Page 24 - Security Today, November/December 2020

The Role of Security Adjusting to the new normal in the workplace
By Jeff Stanek
As people around the world adjust to a new normal, the health of buildings – and how they influence the health of their occupants – has become criti- cally important. As businesses, schools and other organizations prepare to re-open, they need to be confident in their ability to do so safely and building occupants need to trust that they will be protected.
A key component of the healthy building ecosystem is security and access solutions. Security management systems offer solutions that organizations can deploy to increase building health. The good news is many facilities already have these controls in place and are well positioned to adapt the technology to meet current health and safety needs.
DIFFERENT SOLUTIONS
Creating a safer workspace requires a variety of different solutions that range from the well-known rules around social distancing and mask wearing, to use of existing or new access control products, features or integrations. From a technology standpoint, an organization that can leverage and manage a variety of systems such as HVAC, fire and alarm systems, and security will be able to best optimize building health and efficiency. The system with a very immediate impact is the security management system, the heart of the building.
Much has been said about the integral role that security systems play in an intelligent or smart building, which has much in common with a healthy building. That’s because a security system can easily serveastheoperationalcoreofanintelligentbuilding.Thereaders, cameras with analytics and sensors already positioned throughout the building provide security teams with the tools and data they
need to help keep a building safe, and with minor adjustments, healthy. Security software can be directly integrated with other non-security systems as well, enabling a flow of additional real- time data and alerts. If the security system can be the operational core of an intelligent building, it stands to reason that it can also be the operational core of a healthy building.
Security systems can provide proactive and reactive measures for building owners and operators to help ensure the health and safety of building occupants. Before an employee or visitor even leaves their home, proactive screening solutions can prompt self-assessments. Web- and email-based tools can be integrated with access control systems to ensure all employees and visitors respond to the organization’s health screening questions, and access can be granted or denied based on those responses, all before someone leaves their house in the morning.
A LINE OF DEFENSE
That next line of defense is the access control system funneling all employees through a single, controlled entrance. Readers can be deactivated until a person with a special credential accesses the building, activating a controlled entry protocol. Thermal cameras can be integrated with facial recognition technology to automate the temperature screening process, another line of defense in preventing people with elevated temperatures to enter a building. The facial recognition technology can even be customized to look for things like masks before granting access.
To further mitigate risk of transmission of germs, touchless access solutions, like mobile credential-based access control combined with mechanized door openings, can significantly reduce the number of surface touchpoints. In settings where door
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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 | SECURITY TODAY
HEALTHY BUILDINGS
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