The Fortified Village: A Fable of Kenton Brothers Systems for Security in the Medieval Realm

By David Strickland, Vice President of Kenton Brothers

Welcome to Eldoria

The Fortified Village: A Fable of Kenton Brothers Systems for Security in the Medieval RealmIn a distant medieval realm, nestled between rolling hills and dense forests, there existed a peaceful village named Eldoria. The villagers, content in their simple lives, lived in harmony with the land. However, peace is a fragile thing, and the tranquility of Eldoria was shattered when rumors of marauding bandits spread like wildfire. Travelling caravans spoke of their perils and the destruction left behind by these marauders.

These bandits, known for their cunning and ruthlessness, struck fear into the hearts of the villagers. As the threat loomed larger with each passing day, the village elders gathered to seek a solution. It was then that a wise elder, known for his sagacity, spoke of a distant land named Kansas City where Kenton Brothers Systems for Security thrived. This organization, led by the great Lady Gina of Lee’s Summit, was known across the land as the protector of the realm.

Emissaries were dispatched to seek the aid of Lady Gina and Kenton Brothers, and after a long and perilous journey, they arrived at the gates of the city to visit the renowned security experts. The village’s plight reached the ears of Lady Gina and her band of Knights. It was agreed that something must be done to help the people of Eldoria.

The emissaries returned to Eldoria with the good news.

The villagers were filled with hope as they eagerly awaited the arrival of the Kenton Brothers Knights that promised to fortify their village and repel the bandit threat. A caravan bearing the emblem of Kenton Brothers arrived in Eldoria. The villagers marveled at the advanced equipment and the skilled craftsmen who had journeyed to their humble abode.

The head of the caravan, a seasoned security expert named Sir Neal of Systems addressed the villagers.

“Fear not, good people of Eldoria, Lady Gina has heard your pleas for help. Kenton Brothers stands ready to fortify your village against the menace that plagues you,” Sir Neal proclaimed. The crowd cheered as Sir Neal dispatched the Knights of Kenton Brothers across the village to assess the current state of defenses.

Gathering that evening in the Great Tent of Engineering, the knights reported all levels of defensive capabilities and the changes need to repel the great horde of bandits quickly closing in on the village. The Eldoria leaders grew fearful as they heard the reports and understood how poorly the city was prepared for what was to come.

All Eldorian hearts were heavy until Sir Ryan of Service loudly proclaimed that there was no task too great for Kenton Brothers Systems for Security and that working together with Eldoria, great works could be done and they will be prepared to face the threat! The Eldorians were filled with confidence from the Knight’s enthusiastic statement and cheered their support! Laboring through the night, assisted by oil lamps,  Kenton Brothers and the Eldoria leaders created a plan that would preserve their village and surrounding areas.

And so, the work began.

The craftsmen from Kenton Brothers labored day and night, constructing a formidable perimeter around the village. Towering walls were erected, equipped with state-of-the-art surveillance systems that could detect the slightest movement in the surrounding forests. Access control points were installed, ensuring that only those with the villagers’ best interests at heart could enter. Village elders were trained in recognizing threats and identifying counter measures. They in turn trained other villagers on situational awareness and what steps to take to keep their crops, livestock and family safe.

As the villagers observed the transformation, a newfound sense of security enveloped Eldoria. The once fearful whispers were replaced with hopeful conversations, and the children played freely in the meadows once again.

The Bandits

The bandits, hackers, thieves and nare do wells have had an easy time raiding villages throughout the land. Running unopposed across the lands, growing rich in spoils and reputation. Many times raiding abandoned villages as the people would run away in fear the night before. The Bandits numbers growing daily as evildoers all over the realm sought out easy payoffs.

Unaware of the changes taking place in Eldoria, the bandits planned their next raid. Little did they know that Eldoria was no longer an easy target. The night they chose to strike was a dark and bitter night.

