Page 88 - Security Today, September/October 2021

"A clear voice and sound clarify the intent behind the images that are captured on cameras, and increases situational awareness."
By Bruce Czerwinski
Controlled Entry
Vladeep/Shutterstock.com
Crystal Clear Security
1I
0 ways Intercom Solutions Can Control Entry and Secure Your Facilities
dentification cards, video surveillance, keypads, software, data- bases, and even the doors themselves. They are all part of a security strategy to keep employees safe in a facility. All used to control entry to a facility or building, which mitigates risk and increases safety and security.
form, a security officer can manage all communications through their access control workstation interface – answering and placing calls, managing a call queue, viewing associated video and locating callers on a map.
Specific events, whether common or critical, can automatically trigger pre-recorded messages, such as social distancing instructions or emergency lock-down announcements. The result is better situa- tional awareness, enabling a more informed, faster response by an officer who can easily see, hear, speak to, and manage any situation or threat that emerges.
Here are 10 ways that intercom solutions can control entry to a facility and help keep it secure.
1. Entrances to commercial buildings. Intercoms can help secu- rity teams to identify visitors via both audio and video, before they gain access to the facility, and guide them to where they need to be. They also assist in responding to emergencies with both pre-recorded and manual announcements at the door.
2. Industrial facilities and manufacturing plants. Often with large perimeters, here is where intercoms complement well with physical barriers, sensors, CCTV, and other security measures, allow- ing security teams to listen to activity, and to see it, if security cannot physically be at the perimeter to patrol. Automated broadcast mes- sages at the perimeter sound if an alarm triggers. It can alert the visi- tor, via voice, to leave the area.
Other business benefits to controlling entry include mitigating the risk of cybercrimes and data theft, protecting your brand, and employee retention.
Almost overnight, due to the pandemic, the way that entrances were controlled has changed. For many facilities, the pandemic created a new security perimeter. Suddenly there was a need to interact and communicate with individuals moving in and out of doors and spaces without physical intervention. Even more, many security perimeters pushed farther out in order comply with social distancing guidelines.
While ID cards and video surveillance are one way to control entrances to a facility, they cannot completely do the job. Video sur- veillance may show a scene and access control can control access, yet IP intercoms can detect voices, high noise levels, breaking glass, or other sounds that are not within direct view of a camera. A clear voice and sound clarify the intent behind the images captured on camera and increases situational awareness.
To control entry, today’s enterprise security systems need crystal clear voice, access control, and video surveillance working together to mitigate security risks. Working with an integrated IP intercom plat-
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