Continued Integrity
Multi-phase access control upgrade moves from outdated legacy to updated networked solution
- By Michael Bone
- Mar 01, 2019
For the County of Travis in Austin, Texas, research,
dedication and the right team resulted in the perfect
integrated security solution for its sprawling campus
and multi-location facilities. The Security Division
of the Facilities Management Department (FMD),
which governs security projects for the County, realized its goal of
a consolidated and upgraded access control, surveillance, intrusion
and life safety platform with networked power that provides data on
system integrity and assists with uptime and proactive monitoring
and maintenance.
Travis County stretches some 35 miles and includes 81 different
buildings ranging in age, size and overall purpose, encompassing
more than three million square feet of office space. Some locations
are historical buildings where project execution required a delicate
hand. Occupied spaces also dictated detailed coordination so staff
and community members would not be inconvenienced. The County’s
footprint includes courthouses, correctional facilities, community
centers, clinics, data centers, labs, forensic center, fleet services,
stadium, show barn and park ranger facilities. The city of Austin is
growing dramatically, continually expanding the need for new facilities
and services.
Goals and Challenges
Many of the access control systems were inherited from buildings acquired
and converted to commercial space as the County grew. There
was a mix of different types of systems in place at different buildings—
and of course getting all those solutions to talk to each other and
report in a consistent manner was unwieldy at best. The goal was to
move from the older legacy systems in place to a cohesive system that
could be actively monitored, controlled and managed from a single
user interface and platform. Key to these capabilities was an integrated
power solution that could be proactive managed and monitored.
Some of the critical remote monitoring capabilities from the connected
power solution installed by systems integrator Preferred Technologies
LLC (Pref-Tech), Houston, provide the end user real-time
notification of AC loss, overcurrent alerts, low battery warnings and
other intelligence that allows FMD to address situations before they
progress to a dangerous or critical area.
During the project, currently ongoing and slated for completion
in 2021, older access control was removed and migrated to newer
readers and controllers and locks were also upgraded. Buildings deploy
a full spectrum of different access control technologies, including
barcode, proximity, smartcards and Bluetooth readers. New IP
security cameras were added, as well as upgraded Category 5E and
6A structured cabling. The specification also calls for new parking
management, alarm monitoring, security communications, intrusion
detection and life safety systems.
One of the important criteria for the access control migration,
according to Stephen Davis, CPP, PSP, PCI and Security Division
Manager for the Facilities Management Department, was a cohesive
solution that would allow the department to provide the best
service to county departments and offices. The Travis County FMD
manages and provides professional services for project management,
planning, design, construction, maintenance, operations and leases.
It takes building projects from conception
through planning, design and construction,
with some locations LEED certified smart
buildings with solar energy.
“We monitor the assets we have the privilege
to protect,” Davis said. “We have a lot of
moving parts and responsibilities, including
monitoring and protecting many locations
that must be compliant with State and Federal
regulations. We have a 24-hour security
operations center which is similar to a 911 facility.
The overall goal is to be good stewards
of the County’s funds and provide a solution
that’s cost effective and results in a lower
total cost of ownership—while fulfilling the
needs of all stakeholders.”
Shannon Clyde, Electronic Security Systems
Manager, Security Division of FMD,
is overseeing and implementing the massive
migration of access control.
“There were quite a few different access
control systems operating,” Clyde said. “To
begin the project, we did an overall assessment
of technologies available and issued a
Request for Proposal. We decided on the Genetec
Security Center.”
Security Center is the unified security
platform from Genetec Inc.that blends IP
security systems within a single intuitive interface
to simplify operations. From access
control, video surveillance, and automatic
license plate recognition to security communications,
intrusion detection and analytics,
Security Center provides enhanced situational
awareness, unified command and control
and cloud connectivity.
Historical Buildings
Clyde said minor challenges were tied to the
age of the buildings, some dating from the
1800s with historical status.
“There weren’t too many challenges that
couldn’t be met with having the right people
and the right technology,” Clyde said. “We
have an excellent provider and partner in
Pref-Tech.”
