Now & Future TECHNOLOGIES

Jan 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Ashley Roe & Stephanie Silk

Tried, true and evolving: Access control and locks

Predictions for the access control and lock technology industry over the next few years all seem to center on one concept — maximizing return-on-investment (ROI) using existing access control technology. One of the ways end-users are realizing ROI potential, says Martin Huddart, vice president of electronic access control for ASSA ABLOY Door Security Solutions, New Haven, Conn., is by leveraging existing IP infrastructure to cost-effectively roll out network-based access control systems.

“One trend I see that will continue involves customers taking full advantage of the infrastructure that is already there, whether it is WiFi or regular Ethernet,” he says. “By using Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) and WiFi locks, users have an advantage of running the network all the way to the opening, or edge, making it more intelligent and lowering the total cost of ownership.”

ASSA ABLOY's recently introduced Hi-O (Highly Intelligent Opening) Technology connects electronic door components together over a Controller Area Network (CAN) data communication network, allowing them to communicate continuously and monitor the health of the opening. Connected devices — such as the lock, exit device, electric strike and proximity reader — exchange and share encrypted information over a four-wire cable similar to how IT devices connect and communicate with each other through a USB connection. “Each device ‘learns’ its role, and going a step beyond that, can actually tell a user through network communication when maintenance is necessary before the device fails,” Huddart says. With built-in diagnostic reporting, maintenance becomes predictive rather than reactive, saving users money by reducing eleventh-hour maintenance costs.

Steve Van Till, president and chief operating officer of Brivo Systems, Bethesda, Md., also predicts a growth in the use of edge devices. “People have been talking about pushing intelligence to the network for years, and the biggest promise is the ability to use existing wiring to lower costs,” he says. “In vertical markets, another advantage exists because this makes it easier and less costly to apply access control in places you were not able to beforehand. You are lowering your cost per door.”

Brivo's hallmark applications are its Web-connected and Web-hosted access control systems ACS OnSite and ACS WebService. Both systems rely on a Web interface to program, manage and control access panels locally and remotely, so users are not required to dedicate large amounts of bandwidth to the application.

“Now that we have established viability of our Web-hosting model, one of the next things we will do is grow the number of services that come out of that same platform,” Van Till says. “This will include hosting video and alarm monitoring.” Standards, he says, play a big role in the growth of Web-hosted services. “The industry needs to have one platform that can communicate with anything such as cameras, video equipment and alarms,” Van Till says.

With Kaba's forthcoming E-Plex 5900 Series Locks equipped with Corestreet's Card-Connected technology, users could ultimately double the number of their controlled access points on the same budget, says Mark Allen, product management and marketing manager for Kaba Ilco Corp., Winston Salem, N.C. The locking system, expected to be available by spring, is managed and monitored similar to a wired door system, but requires no wiring or wireless communication networks. The locks communicate with commercially available physical access control systems by reading and writing digitally signed data — access privileges and audit logs — to and from smart cards as they are used. As a result, cardholders become an extension of the physical access network where cards, instead of wires, carry information to and from the locks.

The system can cut the cost of electronic access control per door by more than half because it does not require the infrastructure of a wired, IP-addressable or wireless system. “This makes it much easier and cost-effective to create a network across the miles,” Allen says.

Another benefit in using Kaba's Card-Connected lock is that certain users who are weary of the security issues in wireless systems will now have another option. “For example, in a hospital, a wireless network may be a big challenge. You are still sending radio frequency (RF) signals through the air, so there is a risk of interference with some medical equipment,” he says. “Many government users also would rather not use a wireless system because they are uneasy about transmitting information through the air.” The Card-Connected lock solves these concerns, Allen says. “It has virtually all the components of a wired system, but instead of running wire from a central location to each door, all an installer has to do is install the lock on the door.”

Also on the horizon are new opportunities for integrators, says Peter Boriskin, vice president of access control for the Access Control and Video Systems division of Tyco Safety Products, Boca Raton, Fla. “One of the challenges for the integrator is to become indispensable to their customers. They want to be part of their customers' business workflow,” he says. “With that in mind, an integrator who is savvy and who can leverage this new level of integration, has an opportunity to offer services and solutions above what they are offering today. They have a new solution set they can sell, and therefore, new revenue.”

With more edge device options, flexibility in tailoring existing infrastructure to suit applications and the resulting decrease in cost per access point, users will realize higher ROI in the coming years.

“Going forward, you will probably also see security management become indistinguishable from business workflow. Logical access and physical security will become more aware of one another, offering a seamless provisioning and de-provisioning capability,” Boriskin says.

Adds Van Till, “Ten years from now, virtually every door will be controlled and monitored. The cost will go down low enough so that you can have ubiquitous access control on anything you want, and the notion of an intelligent door will become a standard building practice.”

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© 2008 Penton Media Inc.

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