From stand-alone to networked

Jun 1, 1999 12:00 PM, Access Control & Security Systems Integration Staff

Employee ID cards and access control devices are easier to manage with connected system at ever-changing Loto Quebec. At Montreal-based Loto Quebec, growth and changes had made it difficult to manage the stand-alone access control system with a DOS operating system. Ongoing additions and relocations of door controllers to temporary buildings had made it difficult to keep the system running while work was begin done to it, says Damien Landry, assistant secretary manager for the Canadian province's lottery corporation. To solve the problems, Landry's staff worked with Minneapolis-based Honeywell to tailor Honeywell's XSM Excel Security Management solution to Loto Quebec's needs. With the new software, the 20 guards at the headquarters can deactivate doors or other equipment while work is being done, whether it's a relocation or a repair. "We've grown, and the nature of the business is such that we are constantly switching controllers and door panels and adding new panels to buildings we use temporarily for different reasons," Landry says. "There is always something we have to adjust and relocate, and it's very easy with the system. "The way the system is built makes it easier for technicians to work with controllers and the computer system, and the visual interface makes it easier for guards to operate it. Everything can be pre-programmed to be fully operational when areas are occupied, whether it's for repairs or other reasons. "In the past, the lottery used a DOS-operated system to control 15 controllers and about 120 door panels, keeping track of about 2,000 cardholders. The lottery offices occupy space on 15 floors of a 23-story building. An ID-card system is tied to the new security management system. ID cards are issued separately from the access control cards and are used by employees when they enter highly secure areas of the complex. The CCTV system includes fewer than 20 cameras throughout the building, watched from black-and-white monitorsin the command center. CCTV equipment is supplied by Honeywell and CCTC, a Montreal-based CCTV supplier. A quad and multiplexer are used to watch high-risk areas, with the idea of protecting customers as well as employees, as many clients visit the complex to pick up large checks, Landry says. "We believe the security needs and purposes have to be one identity," Landry says. "We have to monitor 2,000 cards."

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