Author: apigroup

We at One Source Security believe that installing panic notification buttons are yet another line of defense for creating a safer environment for employees, customers, students and patients.

By not only using video surveillance with analytics and access control, installing panic notification buttons in locations where employees can quickly and easily notify emergency personnel or police can help minimize an incident.

Today, employees expect employers to promote workplace safety. A key element can be the addition of panic notification buttons to help lower the possibility of injury. There may not be an opportunity to pick up the phone to call for help, picking up the phone could escalate a situation.

A panic notification button is a simple, cost-effective addition to an overall security system which will strengthen the response when there is a threat. When pressed, emergency personnel will be notified, initiating emergency protocols.

This single button device can be hidden at:

• The receptionist desk
• A cashier’s counter
• The delivery entrance
• The security station
• The customer service counter
• Rooms were cash and valuables are stored
• Any highly utilized employee spaces
• Any place where a confrontation can occur

Panic buttons are an important security measure in a wide range of businesses and organizations. Violence committed by irate customers, clients and random strangers as well as disgruntled employees warrant the use of panic notification buttons today.

• More schools are installing them as an extra precaution with the increase in school shootings over the past few years.
• Convenient stores and gas stations where there are high incidences of robberies are installing them under the counter or in the back office area where safes are located.
• Large companies are installing them in the HR department where employees are let go, in case the employee becomes violent.
• Hospitals are also installing them in emergency room areas.
• oEmergency personnel may be needed when a patient who is high or incoherent lashes out at the doctor or nurse with the intent to cause physical harm. Also, relatives and friends of patients have been known to overreact when the patient is being treated thinking the doctor is causing more pain.
• Panic notification buttons can also be used to help with lockdown procedures, issue alerts to staff, initiate emergency protocols, as well as contact emergency responders.

Call One Source Security at 800-570-6478 today for a FREE assessment of your business, school or hospital. One source will help assess your risks, needs and possible security weaknesses before we design your system. We are an advisor and will offer preventive advice, so you can avoid many potential problems altogether. We customize each system to suit the end-user’s specific needs.

Lock and key, the oldest form of access control where locks are used to prevent unauthorized access to a facility manually are still very popular today, but come with a few drawbacks. Keys can easily be duplicated, lost or stolen. When an employee leaves or keys are lost, there is a cost to re-key all the doors to ensure safety and security for people and property within the building.

On site access control was developed to provide more features, functionality and automation using ID cards, fobs and smartcards to access buildings. Data is stored locally on specially assigned servers requiring constant manual data backups and firmware updates. This can take up a considerable amount of time, money and resources.

Today we have the option of using a cloud-based access control system where software is hosted/located in the cloud and allows administrators to control access to their buildings and gather data from anywhere at any time through a web browser or mobile device. Access to the facility is granted with ID cards, fobs, smart cards or mobile devices.

When comparing access control options it is obvious that traditional lock and key security is limited when compared to modern security solutions. For instance, keys cannot open doors remotely; track who has entered or exited a building, or who is authorized to enter a building, floor or room. It is assumed that they have authorization because they are in possession of a physical key.

On site access control provide more features, functionality and automation. These solutions require that an IT person maintains and updates the servers where the software lives. The administrator also needs to be versed in cyber security to ensure that the servers don’t get infected by cyber attacks. All system changes have to be made locally on a dedicated PC that is connected to the servers. To maintain IT security, on site software requires constant manual data backups and firmware updates. This can take up a considerable amount of time, money and resources.

Cloud based access control provides more protection, is more convenient and easier to use. Providing complete control from anywhere in the world. Employees are able to open doors with their phone, eliminating the risk of lost or stolen keys and keycards. There are no servers to maintain and the software is updated automatically to protect against cyber threats. Real time data is collected about traffic in and out of the building. When key cards are lost or stolen, or an employee leaves, access is revoked immediately. Cloud based access control allows unlimited scalability adding in doors, offices and users at any time. Remotely open and secure doors. Integrate video surveillance with cloud access control. API integrations are available for software applications, such as HR, visitor and membership tools.

Cloud based access control provides an unsurpassed level of security. It reduces the inconveniences of updating and managing the system manually and in house.

Call One Source Security today at 800-570-6478 to set up an appointment to learn more about cloud based access control for your company.

Without proper security controls in place a company or property manager of a high rise building can run the risk of criminal activity, damage to the facility and unauthorized personnel or visitors wandering the building. There can be a higher risk of theft, tampering and break-ins, which can include loss of data and compromised IT capacity.

How do you control access within your building? Are unauthorized individuals gaining access to secure floors? Is your building a mixed use building with multiple tenants, or owned by one company with secure floors? As a property manager or business owner would you like to limit access to each floor?

