Technology & Trends - Access Control

PoE technology allows for safer environments through better security systems Power over Ethernet is both convenient and affordable, says Jonas Rehnberg of ASSA ABLOY Future Labs. The benefits to network security are immense, be it in powering security cameras with added features or enabling better access control systems and intruder deterrents. Hailed as a watershed innovation when first standardized in 2003, Power over Ethernet (PoE) offers a way of supplying electricity to n...

  HID and Abloy UK are creating the future of intelligent doors At IFSEC 2009, ASSA Abloy launched Hi-O, a new concept for electronic door solutions that improves and simplifies the installation, service and upgrade of access control systems and allows end users to create the first truly "intelligent doors". SourceSecurity.com spoke with Matt Thomas, Managing Director of Abloy UK, and Ian Compton, Director of Sales for UK, IE and Nordics for HID Global, to find out more ab...

   Key to stability during economic downturn is investment in partners and product innovation  If we are to believe the words of the Bank of England's Mervyn King, the recession may be coming to an end. No longer are we to fear the shouts of the dreaded "credit crunch" resonating from our TV screens. While green shoots of economic recovery spring up around the world, there is still enough uncertainty to warrant the question: How is the security industry...

   Hospitals need stronger 'in-depth' physical security at different entry points Within the course of any given day, a hospital or health care chief security officer (CSO) faces the task of not only protecting multiple points of access but also doing so in a way that enables movement and activity, is convenient for staff and patients and does not impede the facility's primary function: saving lives. Health care facilities exist in a wide variety of medical focus, adm...

  Cruise ships need stringent security measures Baggage x-rays, archway metal detectors, body checks, swipe card readers and more... Michael Lawton for ASSA ABLOY Future Lab delves into the world of access control security onboard cruise ships as they are subjected to the tighter security norms of the IMO and ISPS code.If you wanted to describe the security challenges of a cruise liner, you could think of a hotel inside an airport. When it comes to the...

  Integrated access control solutions have become easier to apply Leading integrated security solutions provider Honeywell explains the importance and benefits of implementing an integrated access control solution for businesses. An access control solution can be as simple as the use of electronic or magnetic swipe cards instead of keys to unlock a front door. This limited functionality still retains a considerable level of value. In most cases, businesses can limit...

  Museums facing growing security challenge with rise of armed robbery  It only takes a shocking 58 seconds to steal a painting. Jonas Rehnberg, writer at Assa Abloy Future labs, speaks to former museum security chief Ton Cremers about the safe-keeping of precious artefacts in museums and art galleries. In 2004, armed, masked robbers stormed into the Munch Museum in Oslo and stole two masterpieces - "The Scream" and "Madonna" - before the eyes of shocked spectators....

   IP connectivity featured in the latest access control products provides extra flexibility If it's been a while since you last looked at access control systems, be prepared for a surprise, says Matt Haynes of Siemens Building Technologies. For very little extra cost, the latest systems deliver a whole lot more functionality than their older counterparts. Let's be honest, even the most basic of access control systems are likely to perform some useful functions,...

Jeremy Kimber, Honeywell's EMEA Marketing Leader, lays out the key points to consider when choosing a converged access control solution. In the past few years, perhaps no security industry buzzword has been defined in articles and promotional materials as many times as 'convergence'. These definitions have most commonly referred to the integration of physical  Convergence of physical and traditional IT systems can provide compelling security benefits for an enterprise securit...

Biometric technology has been with us for over two decades, but how will it evolve over the next ten years?  John Davies, Managing Director of access control specialist TDSi, looks at the impact of biometrics and considers how future developments might shape the security industry. Biometrics is quite rightly viewed to be at the cutting edge of security technology.  From the very first commercial application of a finger print reader in 1984, we have seen new systems and applications in...

Security is now part of the mainstream in day-to-day life at most further education facilities with access control rapidly becoming the fastest growing technology as older, more basic systems are replaced.  Marc Handels, Marketing & Sales Director for SALTO Systems Ltd, looks at how security on campus is changing and how access control manufacturers are responding to develop systems to keep pace with their education customers ever more complex requirements.When it comes to security, acc...

Ulrich Wydler of Kaba discusses how recent technological developments along with increasing demand for compatible components and total solutions, have led to the development of total channel management, which challenges the traditional supplier and distribution channels.The markets for mechanical locks, electronic access control and data collection solutions have historically developed separately.  This applies to suppliers as well as their distribution channels.  Locking systems made...

Steve Hunt, President of 4A International, discusses some of the challenges associated with integrating physical security and IT and offers some practical solutions.   A chief financial officer recently told 4A International that in one month he received two purchase order requests that he could not approve.  One came from the security department for an €1 million upgrade to the access control infrastructure to manage people and their privileges to corporate assets....

Bob Randall, chief operating officer of Inkerman, took Mark Rowe out to lunch.  The terror threat is as high as it's ever been, he said; but don't panic.  Bob Randall became the corporate risk, intelligence and investigation consultancy's Chief Operating Officer recently (featured in our September issue).  A career Metropolitan Police man, he retired as a detective chief supt.  His work took in counter-terrorism, covert operations, security, major investigations,...

At a time when private security companies are coming under greater public scrutiny following two recent high profile cash snatches, the whole industry is on the verge of collapse, according to security boss, Major Frank Quigley.  Major Quigley, a retired Military Police officer who has advised the Ministry of Defence on the establishment of its own security services is a director of a rapidly expanding medium sized security company, Guarding UK Ltd.  He said: “The industry has b...

Biometrics help secure airports around the world, but the protection doesn’t stop there.  Nathan Cummings explores the application of Biometrics further. Travel to the United States, and chances are good that at the gate, you’ll be greeted by a machine rather than a person. Like a customs agent reading a passport, these machines use physical features to confirm that you really are who you claim to be – except that unlike a person, they can’t be fooled, bribed or caj...

The view that ‘dodgy' guard people will be on the way out and prices will rise for guard providers is rose-tinted, according to Douglas Greenwell, Marketing Director, of G4S Security Services (UK).  He spoke of his firm putting through price increases of about two per cent, to recover from licensing, and meeting some resistance from customers.  He said: "That's to reinforce the message - the only way prices are going to go up, or the only way we are going to improve our returns,...

Northamptonshire is the model for joined-up work on business crime, the launch event for the county-wide business crime reduction partnership heard. Introducing Northamptonshire Action Against Business Crime was Sir David O’Dowd, the former Northants chief constable who agreed to be patron of NAABC.  Sir David pointed to the December issue of Professional Security regarding the latest British Retail Consortium crime survey.  He described NAABC as the next evolutionary step in th...

What might police modernisation mean for private security companies and consultancies?  Alan Beckley, director, Baddiley Associates, offers some pointers. Greater inclusion in the ‘extended family of policing’ Need to form new relationships based on new police structure Need to understand new boundaries and new responsibilities Vigilance to spot new opportunities and police tasks, roles and responsibilities that fall off the list of police priorities Vig...

The venue for a recent business crime conference was an example of good practice, the event heard.   Bob Golding, Warwickshire Police Assistant Chief Constable and ACPO lead on business crime, was among speakers at the Belfry golf club.  Welcoming the audience to Warwickshire, ACC Golding said he hoped that their cars would not be broken into.  Such crime at the club near Birmingham - thieves breaking into cars to take laptops, on view on back seats - is no longer a hot-spot...