electronic access control

Project Spotlight: City of Columbia Access Control

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By Brian Nutt, Mid Mo Territory Manager for Kenton Brothers, talking about an access control project for the City of Columbia

A long term relationship leads to a long term project.

Kenton Brothers Systems for Security - City of Columbia Access Control ProjectStacy Wessing and Brian Nutt from our Mid Mo team have worked with the City of Columbia for over 10 years on numerous projects, some of which included battery backup systems for their data centers, virtualization software, networking equipment, and downtown surveillance cameras. Brian and Stacy have also worked at a previous employer together with some of the City’s current staff. The City knew we could deliver on a project as promised from previous successful experiences and a solid relationship.

In 2017, the City of Columbia issued an RFP for replacing their existing access control system. The existing system had reached end of life and was falling short in the City’s expectations of functionality, manageability and convergence. The RFP was very detailed on expectations of a new system and Kenton Brothers partner, S2 Security, fit this requirement perfectly. The RFP involved several buildings that must communicate with a centralized controller and provide individual site administration.

Upon award of the RFP to KB, several meetings were held to discuss a strategic deployment that would have little to no impact on the City’s day to day functions. The deployment then started with first installing the new controller and setting up schedules and user profiles. The City put together a team to refresh their existing data base and provide a current profile for KB to implement. KB’s own Neal Bellamy was deeply involved with each step of the initial programming of the new controller. The design and build of the controller was a phenomenal success, very few changes were needed and those were rapidly handled by KB’s support team.

Then the deployment began of each City property involved. Each site has new nodes, some of them with multiple nodes, that all must communicate back to the main controller. New card readers were installed at every location to enhance the City’s physical security credential. KB moved right along, as pre-staging and pre-programming of the new equipment was completed by KB and the City for each site, a few days before installation.

As each site was turned up, users experienced very few changes to their typical means of access, which was the intention all along. To install a new system at each site and have very little impact to the City’s day to day business for their citizens and employees. A weekly conference call was scheduled by KB to review the prior week’s install and, to provide a fully engaged project management team with a means for communication of status updates to the City. The City staff is great at letting KB know any perceived potential caveats so that a plan could be implemented in a timely fashion.

In just a couple months on-site, KB is nearing completion of the entire project, which is 3 months ahead of schedule. It takes a great collaboration with the customer, a very detailed plan of execution, and a great team concept. KB’s involvement with the customer at each and every step of this entire project has made it a great success. Special thanks go out to each and every City employee involved and the great installation team at KB. David Potter and Paul Rudkin did a great installation job on every site and, they have made this project a great success for the City and KB.

Getting Back to School Safely

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By Will Zurcher, Installation Manager at Kenton Brothers

ClassroomSecuring the front entrance of any facility can be challenging. Securing a school’s front entrance is possibly the most challenging project a company like ours can be asked to provide.

Schools present unique obstacles.

  • Parents don’t want to drop their children off in the morning to a building that resembles a prison. It makes sense to make sure people on the inside are safe from external threats. But we have to remember that a facility that is harder to get into is also harder to get out of.
  • In the design phase, we have to always keep in mind that the majority of the users are going to be children and visitors. And they aren’t necessarily familiar with the facility, so the systems put in place have to be easy for them to use.
  • There are situations when the systems we put in place will need to be bypassed to accommodate large groups of people to pass freely in and out of the building.

Realistically, with the budgets that schools are faced with, creating a 100% secure front entrance is often not possible.

When starting the design process, we must first work on funneling all of the traffic to the front entrance in order to control access to the building. This can be done with fencing to deter trespassing and limit access to secondary entrances. Cameras monitor perimeter entry points and notify staff of any unknown traffic around the facility. The cameras can double as monitoring tools for recesses and transition periods. Door “position” switches can also be installed to notify staff of any unlocked entry points.

With these options in place, any unauthorized people would need to proceed to the office in order to gain entry into the building.

Recently, front entrances have been designed or remodeled to have a double door style entrance which allows visitors free entrance into a secured vestibule area. This allows front office staff to clearly identify visitors.

In the vestibule area, there’s a second set of access controlled doors that lead into the school. There’s also a single access control door that leads into the office. These doors will be outfitted with locking mechanisms that are “fail secure”. This means that if the school loses power, the doors will remain locked.

Outside the office entry door there is an intercom system for the visitor to communicate with the office staff. If no threat is detected, the staff has a button to release the door lock, allowing the visitor entry into the office to sign in. This process allows the office staff to keep track of everyone in the building. It also allows the office staff to notify the authorities of any threats with a duress / panic button while securely delaying the threat long enough for the authorities to get there.

Kenton Brothers understands all of these situations. We help schools implement easy-to-use and reliable solutions while working with the staff to put procedures in place for emergency situations. Give us a call to learn more.

K.I.S.S. with SimpleK

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Kenton Brothers: SimpleK Key Management SystemOne of the many things we do for our clients is help them with the complicated task of managing their keys.

At some point, we’ve all heard the acronym K.I.S.S. (Keep it simple, stupid!) Managing master key systems and keys for a large facility can be a challenging task. The number of keys, doors, and people involved requires a powerful and efficient tool.