By using access control at the elevator, you can safeguard the physical safety of your employees, tenants, and building.

Installing access card readers in the lobby to call an elevator would be the first step in limiting access within your building. Once in the elevator the card reader will only allow the elevator to access the floor or floors an employee or visitor is permitted access to via their credentials.

Card readers can restrict elevator access to users on floors that contain management offices, vaults, document archives, safes and server rooms. Create free access floors such as cafeteria, gym, reception and lobby areas, and the parking lot level, making them accessible to all authorized entrants with access cards.

Elevator access control can allow employees or tenants free access to all floors in a building during business hours and restrict individuals who can ride the elevator after hours.

Connecting your elevator control system with your building access control, allows you to receive reports, which can be filtered by area, elevator, time, visitors, location and category of employee. Know who is entering the elevator along with a corresponding time stamp. This allows for better control over your facility.

Visitor management is easy, cards can be deactivated at a specified time to prevent unauthorized access within the building.

It is important to have a fully automated integrated security system protecting people and property. A fully secure building should include access control for the whole building and video surveillance. Call One Source Security today at 800-570-6478 to set up your FREE assessment.

Increasing security in and around healthcare facilities has become a priority to keep patients and employees safe, since healthcare facilities are not immune to crime. However, there is a balance between accessibility and security for patients and employees.

One solution is to use access control to streamline the security process and provide the comfort and healing to their patients in a secure environment.

With the use of smart card credentials, it has become easier for healthcare facilities to implement access control. This smart card system can be used for multiple levels of security, associating each card with an individual employee’s security level, thus eliminating multiple cards issued to one employee.

A facility can secure all points of entry for employees and deliveries with access control along with the addition of video surveillance.

Staff and patient elevators and stairwells can include access control, which can be left open during the day for visitors, however, after visiting hours only employees and visitors with badges can access those areas.

A facility can use access control to effectively control the access to sensitive areas of a hospital, such as, pharmacies, surgical areas, intensive care units, nurseries, medicine supply rooms, as well as medication dispensing machines. Only employees with the appropriate credentials can access these sensitive areas.

Access control software allows the user to enroll a card, assign security access levels, and provide an audit trail of who entered and exited each area. Integration with video surveillance, intrusion alarms and photo verification make a complete access solution across many levels of security. The software also, allows administrators the ability to instantly lockdown a facility.

We would be pleased to assess your facility and provide a comprehensive solution to fit your needs and budget. Call today to speak with one of our sales engineers at 1- 800-570-6478.

Using a variety of physical access control systems will allow large-scale facility management to quickly and accurately determine where a sick person has traveled throughout the building.

Right now, what are you doing when someone in your building gets Covid-19? If you manage a large facility, with multiple entrances and exits and hundreds of rooms, how do you accurately contact trace? How can you begin to understand who might need to be tested and quarantined? How will you know where to deep clean and sanitize?

From what we’ve seen, contact tracing is still rather low tech. Contact tracing begins with asking people where they’ve been. But memories are flawed and there will always be something or someone that slips through the cracks. Employees might not remember a trip to the 3rd floor vending machine or where they filled their water bottle.

The use of mobile credentials for physical access control can greatly improve contact tracing. Using mobile credentials for entrances, to book conference rooms, and for secure access will allow facility management to pinpoint where people may have come into contact with a sick employee or visitor. This type of tracking can also be accomplished with key cards and key fobs. The biggest argument for mobile access is that people don’t often forget their phone, but keycards and fobs can be easily misplaced.

Physical access control should be understandable and manageable. One Source Security can assist facility management teams with setting up and implementing these digital intelligence tools.

As security integrators, we often get asked about dummy security cameras as a solution to our customers’ security issues in lieu of an actual video surveillance system.

Pictured above is a “dummy” security camera

These issues can include such things as car break-ins in employee lots, employee theft, home security and more.

While they may prevent some crime from happening, many savvy thieves may know they’re not real and will then have free reign to burglarize your facility.

There are some questions you need to ask yourself if you are considering installing dummy security cameras.

What happens if you actually need footage? If an incident occurs on your property, you may wish you had an actual security camera installed to record it when you had the chance.

These incidents can include such things as an employee being assaulted in the parking lot, for instance. They may think these cameras were real and will be coming to you hoping you as the business owner can help.

Same with fake slip and falls. You will be liable to lawsuits if someone stages one of these. Having a real security camera to record the person’s actions can protect you and provide you with valuable video footage showing the real story.

What if a disgruntled ex-employee returned angrily to your workplace and he knew the cameras weren’t real? They certainly wouldn’t be of any help in this case and in fact they may cause more harm than good.

