Technology Roundtable: Optical Turnstiles Join the Revolution
The turnstiles of 2022 have come a long way from their tripod roots to become an integral part of a facility’s access and entry control strategy; in fact, sometimes these products are helping integrators and end-users create a pleasing and futuristic customer experience.
Case in point would be the Nourish + Bloom Market (N+B) in Fayetteville, Ga., an autonomous grocery store with robotic delivery. Owners and creators Jamie Michael and Jilea Hemmings are on a mission to make eating healthy and convenient. One of the first autonomous grocery stores in the United States, N+B provides 24-hour access to healthy food in a frictionless technology environment. While there are employees in the store overseeing general operations, patron entry and exit, shopping, and payment experiences have been designed to be completed without necessitating human interaction. This allows customers to get in and out quickly, and once payment is made, an automated optical turnstile enables them to freely exit.
This exclusive technology roundtable sponsored by dormakaba’s Alvarado brand takes a closer look at the evolution of optical turnstile technology, as well as its potential unique and innovative applications.
Roundtable Participants:
- Trey Parsons, Co-Owner of Integrated Security Solutions of Hastings, Neb.
- Ben Scott, General Manager of SES Integrators of Alpharetta, Ga.
- Nick Simon, National Sales Manager, Alvarado Manufacturing, Chino, Ca.
How have optical turnstiles evolved over the past few years from a technology standpoint?
Simon: Modern optical turnstiles offer a higher level of security violation detection and faster throughput than their predecessors. Added intelligence and superior optical technology now allow for better detection, including identifying the difference between tailgaters and roller bags or luggage. The barriers can be drop arms, swinging glass, retractable sliding glass, or other materials. Many are IP network ready, and the newest turnstiles can include card stacking for faster throughput, climb over/under detection, and full integration with alternate card readers, biometrics, elevator destination dispatch systems, and other third-party emerging technologies. The goal is to achieve efficient, secure throughput and a seamless user experience.
What kinds of peripheral technologies have you had success integrating into a typical secured entry technology?
Parsons: A customer came to us during the height of the COVID pandemic to help them enable nearly 2,000 employees to enter their plant via a single entrance several times a day without slowing down the operation. They wanted a touch-free experience that included integrating temperature checks and access control – including mask detection – with specific technologies.
They were already using a [full height] turnstile, but it was not robust enough to support the new entry environment that included giving the guard at the desk the ability to send employees with fevers directly to the nurse’s station once they were denied entry. The system also needed to grant access to employees who passed the temperature test but were maskless by giving them a “mask reminder” upon entry.
Using an optical turnstile, once a user passes the temperature monitoring and has confirmed mask detection or
Two other lanes are set for free egress out, but if someone opens the lane from the secured side and someone passes through without testing their temperature or presenting a card, an alarm will sound. These lanes can be reversed in the future as we installed readers for true in/out access control if desired. That way, the company can have a report of who is inside the building if they haven’t exited already. If the fire alarm goes off, all lanes release to allow free egress out of the building.
How were the turnstiles at Nourish + Bloom chosen and installed?
Scott: During our first visit to the N+B site, we saw an empty room with a storefront. The owners knew they wanted a turnstile, but then walked us through the space so we could better understand their vision and match the right turnstile solution to their needs. They ran down their checklist, showed us the layout of the store, showed us the electrical schematics, and detailed their vision for the N+B patron experience in this store and future expansions across the country.
To achieve those goals, N+B needed an access solution that could authenticate patrons using a QR scanner to scan QR codes from smartphones. N+B had worked with a company to develop an app that would generate these codes, hold the patron’s credit card information, and apply payment once the patron leaves the store.
The key to tracking would be a turnstile solution to trigger the full patron experience. It integrates with the required scanning components, and we were able to help N+B source and install a Tap & Go credit card feature. In addition, SES and Alvarado provided tech support teams to support the creation of an intricate, custom solution to integrate the QscanT to a Raspberry Pi device.
We were able to see the store go from bare bones to stocked shelves with patrons lined up out the door during the grand opening. Usually access hardware does not get a lot of attention, but the turnstile is key to the success of Nourish + Bloom. The actual installation took only two days once we successfully navigated the technology integration requirements and the system worked without issue from day one.
How can secured entry products solve a customer’s asset protection goals?
Simon: Turnstiles offer several advantages over doors, including improved security, effective integration with a facility’s access control system, and increased operational flexibility.
Improved Security –Doors are often the first point of entry to a facility. A common security solution is to add a card or biometric reader and electronic locks to the door. While both require a valid credential to unlock a door, this system cannot control how long the door is open or how many people enter. Unauthorized individuals can follow authorized personnel through the secured door (commonly known as tailgating). In addition, a door cannot isolate the direction of authorized passage. For example, if a door is activated for entry, it will not be able to prevent exiting at the same time while it is open. Turnstiles can limit the number of people who can enter or exit on each presented credential and control
the direction of passage. In addition, some turnstiles have enhanced detection features to recognize and notify security of instances of tailgating, loitering, and forced passage. Optical turnstiles can mitigate security breaches by both detecting and deterring unauthorized entries and otifying the appropriate personnel when an attempt occurs.
Access Control Integration – A facility’s access control system allows turnstiles to work in conjunction with doors, cameras, and other security equipment to ensure only specific cleared individuals use the entry. It can also provide useful information such as the identity, time, and location of each person who entered and exited the facility. The system displays live data that can be used by management to track visitors, pinpoint alarm locations, and identify potential security threats.
Operational Flexibility – Turnstiles streamline the entry process. They accommodate a wide variety of credential readers, allowing facilities the option to use virtually any type of media to authorize entry, including barcodes, magnetic stripe, proximity cards (RFID/NFC), or biometrics. Readers installed with turnstiles allow users to present their own credentials to gain entry. The self-validation function reduces the burden on office personnel and security guards, allowing them to focus on their primary job functions. In addition, turnstiles can operate in a single direction or bi-directional. Passage modes are independent for each direction and include free pass, controlled passage, or locked down. Finally, management can schedule specific modes to activate at certain times of the day to meet operational requirements such as entry- or exit-only at peak usage times and locked down when the facility is not in use. Turnstile modes are typically set through the access control system, and in advanced models can be controlled remotely using an application on the facility’s network.How can security entry technologies provide business intelligence data to end-users like retail and large venues?
Simon: Traditionally, turnstiles provide end-users data through integration with the facility’s access control system. Presenting a valid credential at a turnstile provides the end-user with valuable information including who is in the facility, time and location of entry and exit, and amount of time spent in the facility. Data can be used to predict peak usage times allowing the venue to activate optimal operational best practices such as staffing, elevator availability, HVAC settings, lighting, and other similar functions to maintain security and a superior patron experience.
To learn more about Alvarado’s optical turnstile products, please visit www.alvaradomfg.com or request more information at www.securityinfowatch.com/10212792.
