Card Access a Popular solution in Bermuda

Dec 1, 1997 12:00 PM, Staff

Among Bermuda's 60,000 residents, access control cards issued by security company Bermuda Central Station are almost as common as driver's licenses and library cards.

Within the capital city of Hamilton, most of the 28 major commercial facilities have access control systems that were sold and installed and are centrally monitored by Bermuda Central Station and Island Wide Security, Bermuda Security Group companies. As a result, more than 4,500 employees carry access control cards.

The backbone of the system is a C-Cure 1 Plus access control and security management system from Sensormatic Electronics, Boca Raton, Fla. The system uses Digital Equipment's Microvax computer as its host platform. Workstations provide a graphical user interface using Windows 95.

In the field, the system includes 34 Sensormatic apC (advanced processing controller) panels along with about 250 card readers. Dedicated phone lines are used to transmit information from the panels to the C*Cure 1 Plus unit located at Island Wide Security's central monitoring station.

14 miles long and one mile wide Bermuda is a self-governing British colony in the western North Atlantic Ocean. Its seven main and 150 smaller coral islands are located about 570 miles east of Cape Hatteras, N.C. The main islands, linked by bridges, form what is known as Great Bermuda, an island cluster about 14 miles long and one mile wide. Most of Bermuda's population lives on Great Bermuda and in the capital city of Hamilton.

One of Island Wide's clients is Bermuda's only general hospital, the 350-bed King Edward VII Memorial Hospital. About 40 card readers are used to protect sensitive areas, such as the intensive care unit, pharmacy and operating theaters - areas where the public is not welcome. At midnight, the system automatically locks exterior perimeter doors and reopens them at 6 a.m. The entrance to the emergency department remains open 24 hours a day.

Bill Black, president of the Bermuda Security Group, says problems with the islands' teenagers and young adults, usually on weekends, brought about the need for an access control system. "When one of their friends is injured and taken to the hospital for treatment, all of them try to come into the room at the same time, and that was causing some major problems for the medical staff," he says.

In the extended care section, card readers are located on the inside of the doors to prevent Alzheimer's patients from wandering away from the facility.

2,000 students use cards and readers Another large user is Bermuda College. The school, with about 2,000 students and 230 faculty and staff, offers associate degrees and certificates in arts and sciences, hotel and business administration and applied science. Bermuda College was founded in 1974 and is comprised of nine buildings that include classrooms, student and faculty centers and a library.

Seven apC panels and 50 card readers protect the campus. Those areas with controlled access include laboratories, computer rooms, certain classrooms and the audio/visual department, which contains an expensive teleconferencing facility.

Other major clients include Cable and Wireless, an international telecommunications company with regional headquarters in Devonshire and Hamilton, and Bacardi Rum, with headquarters in Hamilton. Bacardi, which moved to Bermuda from Cuba in 1959 when Communists took control of Cuba, is using a Sensormatic EZ Entry access control panel to control the opening and closing of a large sliding steel door on the company's parking garage.

Island-wide monitoring Most other buildings monitored by Island Wide Security/Bermuda Central Station are multi-tenant office buildings. Due to height restrictions on Bermuda, none is taller than six stories. Typically, says Black, the owner of a building will purchase an initial apC panel and readers to control access to the main entrances. Then tenants will protect their own space by linking to the system with additional panels and card readers.

"We just completed installing a system in one large building that includes three panels, one installed by the owner to control the entrances and elevators, a second to control access to 5th and 6th floor office space and a third for other tenant space," he says.

All system activities are recorded, transferred to a tape drive and stored for 18 months. Black says most of his clients are provided with a monthly record of who has come and gone at their facilities. One Island Wide client is currently using the access control system for time and attendance.

All access cards are programmed by Island Wide. Clients fax information about new or terminated employees and the changes are made within minutes. Each client has a unique site code. The cards can also be coded to place, time and location restrictions. Black says several of his clients are considering the option of using photo identification badges.

He says most clients rely on the system for the automatic lockdown of their doors. From the central station, Island Wide personnel can lock and unlock doors if there is a change in a client's routine such as might occur on weekends or holidays. There was an instance where the holder of an access card had been dismissed, and the business owner failed to collect the access card. The former employee twice attempted to gain entry to the premises, but failed. He was later arrested for attempted breaking and entering.

Island Wide Security/Bermuda Central Station also monitors about 800 burglar and 600 fire alarm systems, as well as several closed-circuit-television systems. A minimum of two security officers are on duty in the central station at any time. The company also maintains its own security guard service.

The response to an alarm is determined by the need of the specific client and can range from calling a key contact to sending Island Wide's security personnel or local law enforcement officials.

Island Wide also provides electronic article surveillance (EAS) systems to Hamilton's 10 largest retail stores, using Sensormatic's Ultra-Max EAS system.

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