As the bandits approached under cover of darkness, they began to set off perimeter alarms. The Eldorian villagers were alerted and immediately sprang to action. Alerts were repeated and everyone assumed their given role and position on the defensive line. All of this before the bandits even knew they had been detected.

The bandits launched their first attack! The bandits encountered an impenetrable barrier – the walls of Eldoria fortified by Kenton Brothers Systems for Security. As the bandits futilely attempted to breach the village, the surveillance systems alerted the villagers and the guards stationed at strategic points. Sir Neal of Systems, leading the defense, rallied the villagers to stand united against the common enemy. The bandits, disoriented and outmatched, were forced to retreat into the darkness from whence they came.

Enraged, the leader of the bandits decided to try again by attacking the rear defenses. There stood Sir Ryan and his Eldorian defenders waiting on the bandits as the surveillance system tracked their movements through the forest. All night long, wave after wave of bandits crashed unsuccessfully against the defenses. Cheers arose at dawn’s light as the bandits scurried into the forest in defeat.

Huzzah!

Word of Eldoria’s successful defense spread far and wide, reaching the ears of neighboring villages facing similar threats. The reputation of lady Gina and Kenton Brothers Systems for Security soared, and emissaries from other realms sought their expertise to fortify their own villages against banditry and other perils.

Emboldened by their success, the villagers of Eldoria embraced their newfound security with gratitude. The partnership forged with Kenton Brothers became a symbol of hope, illustrating how advanced security solutions could safeguard even the most vulnerable communities.

As the years passed, Eldoria thrived under the watchful eyes of the Kenton Brothers and their band of Knights and craftsmen. The villagers no longer lived in constant fear, and the bandits, aware of the impenetrable defense, dared not approach the fortified village. The people of Eldoria flourished, their once humble abode transformed into a beacon of safety and prosperity across the lands.

And so, the tale of Eldoria became a legend passed down through generations – a testament to the transformative power of Kenton Brothers Systems for Security in a medieval realm. The villagers lived in peace, secure in the knowledge that their fortified village was a shining example of how innovation and collaboration could triumph over adversity.

If your village is in danger, please send a rider at once!

Which ADA Operator is right for my business?

Which ADA Operator is right for my business?By Ryan Kaullen, Field Services Manager at Kenton Brothers

An ADA Operator is a device that you install on a door to make it suitable for people who need help opening and holding open a door. ADA Operators come in many styles, offerings, and sizes to help meet the needs of a facilities openings. Operators can be integrated to work with a company’s access control platform and can be set to work on specific schedules.

The question becomes which ADA Operator is right for my business?

First let’s discuss some of the common type of ADA Operators.

Low-Energy Operators, Power-Assist Operators, and Full Power Operators are some of the most common types. Each of these Operators are made for a specific purpose:

Low-Energy Operator

A Low-Energy operator allows users of all types of mobility to select either manual operation or automatic operation of the door.

Power-Assist Operator

A Power-Assist Operator uses a motor driven mechanism inside the device to open and close the door, it senses the presence of a person trying to open the door and assists them in doing so.

Full-Power Operator

Full-Power (Or Energy) Operators use more energy to quickly open the doors with a higher amount of force. They use sensors, guide rails, have variable closing speeds, and other internal tools to help at the opening.

Which ADA Operator is right for my business? Which ADA Operator is right for my business?

Access Control Integration and ADA Buttons

Which ADA Operator is right for my business?Next let’s discuss the integration of the operators.

Kenton Brothers installs hundreds of Operators each and every year, and a large portion of these are integrated with our customer’s access control platform. The benefits are simple: They can be controlled via schedules, they work in tandem with physical door hardware to keep your facility secure, they allow employees and or patrons with mobility issues to gain entry at correct times, and the operators become an integral part of the building design.

I also wanted to mention ADA buttons.

