Controlled Viewing
Sep 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Rueben Orr
Tips for choosing a Web-based access-control ssytem that fits with your overall security program.
- Operating system environment
Will you need something that can be used on both Macintosh and Windows PCs?
Many software applications work only on the Microsoft Windows operating system, but many schools use Apple products. Or your administrator may use a Mac at work but have a Windows-based PC at home. Most locally installed software will work only on one platform. A Web-hosted application and Web-based systems that need no software installed are accessed via a Web browser, independent of local operating systems. As long as you have a Web browser and Internet access, your operating system is irrelevant.
- Scalability
Are you managing access for one building or many? Are they situated on a single campus or spread throughout a region or even globally? Are all of the locations on an existing network? Do you have remote or unmanned facilities to manage? Will you add additional facilities in the future?
Each system differs on the type of communication necessary to connect multiple facilities. Look for systems that accommodate multiple communication mediums such as LAN/WAN, satellite broadband, WiFi, DSL, cable and cellular wireless.
Orr is director of business development for Brivo Systems, LLC, Bethesda, Md., which worked with St. John's High School and the Midland Borough School District (see sidebars). He can be reached at rueben.orr@brivo.com or (240)271-8158.
St. John's High School: A Web-based system maintained onsite
St. John's College High School (SJC) is an independent, Catholic, co-educational college-preparatory school. Situated on a 27-acre campus in Washington, D.C., with 1,100 students and 150 faculty and staff, St. John's formerly secured its buildings with a standard lock-and-key system.
The SJC administration sought improved access technology to provide school administrators with maximum flexibility, using existing infrastructure, and give them a “tiered” management system to fit the overall needs of the school and each specific administrator.
The new Web-based, on-site data-storage control system enables SJC to schedule an open time for the building, as well as the ability to lock the building once everyone is inside after the official start of the day. Deliveries are buzzed in while the building is locked during these hours. As part of its emergency plan, St. John's also has installed a single-button “lock-down” for the entire campus. Other benefits include:
-
Improved access control, visibility and reporting.
-
Remote administration of the system from any Web browser anytime, anywhere.
-
Card and schedule management, and controlled and tracked access for the athletic building, which is used by 15 different athletic programs at different times of the year.
-
System scalability, flexibility and the ability to expand the system where and when appropriate.
Midland Borough Schools: A Web-hosted system deployed across multiple buildings
Prior to installing a new Web-hosted system, Midland Borough School District, Midland, Pa., left classroom doors open, and the back and loading-dock doors were unlocked at most times.
“There was basically access to the whole building,” said Kim Kaiser, dean of students/safety and security.
It's not that Midland had no security; the school had a card-reader access system, and employees were logged in as they entered the buildings. But Kaiser knew the school had to be more prepared.
“If we can get a few extra seconds or even minutes and buy some time for the emergency response personnel to get here, then we need to install the technology to ensure such capabilities,” he says.
Through a Web-hosted access-control system, the school's front, back, loading dock and teacher access doors are secured and monitored. Staff and teachers with access cards have easy access, but visitors must enter the school through a single point of entry, which also is under video surveillance. A keypad was installed on the front door along with an intercom. Midland Borough Schools has experienced other improvements to security and operations:
-
The system logs all activity. The school now has an accurate record of employees coming and going, can log in deliveries, and can confirm delivery times.
-
The system enables Kaiser and his staff to lock down the entire building quickly and confidently.
- Midland staff needed minimal training to get up and running.
WEB 101
For more articles on security and life safety in education institutions, visit the Security “Articles by Topic” section at ASUmag.com.
Acceptable Use Policy blog comments powered by Disqus
