Page 53 - Security Today, July/August 2020

“By working with a single source technology provider that offers a menu of technology offerings, there is an advantage of having a single point of contact for overall system design, installation, management and support.”
effort and all the contractors.
To avoid this scenario, healthcare com-
panies are turning to single source compa- nies that not only can handle the full array of technologies, but can do so down to the installation of the low voltage wiring, cabling, conduit trays, wireless antennas, hubs, electronic equipment racks and even the locks on the exit doors.
“By working with a single source tech- nology provider that offers a menu of tech- nology offerings, there is an advantage of having a single point of contact for overall system design, installation, management and support,” says Eric Brackett, President of BTI Communications Group, a tech- nology convergence provider serving the healthcare, logistics and aerospace sectors.
Brackett said that this can save health- care organizations significant time and money in technology consultation, along with saving “a lot of aggravation and headaches” related to managing construc- tion staff.
EVOLVING TECHNOLOGYINTEGRATION Traditionally, voice, data, network and physical security system purchases have been made independently. Security camer- as and access control systems, for example, are implemented by security integrators, while VoIP phone systems are installed by telecom providers. In this approach, each vendor offers a proprietary solution with little consideration as to how it will be con- verged with other aspects of the network.
However, integration of these applica- tions during new construction or remod- eling can offer immediate significant rev- enue, security, and savings to a healthcare organization’s bottom line, Brackett said.
“If you go to a traditional vendor in commercial security, VoIP or even IT, they may try to interest you in products that are currently promoted,” says Brackett. “It might not end up being a fully operational solution to the business problem they are attempting to solve.”
“Some vendors may not comprehend the full integration potential and so are not able to go the extra mile to deliver advanced functional capabilities that are built into the system,” Brackett said.
For example, an access control system can be integrated with the HR database to coordinate changes in employee status such as termination, to automatically ac- tivate or deactivate an employee keycard. If that same employee has remote access to the security cameras, the network can disable the account immediately.
access points, to access control systems, phys- ical security cameras, alarms, VoIP phones, nurse call systems and environmental and temperature monitoring – to name a few.
Then, there is integration of effort and coordination with other aspects of new construction when installing such systems.
COORDINATING WITH
THE GENERAL CONTRACTOR Technology integration, it turns out, is not covered under the umbrella of the general contractor. That means technology inte- grators, often hired by building owners, must coordinate and integrate their efforts
with the general contractor and associated plumbers, electricians, drywall installers, painters and other tradesmen in a side-by- side effort.
In addition, technology integrators of- ten coordinate with healthcare company personnel tasked with overseeing specific aspects of the installation, whether envi- ronmental control managers, IT staff or physical security experts.
In short, any integration – if not prop- erly coordinated, scheduled and executed with accommodations for last minute changes, etc. – can be a nightmare for those responsible for managing the overall
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