Where are your priorities? - Practical Facilities Management

security focus
Better value
security through
technology
by Alan Moss
52
This year marks the 400th anniversary of the
Gunpowder Plot, a timely reminder that our
ancestors also had to deal with terrorism associated
with religious allegiances. Guy Fawkes
gained access to the cellars in Parliament with
a key which was no less than 12 inches long
and one can imagine that his wrist needed
considerable strength when he tried to open
that cellar door. The key used the best technology
of the day, and apparently had a folding
mechanism for convenience. Nowadays we
still need strong doors, but the locking mechanisms
can be operated much more easily. The
thought of having to carry around a bunch of
17th century keys would fill us with horror!
Parliament may now have lost Guy Fawkes’
famous key, but in the 21st century we sometimes
do not have to worry about losing a “key”.
In fact, the whole process of locking doors does
not necessarily require a conventional key at
all, as we all know from visiting certain hotels.
The hotel locks operate with electronic codes.
This not only saves weight in our pockets; it also
means that when we mislay our hotel’s piece of
plastic, we do not have to worry. The system can
be easily programmed for a replacement and to
invalidate the lost card.
A modern organisation’s security system will
allow its staff to enter the building using personal
passes which are electronically enabled to
allow individuals to enter some parts of the
building, but not other, more sensitive, zones.
These systems can also double as a safety record
of how many people are in the building in case
of the need for an evacuation.
Speed of transit is of the essence for modern
business, and the challenge for security systems
is to provide an excellent and instant check on
identity for the vast majority. Biometric technology
has advanced to the point where we can
now install systems which check that whoever
produces a pass is the same person to whom
that pass was issued, thereby stopping anybody
using a stolen card and a forged photograph. Iris
technology is advancing rapidly to use the patterns
of the eye to create a unique personal
identifier, but exponents of fingerprint-based
systems, such as Selectamark Sentry, can fairly
claim more reliability, with a 98% success rate.
At one level, a biometric pass system can verify
that the presenter of the pass is the proper person
(ie with the same fingerprint pattern)
authorised to enter, but a latter day Guy Fawkes
might have his fingerprint pattern pre-recorded
in a system to create an alarm regardless of any
false identity he tried to create.
Patrolling security guards are also facing a challenge
from technology. These days digital CCTV
cameras can be set up relatively cheaply to
maintain a continuous monitoring surveillance
over business premises. The cameras detect
movement, trigger an alarm and automatically
zoom in to record suspicious activity without
security staff in the control room (which may be
many miles away) even having to be watching
that camera at the time. In town centres or
hotspots for crime and disorder, the image of
CCTV cameras has been transformed from a
threat to civil liberties into a benign safety precaution
enabling a police response to be triggered
and a visual record of an incident to be
made. One local authority near the M25 operates
over 200 CCTV cameras without any need
for long distance cables to transmit the images
to their central control room. The system uses
wireless and mobile phone technology to send
pictures and to operate cameras by using a network
of transmitters installed on high buildings
which are each in line of sight of the next unit.
The cameras need not be permanent; lamp
posts can be adapted ready for the installation
of a temporary camera on a quick response basis
for whenever problems of potential crime and
disorder are identified at those locations.
The technology which gave us the ability to
change TV channels without leaving our arm
chairs is also advancing. Supermarkets are
experimenting with radio frequency identification
(RFID) for stock control systems at their
warehouses, and it may not be long before electronic
chips are used to transform the speed
with which we negotiate the supermarket
check-out desk.
Security applications of RFID technology have
already been in place for some years, triggering
an alarm if we try to leave the store without
having had the tag removed from our bottle of
spirits or leather coat, regardless of whether
the offending item is visible to the eye or not.
Microchips are now routinely installed in caravans
boats and cycles by manufacturers, and
property marking has moved on considerably
from the old-fashioned serial number stamped
into metal. The potential is there for many
other manufacturers to follow suit.
Checking of vehicles can now be achieved by e-
plate - a vehicle registration plate with an RFID
chip which records and checks any vehicle passing
a given point. This creates enormous potential
benefits for city centres and large complexes
like airports which need to monitor vehicle
traffic flows. Today, this system is being tested
by the University of Abu Dhabi in conjunction
with FSG, Dubai, and Selectamark.
Microchips are one method of identifying property;
another is a specially formatted chemical
like SelectaDNA which can be combined into
paint or a liquid carrier and applied with a small
Alan Moss retired from the Metropolitan
Police as a Chief Superintendent in
1997 and now works as an independent
security consultant
brush to record permanently the unique identity
details of the owner on to the article, or to
validate high value goods against counterfeiting.
The way in which technology can protect businesses
has had a profound effect on the type of
manager now found in security companies, who
are now far more likely to have international
and technological expertise. Selectamark’s
Head of Business Development Jason Brown, for
instance, qualified as an accountant with KPMG
in London and Milan, and was involved in business
planning at Wanadoo, the European leader
in broadband internet, before joining
Selectamark. He now spends much of his time
developing the company’s business in the Middle
East and Asia as well as in the United Kingdom.
This brings an international dimension to the
company as well as promoting British exports.
He said “Doing business on an international basis
certainly broadens our horizons, and forces us to
compete with the best in the world.
Fortunately, Selectamark has cutting edge products
which compare very favourably with those
of other countries and Britain still does have an
excellent reputation for quality and innovation
within the security industry.”
Another feature of the developing security
world is the way in which owners of stolen property
are identified. Regulated databases of
property owners are now increasingly held by
security companies like Selectamark whilst
police forces tend to concentrate only on property
which has been stolen.
The advance of technology changes the number
and the qualifications of the staff we need, and
the way in which our contractors can carry out
their services on our behalf.
It does seem expensive at times to keep up with
technology, but how often are we surprised at
how the prices of sophisticated electronic and
scientific apparatus can be bought at far lower
prices than a few years ago? We all need to keep
an eye on this so that we do achieve best value
in the private and public sectors.
Guy Fawkes would be surprised by the number
and types of alarms he would set off if he
repeated his exploits today, but no doubt he
would also be thinking about the potential for
keeping one step ahead of the technology introduced
by the Parliamentary authorities!
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