Cannabis Focused Vertical Enterprises Opens in St. Joseph, Missouri

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By David Strickland, Vice President of Kenton Brothers

How the KB Advantage™ helped save the day.

Vertical EnterprisesAs the Missouri Cannabis market hits full throttle, many of the early adopters are coming on line. Kenton Brothers Systems for Security is honored to be partnered with Vertical Enterprises, led by CEO Chris McHugh. Vertical Enterprises grows and manufactures Grade A flower and extracts in St Joseph Missouri.

Vertical’s state of the art facility employs the most current technology to insure purity and yield. We are most impressed by Vertical’s attention to detail when it come to the high standards they’ve brought to the Missouri Cannabis industry.

McHugh said they will provide patients the best quality indoor marijuana grown without the energy ravenous methods traditionally used for growing indoor marijuana.

Instead of using high-pressure sodium lights and retrofitting a warehouse with 30’ tall ceilings that have to be climate controlled, our facility will be 100 percent purpose-built and LED. We care about marijuana, but we also care about the planet we live on.

Vertical EnterprisesKenton Brothers Systems for Security partnered with Vertical to create a holistic security plan for the grow site as well as the dispensary locations. The goal was to keep the same attention to detail and quality as seen throughout the Vertical platform. Vertical recognized Kenton Brothers’ quality of installation and the process we take to create solutions that are not only highly secure but take into account the regulations and oversight required by the State of Missouri.

Kenton Brothers would design and integrate Access Control, IP Video Surveillance and Intrusion Detection into the Vertical Manufacturing and Grow site as well as the Dispensaries.

Kenton Brothers selected Gallagher Access control, a worldwide leader in Cannabis Security, and Milestone X Protect Digital Video Management System as the basis for the security solution. Based on Vertical’s feedback and high standards, we knew this would be the best fit for their needs.

With this solution comes the ability to manage multiple locations through one administrator and allow the State of Missouri the oversight it has regulated into the industry. It has the capability to tie into power and environmental sensors as well as track key personnel certifications and clearances thereby automating checks and balances in the spaces.

Explosion proof?

Explosion Proof CameraOne of the unique situations that came up during the integration phase was an unforeseen requirement placed on Vertical by the State to have cameras installed in an extraction booth. The unique thing about this requirement was that the cameras had to be explosion proof as the extractor uses a combustible gas as part of the process.

For this to happen, two explosion proof cameras had to be installed with only two weeks left for final inspection. Chris McHugh called Kenton Brothers and asked, “What do we need to do to make it happen?” Our answer was, “We are on it.” We needed to make some calls fast because these cameras usually take six to eight weeks to receive.

Through Kenton Brothers relationships, we were able to find two cameras and mounts that met the criteria of explosion proof on a shelf in Chicago. They had been ordered for a project that was cancelled and were available immediately. The cameras and mounts were installed in time for final inspection.

The KB Advantage™

Vertical EnterprisesKenton Brothers utilizes the KB Advantage™ process to walk customers such as Vertical Enterprises through the systems for security Integration process by taking the time to clearly understand their needs, creating the right solution and then creating the plan for installation and training. This allows us the time, energy and attitude to manage the surprises in every project.  In this case we are able to leverage our nationwide relationships to solve our customers problem in record speed.

It is a lot of fun to see projects of this size and scope come to fruition and to see our customers realize their goal of creating a world class manufacturing facility.

We love what we do at Kenton Brothers.

Our Mission is to protect People, Property and Possessions. Our Project manager Eric Searcy and our foreman Jeremy Shinneman asked that we share the following images as a testament to their craftmanship. They did a fantastic job delivering the KB Advantage™.

Vertical Enterprises Vertical Enterprises

Vertical Enterprises Vertical Enterprises

Vertical Enterprises Vertical Enterprises

COVID Fighter – Opening Office Doors Without Using Your Hands

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By Ryan Kaullen, Field Services Manager at Kenton Brothers

You can’t turn on the TV, read a news article, or go anywhere without hearing about COVID. And rightfully so. COVID is causing uncertainty in our world, but one thing is certain… Kenton Brothers is working at the forefront to help our customers stay safe and help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Wrist Pulls, Push Plates and Foot Pulls

COVID Fighter: Foot PullsRecently, we’ve been getting requests and calls for help related to door hardware. Our customers are asking, “How can we add safety features to keep our employees safe while keeping our doors/openings functional?” In response, we’ve been installing wrist pulls, push plates, and foot pulls at our customer sites to meet this growing need.

Wrist pulls, push plates, and foot pulls allow employees to go in and out of doors without using their hands. A perfect example of this type of project was the recent installation of 38 restroom doors on a multi-floor office building. We can keep the functionality of commercial doors intact, maintaining a clean and professional appearance, while increasing the health safety for the staff.