And if you were installing them to prevent employee theft, all it would take is one employee to discover that they’re fake, and they’d be rendered ineffective.

Of course one could say that dummy security cameras have done some good in terms of preventing crime. Having a deterrent is always a recommended measure, and they can certainly be classified as a deterrent. Although, as mentioned earlier, savvy thieves can typically know that they are fakes.

One feature that some dummy cameras have may actually help to give them away to these thieves. Some motion detection dummy cameras will move left and right when a person walks by (powered by AA batteries). They are mimicking pan, tilt and zoom cameras in this case, but do the dummies actually follow the person, or just move left and right?

So if you are intent on purchasing dummy security cameras, just know that some issues may arise where you may wish you had actual security cameras.

Of course the number one priority if you detect a fire at your home is to usher your family outside to a safe place. It’s debatable and depends on the situation if family photos or a laptop, for example, should be grabbed on the way out.

But what about your pets? They too are of high importance and will be escorted out with the family unless it’s virtually impossible to do so and lives are in imminent danger. But even danger hasn’t stopped family members and firefighters in some cases. We’ve all heard amazing stories of pet rescues. And pet owners will agree that they take precedence over material items.

What if a fire occurred when no one was home—when no one was able to walk out a pet or inform a firefighter that pets were inside?

Just like we have “tot finders” that indicate there are children in the house, there are stickers that alert firefighters that pets are inside the house as well.

As an aside: Tot finders aren’t always in favor nowadays due to possible abduction issues. (*Please talk to your local fire jurisdiction and get its advice on how and if to use tot finders.)

In researching for this blog post, I came across online forums where some firefighters expressed that they don’t favor tot finders. If children grow up and move out, the stickers tend to stay in the window. Also, they may give people a false sense of security. And of course there’s the aforementioned and all-important abduction concerns. These were all cited as reasons.

Getting back to pet finder stickers: If no one is home, pet finder stickers may be the only way that rescue personnel will know pets are inside—short of a neighbor informing them, for instance. Please be sure to ask your local fire jurisdiction about how to obtain these if you don’t have them already.

Not every fire department recommends or distributes pet finder stickers. And some posts in the forums mentioned above were of the opinion, of course, that humans come first. If a pet is found in the process, it will be saved, but that not much faith is put in pet finder stickers.

And for the same reason that some may not favor tot finders (a child may not be in the house anymore, yet the sticker remains), they may not pay close attention to pet finder stickers because pets may not be in the house any longer either.

Moving onto another danger in the household…

Another issue with pets, including small pets such as reptiles, hamsters and birds, is elevated carbon monoxide levels. Carbon monoxide detection is an important part of overall environmental monitoring—in which smoke and heat detection are included also.

These types of pets are very sensitive to small spikes in carbon monoxide, as well as other pets such as cats and dogs. Of course, any spike in carbon monoxide is dangerous to everyone in the household, regardless of its level. This odorless, tasteless and invisible gas does not discriminate.

Again, if a leak occurs during the day when no one is home, the fire department and those on your call list need to be alerted by your security system so these pets have a chance.

The moral to the story of this blog post is to check with your local fire department. Ask about their policy on pet finder stickers—if they have them and/or offer them for sale, if so, where they advise you to place them, and what their advice is if they do not recommend them.

While you’re talking to them, ask them about tot finders and where they should be affixed (assuming they recommend them at all).

Thanks for spending some time with us today.

Your access control and security system can be integrated in such a way that your alarm system can be armed and disarmed through a single action on the access control side.

The advantage of this is the convenience of doing two things at once without remembering PINs or operating keypads. You can have the doors lock whenever the security system is armed and unlocked when the system is disarmed and receive notifications via text or email if there is a problem.

An access card can be used to gain access to a building, area or room. There is no need to fumble with keys or remember multiple security codes. Management can control access of individuals throughout the company and depending on the level of security. Grant access only to an employee designated area. Access control can also be integrated with elevators to control access to high security floors.

Propped doors can be a common problem. However, this can be addressed by installing door position switches on the door which sends a signal if the door is propped or forced open.

Electronic access control systems can be integrated with other systems to notify of power outages, high or low temperature alarms, or water level alarms. Almost any type of alarm can be monitored by the access control system.

Cards can have photos, logos and work titles imprinted onto them, to provide quick identification of the individual.

Call One Source Security today at 800-570-6478 and we will show you how to maximize your access control system.

Balancing the security needs of an assisted living facility, which can include a blend of independent living, assisted living and skilled nursing services, can be a complex issue. Residents and staff need to move throughout the facility freely, while unauthorized people are kept out.

