing those calls to be treated like a phone call. This becomes an issue if the end-user wants the video intercom calling in to behave differently than how they receive an actual cell phone call. As mobile devices become more powerful the expectation is for them to take on more of a role. The mobile app for security must be fast, efficient, and reliable. While apps for entertainment have more leeway. It is critical for security apps to work every time and be on everyone’s device. The bottom line is that security manufactures will have to keep pace with the platforms as they grow and change.
Gilliam: We have already seen an explosion for the movement to mobile apps in just the past few years. This is only going to accelerate even more in the next five years and will only be hindered by what the smart devices can do. A few years back, not all devices had NFC and those that did had to be touching or almost touching the receiving device. Now, almost all devices have NFC and there is more range all by its limited range. But we are seeing improvements in mobile and/or smart devices. These improvements are driving the consumer/user to want other systems to utilize the improvements. Since security is a consumer-driven market, we will follow suit.
The question for us is how we are going to adapt and control these systems and new credentials. In the past we controlled the credential, the facility owned the cards and fobs. We issued them to users and that was that. But now the user controls the credential and will occasionally change that credential by way of buying a new smart device. Making the credential work on a system is not the hard part. The real problem for us is how do we control and secure a credential that we have no real control over and in a seamless fashion without compromising security.
With what is happening in the world right now with this latest pandemic, I believe we are going to see a major push for the use of non-contact interactions, which means more smart device credentials. There is going to be a push from the consumer side to not only want to use their own smart device for access and intercom usage but to have entrances open automatically for them much like gates do now. This will lead to more innovations and solutions in how we secure buildings. We are going to have to figure out how a person obtains the credential on their smart device, how we maintain it, and how it gets transferred from one device to another when the user decides it is time for an upgrade.
Cowell: I think that smart tech innovation will bring more competing crossover technologies and services into the commercial security industry/market which will allow more traditional companies to enter the commercial security space with their own IoT hosted solutions. This will put pressure on traditional security integrators. We might also see some manufacturers look to enter directly into the commercial integration market with their own hosted B2C solutions.
This will enable integrators to leverage the internet and their products to cater directly to IT and other end users through plug and play hardware, and smart software that provides a certain level of expertise to certain marketplaces (small business for example) without the need for security experience; similar to what you see with the residential DIY market. All this will most likely become centered and managed through mobile apps, as apps are now becoming ubiquitous and second nature for everything. There is no reason to think that they will not have a big place within the security industry even within the enterprise market. Apps for hosted services across multiple security and building technologies will continue to become more dominant full-feature suites without the need for traditional PSIM software, literally put things in the palm of your hand allowing for quicker reaction, instant access to intelligence and on the fly modifications. This will allow more to be accomplished with fewer personnel and infrastructure. We just need to look back 20 years ago to see where we were. Now, fast forward to today to see where we are and where we can be just five years from now considering the way technology is pacing. It is mind-blowing, and today’s integrator needs to be standing on the bleeding edge of technology to take advantage of how to best incorporate it into their offering.