Pref-Tech, led by Shaun Castillo, president,
is a multi-generational company that
focuses on the highest levels of service to
the customer. Pref-Tech has migrated successfully
to an IT centric systems integration
company with design-build-management
expertise in data communications
networking, security and low voltage. Its
IT-focused staff is able to complete custom
design and programming to meet the needs
of Travis County.
Pref-Tech answered the Request for Proposal,
a multi-phase bid centering on migrating
from a legacy Lenel Facility Commander
WNX. The County also required the specification
to include LifeSafety Power Inc.
prewired enclosures with integration into
Genetec Security Center for remote monitoring.
Pref-Tech’s custom monitoring plug-in
fit the spec for that direct integration.
“The goal of the project was to upgrade
their security and centralize on a unified
platform,” Castillo said. “One of the items
important to Travis County was the ability
for FMD to proactively address any
problems with power-connected solutions
system wide, so they specified LifeSafety
Power network communications and the
Pref-Tech monitoring plug-in for the project.
They are already starting to see widespread
benefits with networked monitoring
of power supplies.”
In one recent incident FMD and Pref-
Tech received real-time notification of a
temperature condition that caused airflow
to stop.
“Our monitoring plug-in can see data
spikes and provide the information immediately
to the Security Division operating
center and to our support team,” said Terry
King, General Manager, Pref-Tech. “In another
instance, the monitoring plug-in received
a power fault error and notified Travis
County before they were aware. It was an AC
fault but our system was proactively giving
us the information to more effectively manage
the issue. That further addresses system
reliability and protects the investment they
have made.”
Direct Integration
Yields Rich Data
Clyde said Pref-Tech was able to create an integration
with the Genetec software that provides
interaction and notification congruent
with LifeSafety Power solutions.
“It’s been extremely helpful,” Clyde said.
“We can manage power supplies remotely
and get alerts by email if there is an AC supply
issue or battery going out. We have a
small team and an expansive area to cover.
Before, we didn’t know what was going on
until we sent someone to physically check the
facility. This is a fantastic time and cost savings
mechanism.”
The custom programming of the Life-
Safety Power data analytics into the Genetec
Security Center software was directed and
executed by the IT team at Pref-Tech, including
Josh Glover, IT Director and Mark
Roland, Development and Systems Team,
Manager. Pref-Tech is a Genetec Channel
Partner and worked with the manufacturer
to deploy Security Center’s Software Development
Kit (SDK) which allows it to interface
and run notifications, alerts and other
capabilities directly in the program.
“At a high level, we created a plug in
which runs inside Security Center,” Roland
said. “That allows us to run our own code
to extend the Security Center platform and
integrate with other products and devices. It
uses Simple Network Management Protocol
(SNMP) to communicate with LifeSafety
Power’s NetLink (NL4 and NL2) Network
Communication Modules to receive alerts
and other notifications from the connected
power solutions. SNMP traps enable a device
to notify the management station of significant
events and share this detail with Genetec
software so all alerts and notifications
are coming into the platform, including AC
loss, overcurrent alert, low-battery (standby)
warning and more.”
All computer workstations on the Travis County network with the plug in receive notifications
natively in the user interface as a
custom task under the Pref-Tech tab. Once
the user opens the tab it reverts to the Genetec
Security Center where users can click
on a power supply and see status or other
alerts. Alerts can be configured in this area
and notified via email and also raise alarms
in Security Center. Any workstation can see
an alarm and acknowledge, but the ones with
the plug in can open the custom task and isolate
the issue further, Roland said.
Labor and Cost Savings
Clyde said it’s imperative to have this type of
detailed reporting for their system, because
of the wide area of coverage and limited
staff available to handle emergencies and
even routine maintenance.
“We previously had an outside firm to
perform preventative maintenance and visit
every site,” Clyde said. “Not only is this a
time saver but it saves money as well.”
He added that while there is additional
upfront cost for the solution, it makes up for
that with preventative maintenance savings
and a lower total cost of ownership.
“We can see, in the single pane of glass,
what’s happening and take action immediately,”
Clyde said. “If there’s a temperature
increase in the enclosure, maybe the environment
is a little hot. If that scenario continued
on it would shorten the
life of the equipment and
cost a lot of money down
the road.”
This article originally appeared in the March 2019 issue of Security Today.