Integrating existing equipment with new technology creates state-of-the-art

Mar 1, 1997 12:00 PM, By JANIE JARVIS

The Mellon Bank Center is a 54-floor building in Philadelphia that houses about 40 office tenants. Although the access control computer system installed during construction six years ago was still sound, employees were increasingly frustrated by the stodgy, outdated system.

The system was becoming very slow, says building business manager Dudley Sykes. Extracting data and preparing reports was difficult, and, in general, the software was not user-friendly. We never know what kind of requests we are going to get, so we like having the flexibility to piece reports together, or to organize data into reports. We were also starting to experience some computer downtime. He and assistant building manager Wayne McManiman determined they needed a system that reacted quicker, with little or no downtime.

The access control system monitors 216 points and perimeter doors. Doors and elevators are controlled with Wiegand-format cards and readers from Sensor Engineering (which has since been purchased by HID Corp.).

Sykes initiated a request for a system upgrade. But after getting approval from the building owner, Sykes' search for a better system was met with another challenge: keeping costs low enough to fit a narrow budget. In short, they needed to integrate existing equipment with new technology. Blending the old with the new

The Bank Center accepted a bid from Security Services and Technologies (SST), King of Prussia, Pa. We were not going into a clean, fresh building and starting from scratch, explains SST president Frank Brewer. We were using the existing system and integrating the new. We engineered the system by using existing hardware that is not technology-driven and replacing field hardware and controlling equipment.

Most of the outdated components had to be replaced, but some workable equipment such as cabling, locks, card readers and cards was retained. We gave the center a state-of-the-art system without a high price, Brewer says. SST employees Marc Petrucelli and John Nemerofsky negotiated and designed the system. Installation started in May 1996 and was finished within three months.

According to Mellon Bank Center's asset protection administrator, Jack Mouzon, the heart of the new access control system is a Software House CPU and memory consisting of Digital MicroVax 3100-40 software. New Techmedia PC terminals and gathering panels were installed to connect the card readers and alarm, and the old field electronics were replaced with an advanced processing controller from Software House that combines the software and hardware.

Mellon Bank Center's new system software provides the necessary efficiency and speed, according to Brewer. It can also be expanded into a multi-user, multi-tasking system. Features include a modem for dialing diagnostics and a backup for power outages. The system will be monitored and updated as needed. The integrated system

Security personnel manage everything from the front desk. The system relies on a CPU and elevator control to restrict access and monitor points and perimeter doors. A separate closed-circuit television system from American Dynamics (now owned by Sensormatic) that was already in place is still used.

The Mellon Bank Center has one main door at the ground level, so security officers focus on it when the building is closed. Business hours are from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., but tenants can use their access cards during off-hours and weekends. They enter their cards at the door and at a console in the lobby, at which point the console attendant checks a tenant's access privileges. The tenant can then proceed to an elevator.

Mellon Bank Center has 22 passenger elevators in four banks. People do not need cards to ride the elevators during business hours, but a timed system activates card access mechanisms when the clock chimes six. Within each of these groups, there are one or two elevators equipped with card readers, says Sykes. Tenants' cards are programmed to allow access to certain floors. If a card is authorized, the elevator is activated. But if something goes awry, or if a visitor tells the front desk he intends to visit the seventh floor but chooses the ninth, an alarm is activated at the lobby console, and the monitors beep and flash in bold lettering. An officer can then be dispatched. We can even tell if someone is trying to push the door open, says Sykes.

Security officials also rely on Aiphone intercoms. The main intercom is at the console, with others in elevator cabs.

The system uses three PCs and many monitors: one PC at the front desk, another in the room where most of the video equipment is housed, and a third in the CCTV room. The CPU is in the management office, and a monitor tied into the central computer is stationed at the console.

Security officers also control the two-level, below-grade garage, which is for tenants only. If tenants come in after business hours, they must use their cards in one of two garage-level elevators that bring them to the lobby, says Sykes.

As the officer who issues new cards, checks problems and otherwise monitors access daily, Mouzon is one of the key users of the access control system. He says since the new components were installed, his job has become more streamlined. I love working with the system every day, he says.

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