A successful security project is not always judged by its size or complexity. Projects often present other challenges that test the mettle of a security consultant and the resolve of the entire project team – such as counseling a client without security system design experience or working within a timeline that presses system implementation to the limits.
Such was the character of a project security consultant Michael Niola, CTS and his team from the Vantage Technology Consulting Group in El Segundo, Calif., encountered relocating software technology giant Bluebeam into its new headquarters in Southern California last year. Bluebeam moved its former headquarters from a multi-tenant high-rise office building to a single-tenant, campus consisting of multiple office buildings and a multi-level parking structure, all of which totals approximately 77,000 square feet. The tenant improvement project for the corporate headquarters required a full interior renovation, with the installation of security systems to protect the Pasadena location.
According to Niola, moving to a single-tenant facility required Bluebeam to take ownership of the security processes and systems, which was a change from its previous mode of operation, where the building landlord provided those services. The client enlisted Vantage Technology’s guidance in identifying the security system requirements and operational considerations for this type of facility. The final project's security scope included video surveillance, access control, and intrusion detection systems which were integrated with one another to provide system efficiencies for managing and monitoring activity.
“This was a particularly challenging project due to the overall project timeline and move date,” Niloa says.
Appreciating the difficulty of a fast-paced, albeit smaller project, and the learning curve the client presented in creating a security system’s plan of attack, Vantage’s Bluebeam security project was the pick of the award’s selection committee for the 2019 Boxerbaum Security Project of the Year. The award is named for the late Elliot A. Boxerbaum, MA, CPP, CSC, founder and president of Security Risk Management Consultants Inc., who passed away in June 2014, from ALS. The presentation was made on October 19 at the CONSULT Technical Security Symposium in Bernalillo, N.M.
Plotting the Roadmap
Out of the gate, Vantage Technology played a unique role, considering it was brought on board to do security design; however, the project soon took on more of a high-level consulting effort. Vantage ran through use-cases for the different systems and educated Bluebeam stakeholders on what security systems were typically installed in corporate offices and how they would be managed in different scenarios – whether they would be monitored by a dedicated team, used for post-event forensic analysis, or automated to send alarms and triggers when certain conditions were met. Vantage wrote narratives, memos and whitepapers to present information to help the decision-making process.
“We had to deal with the data and network design first, since they would ultimately drive our recommendations for card readers, cameras and glass break sensors,” Niola says. “We started from square one and wrote whitepapers to offer several ideas and scenarios of how corporate offices can operate their systems from both the physical and the network sides.”
Once the operational requirements were understood, Vantage recommended video surveillance, access control, and intrusion detection systems. It provided a full set of construction documents including drawings and specifications, as well as construction administration and commissioning services through the completion of the project.
Vantage and Bluebeam turned to Los Angeles-based integrator Commercial Controls, which has been developing and implementing of various low-voltage systems since 1993. “The design, integration and the construction phase were all overlapping a bit,” Niola explains. “It was very important for us to be extremely collaborative with the security integrator, which luckily, we had a prior relationship. Additionally, the entire project team worked directly with the client to help them figure out how to prioritize user access, assign levels of access and other authentication issues, since this was all new to them.”
The project included designing a Genetec Security Center system integrating the video surveillance, access control and intrusion detection subsystems in order to make it a proactive platform. “We reviewed the security protocols camera and software manufacturers implemented and provided Bluebeam with hardening guides to use when setting up their systems and the IT network,” Niola says.
Due to the architecture of the existing building. Several site visits were required during design to create the details needed to properly route cabling from the IDF rooms to the cameras, glass break sensors and motion sensors. Genetec’s cybersecurity checklist feature was also implemented to allow the system to self-audit the cyber-hardening settings recommended by the manufacturer.
The Challenges
The reality of a quick project turnaround required Vantage to work closely with the general contractor and the systems integrator. Since this was part of a larger tenant improvement construction project, many trades were working simultaneously on-site which affected when and how the security systems could be installed. This parade of contractors mandated that all parties communicated clearly and often with the entire team to avoid mistakes and missing install deadlines.
“The final installation was done on time, which was the critical requirement for this fast-paced project,” says Douglas Scripture, Project Manager for Commercial Controls. “The consultant allowed us to create a great relationship with the client, and the client was completely satisfied with the system, our training and the final product. That led to them requesting additional monitoring services.”
Another challenge the team encountered was that the architecture of the existing building was complex in some areas, featuring white high-slanted ceilings and containing beautiful architectural finishes that needed to be worked around. The design of the pathways supporting the security and automated building devices being installed also required very close coordination with the architect.
“Having a great working relationship with the integrator made it possible to identify potential issues quickly, communicate with each other directly, and be more agreeable to going above and beyond to have things corrected, even if the challenge came from someone else’s mistake,” Niola says. “We truly created a team environment, which created a great deal of value ‘behind the scenes.’ Phone calls after hours, doing something that was technically not in the scope of work, and a willingness to help other trades move the project along were all actions that went a long way in making this a success.”
Steve Lasky is Editorial Director for SecurityInfoWatch Media, which includes Security Business magazine, Security Technology Executive magazine, SecurityInfoWatch.com and Locksmith Ledger International.
