Electro/Telecom Industry Trends
January 2003
Smarter security: Integrate Security Functions With Other Building Automation
| Issue Table of Contents |
|
|
 |
Today’s building systems such as HVAC, telecommunications and security no longer operate via proprietary technology on their own little islands of automation. Interoperability between systems is the norm, which means building planners can gain more bang from their security bucks by integrating security systems with other facilities management functions.
Breath easy
David Forbes, president of QuoVadis International, a Colorado-based security-consulting firm, points to HVAC as one system that should be designed with security in mind. The post-9/11 anthrax scare put a chilling spotlight on buildings with ventilation systems that would allow for the quick spread of contaminants, he maintains.
“With smart building technology sensors in HVAC ducts can detect when contaminants are drawn into the system,” Forbes says. “Engineers should also give more thought to protecting vents that have external features and to designing systems that allow part of the system to be shut down without shutting down the entire building,” he adds.
Keep it cool … or warm
Forbes also sees benefit from combining routine monitoring of facility maintenance data with ever-active security observation functions. “Security people are likely to be monitoring the facility on a 24/7 basis, which means security will be around when building engineers have already gone home,” Forbes notes.
He continues, “In places where maintaining the proper temperature or humidity is critical — hospitals, data centers, manufacturing clean rooms, for instance — security systems and people can keep an eye on all vital building statistics.”
Watch live, online action
Speaking of keeping an eye on things, the IP networks in today’s smart buildings, have many security systems going digital.
You’ll find an example of security development from IndigoVision, a leading creator of Live Networked Video (LNV) technology. Indigo Vision's VideoBridge protocol converts analog signals from closed circuit TV cameras into digital signals, compresses the data, and transmits it over IP-based networks. Not only does this allow companies to upgrade surveillance systems without scrapping existing CCTV cameras, it also eliminates the need for separate surveillance networks.
What’s more, digital video does away with many of the data loss problems that stem from traditional surveillance systems. With traditional systems, data gets lost in time-lapsed photography that only records a frame every few seconds. In addition, video recorders are offline while security officers change tapes in VCRs
The IndigoVision technology overcomes the time-lapse and tape change deficit with motion-sensing software that can bring activity to the attention of security personnel, record only scenes in which activity is happening (as opposed to a motionless, unpopulated entryway) and let security officers access images by time and date so they don’t have to wade through hours of video tape to investigate a crime.
In addition, IP-based surveillance networks allow for remote monitoring, so that the security staff of a company based in New York, for example, can monitor smaller satellite offices coast-to-coast. That means putting security surveillance on the corporate network can reduce the security staff a company needs.
With 60 percent of today’s security budgets currently spent on salaries, recruitment, and training, it pays to have systems that can do more with less human intervention. You can’t throw more people at security problems anymore,” says Forbes. “You need to take advantage of evolving technology to deliver security benefits along with other building functions.”