SECURITY COMMAND AND CONTROL The challenges facing high-risk facilities are becoming ever more complex. Even


low-level intrusions can cause disruption, damage and loss of assets. Here, Chris Edwards at Siemens Building Technologies UK, examines how businesses can tackle this issue and deliver a safe and automated working environment.


A security attack on your facility can happen at any time. There is a significant probability that it will result in an interruption of vital services for extended periods, leading to the potential loss of reputation and public confidence. Many organisations therefore, face the issue of how to upgrade existing viable security technologies to a new IP management platform so they can deliver a greater level of intelligence and system functionality. Furthermore, there is the management of the cyber threat to network security as well as the system and software integrity.


security risks, and taking appropriate steps to counter them. The process is dynamic because threats, and the systems they target, are continuously evolving. It is also vital to establish a formal security policy and response plan that describes how an organisation addresses security issues, in terms of practical procedures and guidelines.


The role of technology The key purpose of every security system should be to deter, detect, delay and deny unauthorised intrusion and to communicate and control any security or hazardous incident:


Deter unauthorised intrusion by showing visible and effective security measures.


Detect activity across multiple sites.


Delay intruder attempts to defeat or bypass access control measures Deny access to restricted areas.


Communicate incidents to designated personnel and provide the technical means for effective control of critical incidents.


Centralised command and control platforms manage critical situations and enhance security operations, whilst reducing risks. Operators are immediately prompted to take the correct action and the software will automatically set in motion a sequence of pre-agreed activities to ensure the right procedures are adhered to, as well as distributing essential information across multiple agencies.


A typical project scope might encompass the integration of wide-area surveillance; automatic number plate recognition; perimeter and site intrusion protection; access control for people, contractors and vehicles; alarm management; video analytics; fire detection and extinguishing; phased evacuation systems; lone worker monitoring and asset tracking.


Even within the same organisation, the needs of different locations will vary considerably and priority must be given to ensure the security measures taken are relevant to the threat, rather than a ‘blanket approach’. A full risk assessment should be undertaken across individual locations to uncover potential vulnerabilities, understand the impact of intrusion or attack, and identify the optimum security response.


Developing and implementing security measures and best practices is known as ’hardening’. Hardening is a continuous process of identifying and understanding


30 | TOMORROW’S FM


This integration of many disciplines provides centralised situational awareness, improved information and intelligence, effective response to critical events and the proper co-ordination of resources. Security operatives are able to accelerate their response to alerts and manage risk before it escalates to a more serious incident.


Incidents can emanate from multiple sources such as system analytics or intruder devices, and an automated workflow or rules engine will prioritise the importance of these and alert operators in a number of ways. Deep integration enables identification and analysis of unusual behaviour and anomalies to facilitate proactive, rather


twitter.com/TomorrowsFM


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68