Archive for category: Access Control

By Neal Bellamy, IT Director at Kenton Brothers

When a mechanic looks at a car, he doesn’t see a specific brand, model or color. He really sees the overall system. He sees an engine, brakes and wheels. Whether it’s a Model T or a Tesla, if the engine doesn’t work, it won’t go anywhere; if the brakes don’t work, it doesn’t stop and of course flat wheels don’t roll. Access control systems are similar. They’re really just a set of inputs, output and readers.

When it comes to access control systems in detention centers, they usually don’t need readers. This is the reason that PLCs (Programming Logic Controllers) dominate access control for detention centers.

What are PLCs?

PLCs, created in the 1960’s, are most commonly a simple set of inputs and outputs. Because they’ve been around for so long, and lend themselves to centralized control, most detention centers are driven from a PLC. A PLC reads an input from a touchscreen to open a door, connect an intercom, or turn on a light. An open door illuminates on the touchscreen to show it’s not secured. The PLC might even be tied to cameras to show a specific camera when an intercom is pressed. It’s all ITTT logic; If This, Then That.

There is a lot of overlap between a PLC in a detention center and access control. Access control still needs to be able to open a door and show that a door is unlocked. An access control system might even be tied to intercoms or a video system. However, most access control systems are not designed for lights, water valves or guard tours. That’s when you need something that fits in between.

PLC Challenges

One of the issues with a PLC is that it’s mostly wires. Changes to a PLC system are difficult and can be expensive. Most integrations from an intercom system or a video system are done with wires. If you have a hundred cameras, you have a hundred wires. 50 intercoms require 50 wires.

Sometimes, there are communication-based integrations. But even then, station 10 will always be station 10. Even if station 10 ends up being in a closet after a remodel, it is still station 10.  Even small changes to a touchscreen require hours of programming by specialized personnel. While PLC systems can talk to other systems like intercoms and cameras, they are still separate systems with separate interfaces. It’s not all managed through one “pane of glass”.

It’s time for this situation to change.

Access control systems like Gallagher still handle the inputs and outputs like a PLC system does, but these updated systems add flexibility.

Gallagher integrations with intercom systems like Harding, and video systems like Milestone are purely programming and IP based. Changes in the Milestone system get reflected in the Gallagher programming. Changing and adding cameras, intercoms, doors or moving a map are as simple as clicking edit on the site map. Everything can be managed through the Gallagher interface. Connecting an intercom, initiating a lockdown, turning lights on and off are all handled through the click of a button. If a door is opened and it shouldn’t be, Gallagher can bring it to the forefront so it can be dealt with. Alerts, automated instructions, logs and alarm escalations are all built right into the software.

While a Model T and a Tesla might both have an engine, brakes and wheels, no one would ever say that they’re equals. Both cars might get you to where you’re going, but one of them will drive itself to your destination with the AC on while playing music from your favorite radio station.

PLCs are getting the job done for detention centers across the country, but wouldn’t you like to have a solution that gives you more features and flexibility, while costing you less?

We can help you get there. Just give us a call.

By Alana Hanly, Security Consultant at Kenton Brothers

One of the most critical aspects of planning a commercial security system design for a facility is organization. Taking the time to get the details right ensures that all users of the system easily understand how the various components and functions will work together. One of the topics that can cause a lot of confusion is how to verbally reference a specific door inside your building(s).

Depending on the size and nature of your business, an organization can end up having to secure a lot of doors!

Part of the KB Advantage is that we take pride in creating custom solutions for our clients. And that’s not marketing speak… We actually enjoy the process of working with you to design customized commercial security systems that will protect your people, property and possessions. We also like partnering with you to maintain or update your existing commercial security systems. Knowing that employees feel safer, and security officers have more confidence in their system, puts a smile on our face.

Regardless of the size of your access control system, it’s a good rule of thumb to have a naming convention established for the various doors in your system. For smaller systems, this is as easy as naming a door Main Entry or Employee Door. But what about when we’re talking about a system that has 10, 20, or even 500 doors? This is where you will see the value of our 125 years of experience providing commercial security solutions to businesses nationally.

A Conversation with Vince

I sat down with one of our employees, Vince Gelei, to learn more about our best practices for door naming conventions. Vince is experienced in the process of building and programming the many access control systems we provide for our customers.

Sometimes, it’s hard to put into perspective the number of devices that are involved in the access control programming for a single door. Without having some structure, the system can become convoluted and hard for both the end user and integrator to operate and maintain. Vince provided some great insight on the key factors for developing such a framework within an access control system:

• End User’s Security Capacity – Determining the technical level of our customers plays a big part in system design. (We can’t provide a solution that’s hard for our customers to understand and use.) We want to make sure the final naming conventions will be an intuitive reference for the end user. This is the first priority in system programming.
• Access Control System – The commercial security system that the customer has chosen also plays a big part in how we set up naming conventions. The capabilities of their system dictate what we can and cannot do when setting up doors and their naming structure.
• Territory or Location – We would want to set up a City Reference if you have a national presence. For a specific region all the way down to a single building, we would set up a Building Reference. (These terms are the first step in verbally referencing a specific door.)
• Total Door Count of Site – When we know ahead of time how many doors are on site and how they function, we can document this in your access control system. (This is not a feature supported in all access control platforms. This is another reason why our system design process is critical.)
• Site Floor Plans – With existing floor plans we can document the solution for quick reference.
• Door Numbers – Do the facilities have pre-established door numbers? If your building already has door numbers, we would simply leverage that convention.
• Potential for Growth – Is this just the first phase of implementing a commercial security solution for your organization? If so, we want to plan for future phases and the growth of your organization. Trying to develop this afterwards can be a nightmare!

Vince also goes on to explain, “A door could be named doors, access points, portals, etc. in your existing system. We help our customers rename them in a way that end users operating the system will be able to quickly identify the physical location of any door. Of course, with larger sites there is more complexity. We work with the end user to create a site-specific nomenclature that is typically composed of literal door numbering, but also acronyms to codify and differentiate the different locations.”

The overall recommendation from Vince is that door naming is a small but important detail when planning out your security system.

At Kenton Brothers, we have the experience of working closely with our customers and partners to design and implement customized commercial security solutions. Whether it’s time for you to plan and build out your first solution or update your existing security systems, give us a call. We would love to help you.