Keeping track of staff, residents (some of which may have dementia and Alzheimer’s), and visitors with a comprehensive security system should include the following:

Video Surveillance

• oAssisted living facilities are full of activity, the constant coming and going of staff, residents and visitors, it can be a challenge to keep an eye on everything. Using a video surveillance system with a DVR would allow staff to see past events, if there is a question related to patients, visitors or staff.

Access control

• oInstalling readers at entries and cabinets, and distributing credentials, such as fobs, swipe cards, and proximity cards to staff will limit access to restricted areas, such as medicine cabinets, offices, supply rooms and medical records.
• oUsing an access control system will eliminate the replacement of keys and locks when a key is lost or stolen, or when an employee leaves. Credentials can quickly be deactivated.

Fire alarms, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors

• oFire alarm systems and detectors are lifesaving components, when tied to a monitored security system they become even more effective.

Monitoring service

• oThe security system should be connected to a central monitoring station. When an alarm is tripped emergency services can be notified quickly, reducing the response time.
• oIn unpredictable situations, it is imperative to have the quickest response possible. This is especially critical in an assisted living facility as residents are slower moving and may have impaired hearing and eye sight.

Wander Detection

• oPatients wearing a wander detection device will alert the nursing staff when they are to close to a controlled door, the patient can then be refocused.

Nurse Call Systems

• oCommunication linked between residents and caregivers allowing residents to call for emergency assistance with the push of a button or the pull of a string.

Panic Notification

• oThese buttons should be placed in strategic locations throughout the facility.

Medical Emergency Response Systems

• oA wearable two-way voice emergency pendant or keychain like device, press a button and a trained emergency operator will respond.
• oSome devices are motion sensitive and can detect when a person falls down.

A comprehensive security system is essential for protecting residents, staff, visitors, medical records, physical assets and facility property. Call today for a full evaluation of your existing security system.

One note: The importance of fire and environmental monitoring cannot be overstated, such as for smoke, carbon monoxide, temperature changes and for water detection. This certainly could/should have been included in the previous article about the “core” of a system.

We hope you had a chance to read part I of this article published earlier in the week about the core of a burglar alarm system. Today, we’ll talk about some of the ancillary features that aren’t always included, yet still hold importance regarding your safety.

Pictured above are security window screens tied into an alarm system.

One such complementary piece of equipment is a security screen, which will signal the alarm if it is cut because the wire circuit within the mesh will have been interrupted. It also has a magnet in place, similar to a window or door contact, that will signal if the screen is removed. This allows you to keep your windows open at night in the warm months and still feel secure.

Also, make sure to consult with a locksmith to ensure that your locks are secure and that you have the proper locks, such as deadbolts. Make sure that your sliders have adequate locks and that your garage doors have contacts on them.

You’ll also want to make sure the door from your garage into your house is solid and that its lock is legitimate. Just because it is inside your garage doesn’t mean you should neglect it–thieves could break through a garage window and enter your house through this door.

Cellar windows and bulkheads are often overlooked. Make sure to also have your security consultant examine these and provide recommendations.

Lighting is another important component of a security system. It is advised to have motion sensor lights on the exterior; this literally stops thieves in their tracks. For the inside, you can set timer lights to go on and off at various times throughout the day and night (on their own), simulating a situation where someone is home.

With both interior and exterior lights, it isn’t effective to have them turned on all the time (such as overnight if you go away)–a thief will see right through this. You can also tie your lighting into your interior motion detectors so lights will turn on if a thief passes by.

Wireless transmitters that go on your key chain (key fobs) are another option. They allow you to arm and disarm your system from your driveway and to not have to worry about rushing to a keypad. Two-way transmitters will also notify you if the alarm is active or not, thereby indicating that it may have gone off while you were away and that you need to take caution when entering.

Voice annunciator systems help keep thieves away as well. A motion detector goes at the end of your driveway, or in other perimeter locations for instance. When it picks up motion, it prompts a pre-recorded announcement to play and warns thieves to stay away.

Remote video monitoring is another reasonably priced and easily installed option. ISee Video, manufactured by Napco Security, allows you to monitor your home while at work or on vacation. No software is required–just an internet connection.

You can view your family pet or nanny on your smart phone or computer. You can receive email video alerts if motion is detected as well, such as when your children come home from school. It’s also a great way to keep tabs on elderly relatives’ safety.

Please don’t forget about using people as a security measure…including yourself! Have the neighbors make tracks in the walkway snow if you’re away in the winter and ask them to remove restaurant flyers from your doorknobs, take in trash barrels and mail, etc.

And as for yourself, one thing you can do is to make sure to USE YOUR SYSTEM. Many people have them installed, get the decals for doors and windows and even a sign for the lawn, then rarely actually use the alarm.

Thanks for spending some time with us today.