FEATURE SECURITY TECHNOLOGY
SAFE SOLUTIONS JaPes Allardyce, Director of SolXtion Sales at CKXEE, explains
The pandemic was a catalyst for
significant change within the
work environment, forcing a need
for systems and approaches to
adapt, or risk becoming outdated
or extraneous. It began with the
very first panicked shutdown of
buildings — kick-starting a homeworking
revolution and moving
on to where we are right now,
the embracing of a very di erent
future. Buildings and the spaces
within them must be adapted from
the open-o ice, shared design
of pre-pandemic to reimagined
de-densified environments. With
this hurdle navigated, it’s now
time to move onwards with a
renewed focus on maintaining this
environment in as healthy a way
as possible by utilising the latest
innovations.
ALARMS AND DETECTION
Regardless of the size of your
building, the very cornerstone of
your security system is advanced
technology. This keeps your building
safe while o„ ering employees
reassurance that you care and look
a¬ er their wellbeing. A conventional
intruder detection system is a
scalable security solution that can
be fine-tuned to your building and
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OCTOBER 2021
employee’s needs, o„ ering dynamic
features such as alarm signaling,
door and window opening detection,
audible warning deterrents, and
lone worker pendants — crucial
in scaled-down environments in
which there is no element of ‘safety
in numbers’ (although, in our world
of fast-moving safety and security
innovation, we are certain there is no
need to rely on this adage).
Alarms aren’t solely for intruder
detection; there are supplementary
devices that also work to keep your
building healthy, raising the alarm
if — for example — an environmental
trigger, such as an increase in
humidity or flood ingress, occurs.
CCTV AND VIDEO SURVEILLANCE
CCTV and video monitoring is
an increasingly sophisticated
technology with tailorable elements
such as video analytics, which use
algorithms to not only reduce the
incidences of false alarms but also
detect loitering, direction of travel,
objects le¬ and disappearance
of items, along with the ability
to programme ‘rules’. Real-world
applications for this technology are
vast — including car forecourts, in
which loitering can lead to sales; and
festivals or large events, where it can
find, for example, a missing person in
a red coat simply by inputting a set of
rules. Besides enhancing detection,
AI and deep learning can be used to
further understand how users move
through environments. This data
could then help us develop more
e„ icient layouts within our buildings.
ACCESS CONTROL
Maintaining a healthy building
denotes a need to consider who
is inside the premises while safely
managing entry and access points.
As we move out of the pandemic, the
focus may shi¬ away from occupancy
and again towards security, however,
by marrying the two, we can enhance
the security of users. Preparedness is
the bedrock of evolution — we now
know how quickly businesses must
respond to massive environmental
events such as infectious disease,
and there is no reason to drop
the ball should this happen
again. We have the technology to
counterbalance the challenges of
‘breathing the same air’ with the
ability to control occupant density.
You can use access controls —
door entry systems, biometrics and
reader technologies — to both gain
access to a building and tell us who
is inside. Mobile credentials, for
instance, allows you to authenticate with
your smartphone and use it as your key to
access a building or QR codes can be used
to enable temporary visitor access. Using
mobile devices for access control o„ ers
numerous benefits; they are commonly
used and accessible to all building users,
they eradicate the need for plastic badges
providing a more environmentally friendly
solution, they help improve safety practices
preventing tailgating and people sharing
passes, and they negate the need for a
receptionist to manage building access,
creating resource and costs savings.
We also have control over occupancy levels
with smart, live occupancy systems, which
provide real-time data. The creation of a
‘touchless’ workplace has already begun —
Bluetooth and facial recognition play a key
role in access controls.
FLEXIBLE SYSTEMS FOR THE FUTURE
If the pandemic has taught us anything,
it’s that we need to be flexible within
our workplace and our perception of its
requirements. Security needs have changed
and bespoke solutions are central to the
provision of relevant products and services.
Sophisticated needs no longer equate to
‘di„ icult’: integrated security systems allow
you to protect each of your assets with
great ease and e„ iciency — regardless of a
scattering of geographical locations — while
collating the data centrally. No need to
access separate systems to view data sets;
powerful technology stores and safeguards
all this data in one information management
system.
The ongoing need for virus control is
apparent and a crucial part of a muchdiscussed
‘new normal’ — systems that
detect body temperatures range from a
handheld scanner to a sophisticated set of
technologies that monitor temperatures
at access points. The system is standalone
and needs no network integration, making
it easy to o„ er employees, visitors and
customers peace of mind that their health
and wellbeing is at the forefront of your
operations.
Technology and innovation o„ ered
businesses a robust roadmap out of the
pandemic, and this focus will continue
to lead innovation — developments in
technology mean that safer, healthier and
more secure work environments are now
possible.
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