After evaluating existing systems, the company made a change.

Mar 1, 1997 12:00 PM, By WILLIAM A. LEE

In 1996, AirTouch Cellular, Dublin, Ohio, brought Rick Roberts on board as safety and security manager in an effort to solidify its security program and centralize the functions of the security department. Roberts' first assignment was to evaluate existing systems and determine whether they met company needs. AirTouch is a growing company with more than 2,600 employees and branches throughout the Midwest.

If any systems did not measure up, I was to recommend systems that would, says Roberts. His first tasks were to establish a central security station at the main entrance of the headquarters building and to contract security personnel to administer the desk 24 hours a day. Employees wore badges, and visitors were required to log in and receive a visitor's badge before entering the facility. Once this measure was in place, Roberts evaluated the electronic access control systems to determine whether they were adequate. I was immediately required to double the size of the access control system at the Dublin headquarters, says Roberts. He also faced the challenge of monitoring security systems at two other Midwestern AirTouch branches.

To simplify the monitoring of these systems and manage the cardholder database, Roberts integrated the three systems into one central station and monitored the other two locations from headquarters. He took the following steps.

Step No. 1. Develop photo I.D. badges for all employees. To enable security officers to differentiate employees from visitors and vendors, Roberts implemented an employee photo I.D. badge system - a XeNet Video Badging System from Xetron, A Division of Pittway. He established a policy that required all employees to wear their badges at all times.

Step No. 2. Perform a security evaluation and analysis of each site. AirTouch had a different system and a different reader technology at each of the three sites I visited, says Roberts. He reviewed his options: (1) maintain the existing systems as they were; (2) change the systems at the two remote locations to make them compatible with the headquarters system; or (3) scrap all systems and start new. Roberts decided it would not be financially prudent to maintain three systems with separate technologies. He also decided the headquarters system technology needed to be upgraded if the company wanted to maintain it.

Step No. 3. Establish expectations of the new security system by asking the right questions:

* What should the system look like? Roberts knew the three locations should be monitored from one computer and that any systems selected had be controlled from a PC provided by AirTouch. The vendor had to provide the applications software for installation by AirTouch or by an installation contractor.

* Which operating system software would make the most sense? AirTouch Cellular's existing systems ran under Microsoft DOS. To make the system user-friendly and benefit from an intuitive interface, he installed Windows 95. He knew the cardholders' database was the heart of the system, so he established that any system selected had to have a non-proprietary, common database to enter all system information only once.

* Should it be a multi- or single-user system? The initial system needed to have operator stations at the security desk and in Roberts' office, and his long-range plans called for placing control points at locations other than headquarters, so he selected a multi-user system. The decision led to the next obvious question. * How would the system communicate between locations? The Information Services Network (ISN) department of AirTouch Cellular agreed to provide communications between the workstations in Dublin and between Dublin and the remote sites.

The next task was to define the system capacities for card readers, cardholders, access levels and time zones. Roberts determined that the minimum capacity for the initial system was 200 card readers with the capability for expansion. Most systems selected offered an unlimited number of access levels and time zones to provide maximum flexibility in configuring the system for control of personnel traffic within the various facilities.

During his initial review of the facilities, Roberts determined that many doors needed to be monitored with alarm inputs and control outputs, but did not need card readers. He decided maximum flexibility was important in linking any number of inputs to a single output or any number of outputs to a single input. The system had to be capable of reporting all such activities to the host computer at AirTouch Security. CCTV cameras would be installed in critical areas in the Dublin facility, and the system had to be able to interface with, and activate the cameras under an alarm condition.

The final step was to determine which reader technology was most appropriate for the facilities. Roberts selected proximity. Finally he asked: Who would install the system? He established cost guidelines and began the search for a vendor.

Step No. 4. Final review and selection. The system requirements included:

* a Windows 95-based, multi-user system capable of being loaded on a computer provided by AirTouch Cellular and operating with a non-proprietary database;

* capability of communicating over the AirTouch communications network both internally and externally;

* capability of controlling a minimum of 200 proximity card readers with an unlimited number of access levels and time zones;

* capability of monitoring alarm inputs and control outputs; and * capability of CCTV integration.

Roberts selected the XeNet System by Xetron, A Division of Pittway and its authorized dealer, Matrix Security Systems, from Dayton, Ohio. The initial system was set to control 43 Motorola Indala proximity readers at the Dublin and Worthington, Ohio, and Southfield, Mich., locations.

Step No. 5. Installation. Matrix Security Systems selected locations for each node controller and pulled internal communications wiring from the locations to card readers, door contacts and outputs. Matrix personnel then assisted Xetron personnel with the final system hookup. The database for the access system was downloaded from the AirTouch headquarters files and the node controllers at headquarters were brought on-line, as were the remote locations, with the assistance of the AirTouch I.S. Network Group.

The system consists of a Compaq computer at the security desk connected to the AirTouch Cellular network. This permits security personnel at the desk to monitor activity within the facility while performing other duties. The network connection permits Roberts to log on from his office at any time. Access to the database is restricted by passwords. Worthington and Southfield branches are connected to Dublin via the AirTouch Cellular network and operate from the common database in the Dublin computer.

Motorola Indala proximity card readers are located in all locations. The main entrance and loading dock door are controlled by an ARK-501 PinProx, a combination keypad and proximity reader by Motorola Indala. The main entrance control is for after-hours use only, while the loading dock door permits employees who exit the building for breaks to enter a keypad code to return. Both doors are secured with magnetic locks.

All doors leading from the lobby area into other interior areas are secured with t he ASR-505, a WallSwitch proximity reader also by Motorola Indala, and with door strikes. An ASR-505 is also mounted on the security desk and used by all employees entering or leaving the building during non-working hours. Javelin CCTV cameras are installed at the reception desk and loading dock.

The system uses an intuitive, icon-driven graphical user interface and operates with an ODBC-compliant Microsoft Access database. The system also offers reporting flexibility by means of SQL statements. It is a fully distributed system with the capacity to control its card readers and alarm points from a local database downloaded to each node controller from the main computer. It integrates video switching to bring live video onto the computer monitor in response to an alarm condition.

The system can be expanded to support 200 card readers, up to 65,000 cardholders, 3,000 alarm inputs and 1,600 control outputs.

Roberts' system meets his needs because he took the time to determine exactly what his company required. By considering specifics, he identified and purchased an appropriate access control system.

Rick Roberts has nine years of experience in security systems with the Secret Service (Government Agency). He also worked for three years as a security engineer at Texas Instruments in Dallas, and nine years as a security manager for Mead Security Data (currently known as Lexis Nexis) in Dayton, Ohio.

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