GSN March 2016 Digital Edition

data against the personnel inventory
system to inform and report on the
personnel located inside the building.
In the event of an evacuation,
managers can quickly account for all
employees, and alert authorities to
any discrepancies in their locations.
To illustrate the usefulness of this
suggested that we walk through a
scenario.
“Imagine a large federal healthcare
facility with around 2,000 employees,
four acres of campus space,
and a fairly high level of security.
Employees are assigned badges
equipped with active RFID technology,
which identifies each individual,
and a ‘panic button’ that can be activated
as a silent alarm sent to the
remote server. Any number of incidents
could prompt a security response
– white powder found in the
mailroom, a toxic spill of infectious
substance, a natural disaster such as
a tornado or earthquake, a fire, an active
shooter on campus, or the worstcase
possibility – blatant terrorism.”
described a supervisor arriving at
work and noticing a man she does
not recognize, loitering by the employee
entrance.
“As she passes through the door,
the inventory point captures her
identifying data, and makes a digital
record that she is in the building, just
as it does for every employee on that
39
morning,” he described. “Moments
later, she sees the unauthorized man
enter the building behind another
employee, and dart into the elevator.
Immediately, she activates her RFID
panic button while arriving her office.
As she sits down, she hears shots
in the hallway upstairs, signaling that
an active shooter is on campus. As
security protocols are implemented,
she evacuates her team and meets up
with other employees at a preplanned
mustering location. There, she accesses
the remote data server to take
inventory of her team, and discovers
that one of her team members is still
inside. The system’s real-time tracking
enables law enforcement to know
that one of her employees is hiding
in the men’s restroom. With law enforcement
already notified earlier by
her panic button activation, their re-
on scene within moments of the first
report of shots fired.”
law enforcement is able to intercept
the innocent employee as he exits
the men’s room, and evacuate him
safely – avoiding any chance of him
encountering the shooter.
sciotta
added, “the system reports
that a small group of employees –
still inside the building, as reported
by their RFID badges – are huddled
together in an upstairs closet. This al-
ing
from the shooter, directing them
to search that part of the building,
where they apprehend the shooter,
and release the employees from their
hiding spot after the area is secure.”
real-time tracking solutions can be a
powerful means of identifying unauthorized
activity, and ultimately protecting
employees and infrastructure.
He is enthusiastic about the
potential for federal, state, and local
agencies to implement this technology,
and about the positive impact
it can have on government security
response capabilities.
Looking forward, I expect we will
be seeing broader implementation
of RFID technology across government,
and the development of new
and better RFID technologies as new
RFID innovators emerge in this market.
John Convy and Convy Associates
provide strategic alliance, A&E consultant,
technology ecosystem, and
lead generation programs to monetize
relationships and accelerate demand
for leading security industry manufacturers.
John is the Founder and
Managing Director of the Open Standards
Security Alliance and the IP
Security Academy, and a speaker at
many global industry events. Email:
John@ConvyAssociates.com