Insuring Access
Installing a product that will grow with the firm
- By Scott Lindley
- Nov 01, 2015
In the decade that First Service Insurance (FSI) has conducted business in
Roseville, Calif., it has provided contractors with specialized property and
casualty insurance products focused on general liability, workers compensation,
business auto and bonding/surety. Over the past five years, FSI has led
by integrating cutting-edge digital and paperless technologies into its operation
to improve productivity and service
“The company wanted to establish an effective and flexible access control system
for our personnel and tenants while safeguarding our sensitive client information
and ensuring that appropriate levels of physical and logical security were in
place,” said Ed Barr, partner and vice president of FSI. “Included among FSI’s
many considerations was how to implement a system that could provide facility,
area and office security plus administrative accountability. Management recognized
that their facility entry problems could be addressed by physical locks and
keys but that this conventional workaround would fail to meet their monitoring,
management or corporate needs.”
In addition to controlling who could get into the agency, management also
wanted to control when and where employees could enter, variables not possible to
control with a mechanical key. For instance, for clients, they wanted the front door
open during business hours but automatically locked at all other times, including
weekends. The wanted only some employees and management to be able to enter
at off times. Others should be able to enter only during certain hours. Periodically,
the agency hired temporary personnel and needed special rules to control their
entry.
In addition, the agency didn’t want all people to have access to all doors. For
instance, only management might be able to enter the room where they keep the
server or client records. Yet, everyone needed access to the bathroom. Importantly,
they also wanted to track who had been where and when.
“It’s not that we’re interested in tracking where employees go throughout a
day,” Barr said. “We’re not. But, if there is a breach of some sort, we can go back
and see who entered that specific door during the time that the incident most likely
happened. That way, we can rectify the situation quickly and easily, something
impossible to do with a key-based system.”
Proximity Key Ring Tags Provide Flexibility
With all these variations, they decided to explore an electronic access control alternative
based on proximity of RFID technology. Once FSI was convinced on the
advantages of proximity technology, they considered several manufacturers and
found that most offered only limited warranties on their products. As a result, for their proximity card readers, FSI selected Farpointe Data’s Pyramid Series Proximity
line because of their lifetime warranty.
They decided to use 125-kHz proximity key ring tags instead of the more common
clamshell-style proximity cards, as well. Read range is up to 4.5 inches.
“We felt that the proximity key ring tag would be easier and more convenient
for our employees,” Barr said. “With the tag on their key ring, which also typically
holds their car key and house key, the credential needed to enter the office would
be virtually impossible to leave at home as can happen periodically with cards. In
addition, finding one’s key ring in a pocket or purse is much easier than digging
for a card.”
FSI also chose a Wiegand-compatible Keri Systems access control panel with
integrated security software. Wanting to assure that they would have room for
growth, FSI selected Keri’s PXL-500 Tiger II Controller hardware platform which
provides access control for up to 256 doors at a single site and thousands of doors
spread over a number of remote sites. The system is managed by Keri’s proprietary
Doors.NET software.
Since the PXL-500 itself contains all the input/output functionality necessary
to manage a single door (lock relay, door sense, request-to-exit and two reader
inputs) as well as provide an alarm output, the agency wouldn’t need a series of
components, which oftentimes leads to purchases from several different manufacturers
and the prospect of blaming one another when the system doesn’t work as
planned. For growth potential in the future, each controller has an RS-485 port for
connection to other PXL-500’s (up to 128 per network) and an RS-232 serial port
for connection to a PC which communicates with the PXL-500 on the network.
This is where the PXL-500’s two
reader inputs are configured to interface
with the chosen proximity key tags.
Since the SB-593 Satellite Expansion
Board will plug into the PXL-500, FSI
could build in additional functionality
at a cost far less than that of adding
another controller. This gives each
PXL-500 an additional eight general
purpose inputs and four general purpose
outputs. Two of those inputs and
outputs can be configured to manage a
second door.
Furthermore, FSI discovered that
Keri’s solutions are resold by security
system installers, integrators and distributors.
As a result, FSI contracted
with Smith Security in West Sacramento,
Calif., an experienced regional
integrator of proximity access solutions,
to handle installation and integration
of the Farpointe and Keri
hardware and software.
“We specialize in all forms of electronic
security, such as access control,
intrusion and video surveillance for
both corporate and government clients,”
said Howard Smith, the owner
of Smith Security. “The solution
proved easy to install and configure,
owing to comprehensive step-by-step
documentation.”
Following installation and testing
of the access control components, entry/
exit permissions were scheduled
and programmed for all business associates.
The proximity key ring tags,
each with its own unique ID, were assigned
and distributed to employees
and tenants. Lastly, the system was
made operational.
Unlike the typical agency’s physical
lock-and-key solution, lost or damaged
proximity key ring tags can be readily
immobilized by the system administrator
and new tags securely authorized
and reissued. FSI’s operations manager
now has total control of building access
from her administrator desktop. With
the remote access features inherent in
the system, FSI’s managing partners
can monitor activity remotely without
stepping foot in the building.
Working as specified, the system
continues today to prove to be a reliable,
high-productivity investment for
FSI. Given the install in a 70’s-era
building, the minimal support maintenance
calls have been rectified efficiently
between Farpointe, Keri and
Smith Security. The goal was met, enabling
service and sales staffs to optimize
operations and safeguard client
insurance records.
Controlling employee and tenant
access to the facility on a 24/7 basis—
a daunting task for a physical security
system—is now straight-forward for
First Service Insurance.
This article originally appeared in the November 2015 issue of Security Today.