Security technology tips

SECURITY TECHNOLOGY EXPERT’S VIEW
STEPHEN WEBB,
DIRECTOR OF TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, BIDVEST NOONAN

Security and Health & Safety are closer than ever. The focus of security will always be on securing people, places and assets, but it has drawn closer to safety in recent time, with a range of supporting technologies.

For instance, access control is an expanding platform. If you consider how access control was primarily dependent upon a card to restrict authorised entry into a building or office, those office spaces can now be managed or “booked” as a function of the access control system. It’s a different environment to manage – with the access control platform offering the ability for an employee, tenant, visitor or contractor to be efficiently managed. This creates an audit trail, which can support a ‘fit to work’ or ‘fit to visit’ policy, which enables contact tracing, while providing occupancy data on the total number of people in the building.

Going hand in hand with post-COVID “wellbeing”, as desired by those returning to the workspace is the ability of building owners and managers to elevate the tenant experience with a variety of touchless solutions. This includes the use of mobile credentials, held on an occupant’s smartphone, negating the need for a traditional card being carried and applied to a communal touch point on a door or turnstile.

Video surveillance has advanced so much further with the development and deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) and video analytics, the adoption of which certainly increased during the pandemic. Together, they complement one another and bring a range of features and functionalities that enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of onsite security operatives utilising these surveillance systems. One example would be where specific individuals or events need to be found efficiently from numerous days of stored video footage. Such analytics can extend to detecting loitering, line crossing, excessive lines forming, or creating watch lists from photographs. As for the added significant benefits of cloud hosted solutions, this is a whole topic on its own, but one that should certainly be factored into any strategy around both video surveillance and access control.

By blending manpower with technology – for example deploying a remote video monitoring resource and mobile response service, an extremely effective and efficient security solution can be delivered to both manned and unmanned locations. By providing analytics within say a remote video surveillance program, could, for instance result in a redeployment of site operatives.

Finally, as with any system of this nature, not only does the right support partner needs to be selected, but it is essential that the relevant SLA’s are put in place, which are managed against an applicable set of KPI’s, reflective of the type of location and operational requirements of the customer.

FM SECURITY SOLUTIONS EXPERT’S VIEW
DAVID ROWAN,
FM DIRECTOR, CHUBB

The key to delivering business improvements is through effective use of technology, and this will be even more important in the future. Ensuring that our CCTV, intruder alarms, access control, and fire systems are connected provides significant benefits. Moreover, continuous monitoring will allow us to generate a holistic picture and deliver powerful, detailed, and timely information.

We achieve this through Chubb visiON+, a range of connected services that changes how protection is managed using valuable data analytics. Our NSI Gold accredited Alarm Receiving Centres provide analytics to our dedicated team of certified professionals who identify and correct any issues before impacting the customer.

This increased connectivity and responsiveness ensure we maintain full protection 24/7, 365. It facilitates quicker first-time fixes and keeps equipment and systems in optimal working condition. This not only helps us in our goal to reduce our carbon footprint, but also enables us to offer ultimate security to protect our customers’ premises, people, and assets.

We also expect technological capabilities to accelerate exponentially in the future.

Technology is constantly evolving, and we are consistently looking for ways to utilise this to enhance the customer experience.

Specifically, with the advent of the digital switchover, we’ve developed a comprehensive suite of solutions to help make the transition to fibre technology go smoothly. Allied to this, we recommend system upgrades and improvements, to stay connected and future-ready.

When we start a service and maintenance contract, we know the most critical part is the beginning. This is where we clearly define thresholds and parameters. From then on, it is a partnership working towards the same goals and milestones. By having readily available data, we can act quickly and efficiently to provide the greatest support for customers whenever needed.

* UK Security Equipment, Access Control and CCTV 2021