http://www.securitysales.com/t_inside.aspx?action=article&storyID=3316
With so much attention devoted to the potential and success relating to remote video monitoring and verification, it appears the growing segment of remote access control management sometimes takes a backseat. I’m not sure if it’s because remote video has been such a front-running topic for so long or because remote access control management is relatively new and really not understood by most. From my standpoint remote access control is a viable and valuable service offering that’s been available for decades. This service dates back to my days of owning an installation company and managing small and large systems through dial-up modems. My company was paid a premium for this in addition to monitoring fees.
http://www.securitysales.com/t_inside.aspx?action=article&storyID=3216
My, how times have changed. The physical access control system used to be the domain of the security department. It was a separate and distinct system, set apart from the business network “for security reasons.” Now, with increasing frequency, the IT staff holds the keys to the purse and is rapidly becoming the keepers of the access control domain. Nothing travels on “their” network without their approval, including security systems.
http://www.securitysales.com/t_inside.aspx?action=article&storyID=3237
The need to protect customers in specialized markets is often at odds with fire code and local ordinances. Where the security mission requires special locking arrangements by way of a mantrap, fire code requires free egress when a fire situation occurs. In applications where there’s a conflict between security and life safety, confusion can result. In recent times banking establishments and high-risk retailers have had to make difficult choices. One of those choices is the use of a mantrap to reduce the likelihood of robbery. It can be difficult for business managers to compare the security advantages realized by the use of a mantrap vs. the life-safety issues realized by a free and open entryway.
http://www.securitysales.com/t_inside.aspx?action=article&storyID=3172
We’re all feeling it. We are all tightening our belts. The economy is not where we would like it to be, and it is affecting everything we do, especially our businesses. We can’t keep doing things as we have been, and we need to work harder to succeed. The converged marketplace has provided us with some great things such as technology advancements, new tools and easier installations. But it has also given us something we may not always realize — new opportunities.
http://www.securitysales.com/t_inside.aspx?action=article&storyID=3152
Integration has been a buzzword in our industry for a long time. Whether it’s an access control system tied to a video system to provide video verification of a card swipe, or a perimeter fence protection system that can trigger pan/tilt/zoom (p/t/z) cameras to hit a preset when triggered, the ability to integrate systems together is a goal worth working toward. As the convergence wave has changed the technologies our systems and products rely on, the technologies connecting these systems together must also change. This month, we look at systems integration —where it has been, and where it is going.
http://www.securitysales.com/t_inside.aspx?action=article&storyID=3117
It may not have the severe impact of video on a network, but IP-based access control systems can have a major impact on security application budgets, functionality and installation. As with all other converged technologies, the ability to utilize the IP network to any degree is a great benefit to integrators and end users alike.
http://www.securitysales.com/t_inside.aspx?action=article&storyID=3051
Despite the nation’s fiscal belt-tightening and immense economic uncertainty, security systems integrators appear to be doing better than most. As the first part of SSI’s fourth annual Systems Integrator Study shows, the number of access control and video system installations, project sizes and gross profits are up across the board. Much of this success is being fueled by rises in networked systems and those featuring IP cameras. To look beyond the numbers, I recently probed the minds of three proven and trusted industry veterans who are out there “in the trenches” each and every day to get their perspective on the current state of the security systems integration business. My thanks to Jim Henry, chairman and CEO of Henry Bros. Electronics, Keith Ladd, CEO of The Protection Bureau and Bill Bozeman, president and CEO of the PSA Security Network for sharing their insights.
http://www.securitysales.com/t_inside.aspx?action=article&storyID=3047
Here we go again; a different technology, but a similar story. RFID (radio frequency identification) has reached a point of large popularity. It is being used today everywhere from tracking library books, retail items and military inventory to personal identification and security access cards. It is also found in remote automobile access, toll payment transponders, basic smart cards and cell phones. The U.S. government is now using a combination of RFID and smart card technology in the E-Passport.
http://www.securitysales.com/t_inside.aspx?action=article&storyID=2717
Technically speaking, access control is an area where east truly meets west. I am referring to ancient physical lock technology pairing up with modern electronic/electromechanical access control technology. Like myself, I assume many of you have varying levels of expertise in the latter. Regardless, we all need to get a better understanding of both modern and ancient technologies. Furthermore, as you will see, thanks to modern Web 2.0 social technologies, certain aspects of the physical security landscape are rapidly changing.
http://www.securitysales.com/t_inside.aspx?action=article&storyID=2440
The need for integration between fire alarm system and electrically-controlled door locks is not an option — it’s mandatory under Section 1008.1.3.4A(4) of the International Residential Code, 2000 Edition; as well as Section 7.2.1.6.2(d) of Life Safety Code, NFPA 101, 2003 Edition, published by the National Fire Protection Association. That is, providing the local authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) enforces it.
http://www.securitysales.com/t_inside.aspx?action=article&storyID=2326
It was Feb. 23, 1991 when a fire broke out on the 22nd floor of One Meridian Plaza, a 38-story high rise located in Philadelphia. It didn’t take long to discover that there were deficiencies in the built-in fire safety systems that exasperated firefighters’ efforts. Nineteen hours later, three Philadelphia firefighters were dead, 24 injured and property loss was estimated at $100 million. To firefighters, just as the tenants of a high-rise structure, time is of utmost importance when a fire breaks out. According to experts, if fire department response is 15 minutes or more in this type of setting, it’s likely that the fire will quickly advance to where firefighters can only control the burn from inside the stairways. “After 15 minutes of response time for a fire in a high-rise building, firefighters may discover the fire is too large to extinguish. The fire spreads out of the room along the ceiling and forces them to withdraw off the floor out into the stair enclosure” (Iklim Ltd. STI, an Ankara, Turkey-based contractor, www.iklimnet.com).
http://www.securitysales.com/t_inside.aspx?action=article&storyID=2195
What critical component area of an access control system is made up of two closely associated yet distinctive technology groups? These technologies often appear to come from different worlds but rely on each other to provide the useful access control end product and service. Give up? The two component groups are electro-mechanical lock hardware and electronic control devices and systems.
http://www.securitysales.com/t_inside.aspx?action=article&storyID=1971
The thermal card/badge printer is a critical operational piece of technology used in any access control system. Ironically, while being one of the most expensive components of a system, it is often the least understood by the end user and/or the security dealer that sold the system. Knowing some of the deep, dark secrets of how the thermal printing process works — along with being able to better maintain and service a valuable printer — will go a long way to having a happier badging system customer.