ADA buttons can be hardwired, wireless, and wave actuated. Button selection is determined by many things including wire paths available; do you want people touching the buttons or not, location of buttons, and aesthetics. Buttons also come in different sizes depending on the available space in the location where they will be installed.

If you have any questions regarding ADA Operators and how they can fit into your facility’s safety and security methods, please contact one of our security consultants to learn more.

SALTO Systems: Unique Access Control Solutions for a 100+ Year Old Building

By Ryan Kaullen, Field Services Manager at Kenton Brothers

SALTO Systems: Unique Access Control SolutionsIn late 2023, Kenton Brothers was approached by a property management company about adding access control to a local, 100+ year old tenant-based building in Kansas City, MO. The building has more than 16 floors and multiple elevators needed access control. As you can imagine, when the building was being built access control was not in the minds of the architect nor builders. So, the task became how does Kenton Brothers provide access control for this unique situation while keeping costs in-line with the customer’s budget?

SALTO Systems

The answer was an access control platform that supports both online and offline locks while at same time being able to take care of access control for the elevators. The system is made by a company called SALTO Systems. Their array of lock solutions allowed Kenton Brothers technicians to install cable where it was accessible to connect to the server and have some of the locks being online, while also being able to install locks at doors where cable wasn’t an option. All while still granting access or denying access depending on the credential presented.

Here is the interesting feature of this system: Online readers re-program each card as they are presented, and then the new information is carried to the offline locks the next time they are used. This allows the system to be centrally managed without running wires to every lock. (Remember, this building is over 100 years old.) Pretty cool, right?

Our solution allows the property management company to grant access to individuals with the correct credentials into certain spaces like the gym, pool area, rooftop, etc. And they can deny individuals who should not have access to those spaces. Without the SALTO access control system, this is almost impossible to control.

SALTO Systems: Unique Access Control Solutions SALTO Systems: Unique Access Control Solutions

The next phase of the project was the elevators.

To accomplish getting readers to work with the elevators, and the readers needing to be offline readers, Kenton Brothers worked closely with the elevator company whose software and the access control software would work in tandem to take tenants to the correct floors while still allowing the property management company to program proper access to the readers. This was a close coordination between our team and the elevator company to accomplish our customer’s goals. And this was crucial to the success of the project because it again helps keep the flow of traffic of people going to the correct floors where they are allowed to be.

Projects like these are what Kenton Brothers loves to take on. These kinds of projects make us think outside the box, deliver one-of-a-kind systems, and come up with unique and customizable solutions to take care of the customer.  This is the type of work that has made Kenton Brothers stand out for over 127 years.

To see how Kenton Brothers can help with your unique needs, please give us a call.

SALTO Systems: Unique Access Control Solutions SALTO Systems: Unique Access Control Solutions

Parks and Rec Project: No Network? No Power? No problem.

By Neal Bellamy, IT Director at Kenton Brothers

Challenging installs are our specialty.

Parks and Rec Project: No Network? No Power? No problem. We love a good challenge, and love creating the right solution to meet the need. The latest challenge comes in the way of no network, lots of trees, and in some places… no power.

A local county Parks and Recreation group came to us with several places they wanted to have cameras. They have an existing Milestone commercial video surveillance system in the county, but it was not integrated with their parks and rec department. The team wanted to cover marinas, several park shelters around lakes, and a few trailheads that had no power. The final goal was to integrate everything into the Milestone platform so there is more visibility.

Remote Locations

The first challenge is how remote some of the locations are. An internet connection was available in 8 of the 30+ locations they wanted cameras, but the internet connections were not very strong or fast. We need to make sure the cameras are recording reliably, so we placed servers at the 8 locations as centralized storage spots for the cameras around each area. In one instance, we installed a server at the marina.

Parks and Rec Project: No Network? No Power? No problem. Parks and Rec Project: No Network? No Power? No problem.

