SECURITY SYSTEMS
Cutting Edge Access Control
Access control is of huge importance to the security and hardware industry , it is defined as “ the selective restriction of access to a place or other resource ”. Its purpose is to ensure that authorised people are free to move around authorised areas of a building at authorised times , while unauthorised people are prevented from entering those parts of a building where or when their presence is not permitted .
By Douglas Masterson , Technical Manager at GAI
It has many benefits including :
• Allowing only employees and other authorised personnel to conduct their legitimate business in authorised areas
• Reducing risk to an acceptable level – and providing awareness of risks when they arise – thus giving the ability to act quickly if a security threat is found
• Making copying the “ key ” ( or card / token ) more difficult ( if biometric , practically impossible ) and providing quick and easy means of making a stolen “ key ”/ means of entry useless .
• The ability to provide additional features and benefits which will further enhance security such as audit trails , timed entry , alarm generation , building management and system integration .
‘ more functions are being added to software packages on a continual basis ’
Access Control Software
Access Control has moved forward rapidly over the last few years , particularly with work habits changing due to increased home working , improvements in internet connectivity and the ability to use mobile phones for more and more functions .
With Access Control Software , more functions are being added to software packages on a continual basis and these are therefore allowing more flexibility for the client , building manager and security staff . Some of the features now available include :
• Time Zones – These are set so that credentials are only allowed access within the set time zones .
• Graphic Interface – Allows images to be uploaded on the system which can include floor plans and images .
• Access Rights - These are the permissions an individual user has to access areas of a building , which can include time zones , etc .
• Audit Trails - An audit trail ( also called audit log ) is a security-relevant chronological set of records , and / or destination and source of records that provide documentary evidence of the sequence of activities that have affected at any time a specific operation , procedure or event of a device .
• Anti-pass Back - A feature that can be used to prevent users from passing their credential back for another user to borrow and to stop users entering an area by simply following or tailgating another user .
• Live Roll Call – Fire roll call systems are used to automatically identify the location of all people within the premises with pinpoint , real time accuracy .
• Count Areas – Ideal for car parking spaces , it counts the number of cars entering and leaving a car park and can even show vacant spaces within the car park
• Lockdown – Used to lockdown either a system or individual doors , such as in a terrorist situation
• Buddy System - The buddy system is a procedure in which two individuals , the “ buddies ”, operate together as a single unit so that they are able to monitor and help each other , ideal for security to ensure that officer ’ s patrol in pairs around a building , particularly when the building staff have vacated the building at night .
Locking and standards Locking methods have not changed a huge amount recently other than the way they operate , however , new standards are being introduced for performance testing such as BS EN 15684 ( Mechatronic cylinders ), BS EN 16864 ( mechatronic padlocks ), TS010 ( Magnetic Locks ) and TS621 ( Thief resistant electromechanically operated lock assemblies ).
Smartlocks
One type of locking which is becoming more and more popular is the “ electronic escutcheon ” otherwise known as a “ smartlock ”. This is an electronic access control solution allowing multiple doors to be linked to each other but not online to a computer . They are powered through a battery which can have up to a 3-year lifespan and have flexibility in that they can be used with a number of locks including multipoint locks . The programming can be done a number of ways including by PC , downloaded via a handheld terminal , downloaded by card , by Bluetooth using a mobile phone or via wi-fi using Cloud technology .
Worldwide , the smart lock market is on track to reach $ 4.4bn (£ 3.2bn ) in 2027 , up tenfold from $ 420m (£ 300m ) in 2016 , according to market research firm Statista .
Wireless access control
Wireless access control locking is also increasingly popular and is available through battery driven locks that allow access via RFID card , fob , PIN , mobile phone or biometric fingerprint . These have the advantage that they are relatively easy to fit or retrofit , the system can be expanded easily , and they can be supplied with software and programmers , or more recently cloud and app based software . They also allow for remote opening if connected to Wi-Fi or a wireless network .
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JAN / FEB 2022
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