Want to know more about COVID Fighter solutions?

Is your company looking for ways to offer hands free solutions to openings at your facility? We would love the opportunity to show you our full line of COVID Fighter offerings. These include hands-free mechanical locking hardware, touchless Commercial Access Control, and Commercial Video Temperature Monitoring solutions. Give us a call!

COVID Fighter: Hands Free Mechanical Locking Hardware COVID Fighter: Hands Free Mechanical Locking Hardware

COVID-19 Technology Update: Kenton Brother’s Thermal Imaging All-in-One Mobile Cart

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To help you meet the increasing demand for thermal-sensing technology, Kenton Brothers is proud to introduce the Thermal Imaging All-in-One Mobile Cart Kit.

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COVID-19 Fighter Security Solutions – Avigilon Mask Detection

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Avigilon’s face mask detection technology can determine if a person appears on camera without face protection… and alert your team.

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Strong Passwords and Multi-Factor Authentication are no joke.

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By Neal Bellamy, IT Director at Kenton Brothers

If you’ve been following us for any length of time, you know that Kenton Brothers is all about your physical security. Today, I’d like to talk a little about a different kind of security… your digital security.

Strong Passwords

Over the past decade you should have got the message to use strong passwords. (Probably too many reminders… but are you still using the same, easy to remember password for all your accounts?)

Passwords like “JackAndJill” and “123456” are fairly easy to hack with brute force methods. Also, as more and more data breaches occur, hackers gets access to lists of usernames and passwords. So even if you did come up with the “un-hackable” password and it got leaked, it’s now compromised.

Is your password on a list somewhere?

Kenton Brothers: Strong Passwords and Multi-Factor AuthenticationDid you know there is a website that can show you how many times your password has been recorded in data breaches? The website is haveibeenpwned.com. You can go there to see if your email or password has shown up on hacked lists. By the way, there is no such thing as an unhackable password. Given enough time, with enough resources, any password can be cracked. It seems pretty dire, doesn’t it? However, there are even better ways to protect yourself.

Passphrases

One way to help protect yourself is to use stronger passwords. Better yet, use passphrases. A passphrase is generally longer than a password, which makes it harder to guess, but easier for you to remember. Think of phrases that you use around your family and work-family and use those phrases as passwords.

For example, my family is pretty sarcastic. So when talking to my daughters about getting asked out on a date, my suggested response for them is “HaHaHaYouInsignificantFool”. Throw in a couple of numbers and special characters and you’ve got an easy to remember, secure password. Just remember… not only is it important to have strong passwords, but you’ve got to change them somewhat frequently.

Password Managers: A Unique Password for Every Website

Another way to protect yourself is to use a unique password for each system or website that you use. Unfortunately, this strategy is harder to implement than it seems. I probably have 100+ unique systems and websites that I would need to remember the unique password for. My brain just doesn’t have that kind of storage. That’s where password managers come into play.

A password manager can remember the passwords for you. You just have to remember the master password for the password manager software. There are lots of options out there. Just Google “password manager” to get started. Some of the most common are LastPass, Roboform and Dashlane.

Password managers can be a little cumbersome, like when I’m browsing from my phone rather than my laptop. However, for important accounts with stored credit cards or other personal information, it’s worth the minor inconvenience.

So far, we have just been talking about passwords. An inherent weakness of a password, besides a weak password, is that they’re a single “key” you need to know to gain access to an account. Even better than a strong, unique password is to pair that password with another form of authentication.

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Kenton Brothers: Strong Passwords and Multi-Factor AuthenticationA lot of websites, including Facebook, Google, and Office365, allow Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). Multi-Factor Authentication makes sure you are who you say you are by asking for an additional “key” in tandem with your password. MFA can be PIN texted to your phone, an app on your phone that has a PIN that changes every 30 seconds, or a notification on your phone that verifies asks you to confirm you’re trying to log into your account. MFA is easier to use, easier to set up, and more secure than a solitary password.

MFA can be required every time you log in, or only when you’re logging in from a new device. When you log into a site or service, you’re asked for your username and password, but then you’re asked for your second form of authentication. After your MFA is confirmed, you can use the site or service as normal. Since your phone is often the method that your MFA uses, a hacker would need to have your password and your phone to gain access to your account.

Next time you’re given the chance to provide your cell phone number for Multi-Factor Authentication, I recommend you do so! It’s easy to set up and easier to use than a password manager. It’s also more secure than using just a password. For a website that has personal information, but doesn’t have MFA, please make sure your password is unique and strong! This will go a long way towards avoiding the pain of identity theft or other challenging situations if someone were to get into your account.