No Local Area Network (LAN)

The second challenge is that there is no network at several of the shelters where the department wanted cameras. Of course, wireless radios are nothing new, but we have lots of trees in the way. We had to get pretty creative to make a path from the cameras back to the marina, with line of sight for the radios and the least number of “hops”. There were several times we had to direct the signal away from the marina so that we could collect many signals in one place, and then send it all back to be recorded on the marina server.

No Power

No network is for sure a challenge. But the hardest challenge can be no power. We had to move  to a solar solution to power the cameras.

It’s always fun to overcome technical challenges. Projects like these are memorable and satisfying. Do you have an interesting situation to deal with as you consider improving your commercial security posture? We’ve dealth with literally hundreds, and if you have something new, we would love to tackle it with you. Please give us a call.

Two Powerful Tools to Help Schools Support a Secure Environment for Learning

By David Strickland, Vice President of Kenton Brothers

At Kenton Brothers Systems for Security, we are proud of our role in protecting People, Property and Possessions, especially when it comes to our partnerships within education. With that in mind, we are happy to spotlight a new collaborative effort that is paying off big time. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) are teaming up to help schools become more secure and to better support a learning environment. They’ve released two guides to help schools create great security plans and to help pay for them!

First, The CISA Resources and DHS Grants guide helps orientate school districts to the multitude of resources available to them to support school security. These include the new collaborative website called:

www.SCHOOLSAFETY.gov

This is an interagency website created by the Federal government to provide schools and districts with actionable recommendations to create safe and supportive environments for students and educators.

The K-12  SCHOOL SECURITY GUIDE PRODUCT SUITE

The K-12 School Security Guide Product Suite is designed to provide K-12 districts and campuses with resources, tools, and strategies to improve school physical security. The suite outlines action-oriented practices and helps schools and districts learn the steps necessary to assess vulnerabilities, strengthen security, and better protect against a range of targeted violence and other threats.

K-12 BYSTANDER REPORTING TOOLKIT

The K-12 Bystander Reporting Toolkit supports K-12 schools and districts in strengthening school safety reporting programs and encouraging bystander reporting among students and other members of the school community.

NATIONAL SUMMIT ON K-12 SCHOOL SAFETY AND SECURITY

The School Safety Task Force (SSTF) hosts an annual National Summit on K-12 School Safety and Security to bring Federal, state, and local school leaders together to share actionable recommendations that enhance safe and supportive learning environments.

GRANTS FINDER TOOL

SchoolSafety.gov’s Grants Finder tool houses school safety-related Federal grants in one centralized location and provides members of the K-12 school community with a variety of ways to search for and access funding opportunities. The tool features multiple of Federally available school safety-specific grants searchable based on school safety topic, award amount, application level of effort, and more.

Two Powerful Tools to Help Schools Support a Secure Environment for Learning

CISA Resources and DHS Grants.pdf

Social Media Threat Guidance for School Staff and Authorities

In late December 2023, DHA and CISA published the Social Media Threat Guidance for School Staff and Authorities Infographic. It highlights social media threats affecting school districts in the United States. It goes a step further by providing mitigation and response measures for social media threats directed at a school district. It also connects school safety stakeholders to the suite of tools and resources provided by CISA and its partners to promote a culture of readiness and preparedness.

Technology has revolutionized the American school system, making education more accessible than ever before.  However, the advancements and accessibility of various social media platforms continue to reveal new vulnerabilities and security gaps within the school threat landscape. In the United States, social media-based threats to school districts continue to rise; in 2022, school districts reported closing more frequently due to social media threats than for COVID-19 outbreaks.

Download this powerful resource here:

Two Powerful Tools to Help Schools Support a Secure Environment for Learning

Social Media Threat Guidance for School Staff and Authorities Infographic.pdf

This collaborative approach from DHS and CISA in helping schools understand what resources are available to them and providing financial resources to support the initiatives is a step in the right direction. Kenton Brothers is happy to help guide schools through this process. Please give us a call today.