Today’s public, college and workplace buildings increasingly use smart physical security technology to protect people. By working in a connected environment, security managers and operators have greater situational awareness to provide faster and more appropriate responses to any incident.
These smart buildings create safer places for workers, guests and the public. The addition of, or upgrading to, smart CCTV and connected command and control centres creates a more-capable, smarter response from health and safety, security and other operational teams.
Exploring Today’s Smarter, More Secure Buildings
Benefiting from technology such as smart CCTV, location-aware radios and “location data as a service” (DaaS), security teams can better understand where incidents are taking place and where responders are in relation to them.
From the simplest issue, like a large spillage on a walkway, to complex events like extreme weather hitting the location, these systems need to deliver the right advice and information to responders to protect and secure occupants.
DaaS supports these efforts by taking various signals, such as those from location-aware radios, WiFi, GPS, RFID and other sources, to create a live map of real-time information about workers, products, valuables, vehicles, alarm triggers and their movements.
For those looking for the latest security, these services provide a method to better manage crowd control at public events, deal with evacuations during a fire or other safety issues, as well as combat crime and anti-social behaviour.
You’ll see plenty of examples at this month’s The Security Event taking place in Birmingham. Where the likes of Motorola, Bosch and others will have the latest hardware and software solutions on show for visitors.
The Technology Behind Smart, Secure Buildings
The data these services and hardware deliver creates a joined-up picture for controllers at the command centre, with unified dashboards that show alerts and events in real-time. The AI cameras can spot unusual activity that might lead to a potential flashpoint, creating alerts earlier, and allowing operators to respond.
Those with location‑aware radios nearest to the issue can respond faster, while the control system highlights existing procedures and best practices for security or marshals to take in any situation. And in a dangerous situation, perhaps away from cameras, operators or lone workers can use the panic button to trigger a silent alarm, indicating a need for urgent support.
This information through audio on the radio, along with live video or images of key people or risks, sent to smartphones, can provide responders with the information they need to defuse or mitigate any issue. These smart ecosystems, around school or college campuses; valuable production lines or warehouses, as well as regular offices and retail spaces make use of the latest in law enforcement technology to create safer spaces to protect their staff, guests and premises.
How Smart Security and Data Location Work Together
Delivering stronger security responses and greater flexibility in the face of changing work or public needs, smart security helps improve the sense of safety for workers and visitors. Examples include:
When cameras detect a security event, they can pinpoint the location and provide accurate routes for security staff across large buildings and multi-building campuses. Cross-referencing with other maps and resources they can highlight the locations of fire-fighting equipment, safe exit points for people, and key business valuables that may need securing, depending on the type of event.
Able to see responder locations, security operators get a clear overview and can provide safety information to maintenance, cleaners or other roles depending on the event. In extreme cases, it might not be safe for one or two security staff to appear, so staff can be grouped out of sight to create a more forceful-looking response.
Or, in the case of a theft, staff can be placed ahead of their exit route to intercept the thief in the safest way possible. Away from other people, hazardous locations or other unsuitable areas, such as around stairwells.
All activity, including secondary effects during an event, can be recorded by the CCTV system to provide evidence for further enquiries. And to support insights for best practices as changes to response guidelines change over time, based on each outcome of an event.
In the long term, management can also view wider trends such as footfall, overcrowding, incident hotspots to better prepare their resources or make changes to deliver a safer environment.
Whatever the operation, smart security delivers a more efficient response, faster, for any type of incident. Security teams must work with IT security to ensure these systems’ data networks are protected, given redundancy to work during power outages and extreme events. They also need to be jam-proof and follow rules so that data flows are stored with privacy, GDPR and other compliance rules in mind.
All of which creates a comprehensive system for efficient and layered coverage, to protect those in the most active or traditional of office, public, industrial or educational environments.
James is the head of marketing at Tamoco