We keep it simple for you with SimpleK!

SimpleK is the most advanced key and master key systems management software available. It provides a large set of features for physical security and facility management, and relies on a strong relational SQL Database.

With SimpleK, we can efficiently manage master key systems, keys, key rings, key holders, buildings, doors, requests, work orders, and floor plans. We’re able to maintain a database of all types, sizes, and details of all door hardware throughout your entire facility.

Kenton Brothers: SimpleK Key Management SystemOur technicians gather all your door information (including photos) with a mobile application while doing site surveys. Once this information is collected, we’re able to put it all into a master key system and database. This allows us to quickly gather information for specific locations when repairs and additional keys are needed.

All you have to do is provide the location of your doors.

At Kenton Brothers, Service Quality and Customer Focus are two of our core values.  We believe that using SimpleK is another way to achieve those goals. If you have any questions about the SimpleK system, please give us a call!

Project Update: Salvation Army Centralized Management System

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Salvation ArmyWe’ve had a relationship with the Salvation Army for many years from a locksmith perspective. Over time, we began to do more of their technology based applications for access control and video at locations around the city.

About two years ago, we approached the Salvation Army about implementing our centralized management system. This system uses IP based technology that allows their headquarters to see all of their locations, while allowing autonomous administration at each location.

The cost savings would be substantial because of standardizing their systems and sharing the IT investment in servers and switches across their locations. We’ve helped them through many iterations of the design while facilitating meetings with decision makers and their board of directors. We’re excited to announce that we’ve won the business!

Their ultimate goal is to incorporate not just the IP video and IP intercom systems, but to also include access control.  There are approximately thirteen locations we’ve included in our project planning. The Linwood location is the first facility to get the upgrades.

Salvation ArmyOur installation crew began the project by pulling new CAT 6 cable for each new camera and intercom location. This was no easy task because it’s a four-story building. We installed eight exterior cameras ranging from Pan/Tilt/Zoom models to 270-degree and interior dome cameras. We also installed a 2N intercom system with three Grandstream desk stations. We installed PC based viewing stations that communicate with video servers at each location.

We’ve really enjoyed our experience working with Salvation Army and their staff. We’ve delivered a solution that makes their work for the community easier, safer and more productive!

The Benefits of Integrated Security VS Physical Security Guards

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integrated-security-graphic_215x263Security comes in all shapes and sizes—sometimes literally. Determining what type of security system you should implement depends on multiple factors, including your location, industry, staff size, and more. Not to mention that the two can sometimes be like apples and oranges, serving entirely different functions depending on the need.

So how do you compare benefits of physical security guards versus a fully-integrated system? Let’s start with security guards.

Regardless of the reasoning behind your search for a security system, it’s important to consider the size of your location, the amount of locations you have, the type of industry you’re in, the surrounding businesses, as well as business hours and general visibility as you begin looking at your options.

According to Tory Brownyard, there are many benefits to physical security guards depending on these variables.

“Officers are usually more effective for live events, special events, schools during school hours, retail facilities while they are open and wherever the threat of bodily injury is a concern,” says Brownyard. “In fact, some ask their officers to perform only “observe and report” functions, a choice that can lower the cost of the guard firm, as well as the guard firm’s liability.”

Unfortunately, in terms of cost, security patrol can range anywhere between $10 dollars an hour to $100 dollars an hour, not to mention the sheer massive liability that comes with human error.

And those rates can increase to untenable overhead costs at your business’ expense. According to an article from CostHelper.com, simply, “the time of day also affects pricing. Security guards working at a late-night party in the city may cost $30-$50 per hour, for example. An off-duty police officer typically costs $40-$60 per hour for security guard services. Interested clients can contact a local police department for availability and rates, which can be expensive because the officer is working overtime.”

From a cost perspective, integrated security systems are more of an up-front investment, but it pays back in the long haul.

According to Security Info Watch, “Security personnel, when deciding if managed security was the way to go for them, examined a number of factors and, in many instances, acknowledge they no longer have the manpower, infrastructure, capital or time to stay on top of all the moving parts needed to run and maintain an access control system.”

And without manpower to act as a deterrent to break-ins and other issues, your business is looking at a loss of data, equipment, an impact on the public perception of your location, possible harm to your staff and your clients alike.

In a recent study of 1,500 people conducted by Eagle Eye Networks, more than 70 percent of adults favor using video surveillance in schools.

“An overwhelming majority of survey respondents also felt that parents should be able to view video of their children at preschool and daycare (77 percent) as well as in K-12 schools (72 percent) …another 59 percent of respondents said that video should be used to provide real-time insights during emergencies and 57 percent said cameras should be used to deter crimes. Nearly 8 in 10 respondents believed it was important that first responders be granted real-time access to school surveillance cameras.”

The benefits of a custom-made, integrated security system far outweigh the alternatives, and it makes sense, too. In a time where technology rules our every day lives, it has outsmarted the possibilities of human error and can detect a variety of system errors without breaking a sweat.

This article originally appeared in Security Today Magazine and is written by Phil Lake