The Rise and Sophistication of Mobile Apps in Physical Security Sector
Technology helps support security, safety and emergency management programs
- By James K. Lantrip
- Sep 04, 2020
Safety and security risks are
everywhere including the
office, schools, concerts,
retail malls and hospitals.
However, security professionals,
who are tasked with protecting
the public, can’t be everywhere at all times
and they require timely information in order
to prevent potential incidents. Security
professionals are trained to know when a
person, or group of people are acting suspicious.
They see, hear and learn things
every day that could help prevent a safety
or security incident from happening. In
fact, many incidents have early-warning
predicators that are observable and these
incidents can help be prevented with the
right technology tools and techniques.
While well-trained security professionals
will always remain the steadfast foundation
of security programs, advancements
in technology that are accessing
easy-to-use apps can enhance their ability
to gather intelligence and protect the facility.
Blended personnel and technology solutions
can create efficiencies, target security
efforts and give security directors the
power to make informed decisions that deliver
even greater return on their security
investment. From tour management systems
and access control systems, to mobile
reporting and facility-wide alert systems,
technology helps support security, safety
and emergency management programs in
many ways.
Data collection. Tour management systems
using mobile devices allow security
officers to capture data in real time. Automated
instructions and questions can be
set up for security professionals to answer
at each checkpoint, such as entrances,
escalators and emergency callboxes. For
example, a security professional on daily
tours can be prompted monthly to document
fire extinguishers’ inspection dates,
essentially combining two tasks and providing
additional value.
Streamlined reporting. Data obtained
at checkpoints can be easily analyzed
through simple reports to identify operational
risks. These risks might include policy
issues, such as specific doors repeatedly
being left unlocked; safety issues, such as
recurring hazards at specific elevators; or
maintenance needs, such as inoperative
callboxes.
Actionable information. Technology
supports security strategy and enables
optimized security officer deployments,
precise post orders, directives for specific
threats and countermeasure deployment
to enhance security in areas where it is
needed most. For example, incident management
systems can identify sites and
time ranges of incident volume based on
historical data in the system. This can
help determine security staffing levels and
result in safer facilities and improved risk
mitigation, reducing costs to the facility.
The walls between physical security
and cyber security are coming down with
worlds converging. Today’s security professional
accesses high-performance apps
from their mobile phone or tablet which
enhance productivity, accountability and
access to vital information. Consider a security
warning about a predator on campus
which is shared with a physical security
team who are able to take action and
ensure that a threat doesn’t become a tragedy.
What about an access control system
that registers an employee physically swiping
access into their Washington, D.C.
office while their cyber presence is being
registered in Jacksonville,
Florida? Or telemetry collected from
cameras which alerts to suspicious activity
which empowers on-the-ground security
professionals to take action? Security professionals
are able to gather all this information
via the newest and most efficient
breed of mobile apps available.
AI AND APPS
Integrated solutions are going beyond
the outdated “detect and respond” model
of risk management to become an ecosystem
that provides a comprehensive safety
and security solution with artificial intelligence at its core. An integrated workforce ecosystem ensures
reduced liability and enhanced reputation that amplifies the effectiveness
of onsite security.
For example, HELIAUS® is able to transform data into actionable
insights, and take the guesswork out of where the security
team needs to proactively mitigate risk from incidents and
improves response. This advanced artificial intelligence platform
is designed to improve safety and reduce risk by enhancing onsite
guarding services.
It’s not an either or between technology and people; it’s about
arming security professionals to work with technology. Today’s work-
flows task security professionals via text and email. AI systems interface
with a company’s monitoring and response centers (MaRCs)
in which remote video monitoring data and video analytics data are
accessible from the portal and accessed via phone or tablet. These
technologies can have data sources that include information from
IoT sensors, drones, robots, along with cameras and other sources.
Our business ecosystems today include monitoring and response
centers that provide an abundance of tools and technologies
including threat intelligence platforms, remote video and
alarm and event monitoring to traditional alarms and remote
audio and positioning based patrol route management. Effective
communication is critical to maximizing the efficiency and
productivity of cutting-edge ecosystems to achieve optimum outcome
that ensures enhanced safety and security.
MASS NOTIFICATION APPS
For vital, time-sensitive messages, security professionals rely on
mass notification apps which allow them to engage in real-time,
one-way interactions with any number of people using a text
alert voice message, email message, app push, digital signage
and other customized channels system so that the message can be
shared instantly.
Security professionals and the administrators are able to send
notifications to thousands of people within seconds. They can initiate
requests for help, reply to messages and actively monitor the
well-being of their customers from their front-line perspective. Some
respected mass notification apps include Everbridge, LiveSafe, Safe-
Zone, AlertMedia, CallMy and ReGroup Mass Notification.
Why are mass notification apps “de rigueur” in our modern world?
Consider these scenarios. Several employees headed to the
corporate center have disembarked from a commuter train and
are walking through a transit center heading east to the parking
structure where their cars are located. However, when they arrive
at the ground lobby, their smartphone receives an automated text
message alerting them that there was a chemical spill near the
east side exit of the building. The text message guides them to
an alternative and safer exit to avoid being near a contaminant.
Or perhaps a gunshot is heard on a college campus. All students
and faculty receive a message about the location of that
gunshot and whether they should shield in place or move to another,
safer location.
Mass notification alerts could be used to protect people from
any number of hazards and emergencies — a flash flood warning
for people traveling near a suddenly dangerous roadway or a
wildfire alert where flames could be creeping dangerously close to
a road or housing community. These mass notification apps go
beyond two-way communication to provide a full critical communications
cycle that initiates an organization’s emergency response
plan’s predefined crisis communication plan.
Many of the mass notification apps include the ability for students
or employees who are working late to check in on their app
to request a security escort to walk them to their car or dormitory.
The advent of COVID-19 pandemic presents an immediate
need for security professionals and their communities to be able
to instantly communicate with each other. For example, if an employee,
student, teacher or contractor is found to be positive with
the virus, the security professionals need to roll out an immediate
containment plan.
LIVESAFE RELEASES COVID-19 APP
In March 2020, LiveSafe Inc. announced a free, limited version
of its safety and two-way communications app, as well as the
platform’s Command and Communications Dashboard, available
to any business, college, university or healthcare institution
that needs a way for employees or students to anonymously communicate
their concerns and receive important information about
the COVID-19 outbreak.
The COVID-19 Safety Resources App enables members of an
organization’s workforce or student body to engage in two-way
communications with their COVID-19 coordination or response
team. Rather than relying on email or emergency notification systems,
the LiveSafe Platform offers a discreet way for organizations
to engage their workforce and students during a time of
limited resources and rapidly changing information.
“We are all in this together and we are stronger when we come
together as communities to address critical safety, security and
health concerns,” said Carolyn Parent, LiveSafe president and
CEO. “In a dynamic environment like the COVID-19 situation,
being able to provide accurate information, mitigate your employee’s
concerns, and get inbound information about their status
can be overwhelming to safety and security teams. LiveSafe enables
two-way chat and broadcast, and offers needed anonymity
so you can quickly identify who needs help and deliver accurate
information to your workforce or student population.”
APPS AND COST-SAVINGS
Using HELIAUS, a major Hollywood production studio
was able to identify and address their workplace hazards with
$657,000 in potential savings due to the improved reporting of
slip-and-fall hazards. A perishable foods manufacturer saw over
$55 million in potential losses avoided at a single site due to this
AI platform.
A Texas hospital plagued with homeless entering the facility
saw a 200 percent drop in security incidents with increased staff,
visitor and patient satisfaction. A Washington DC landmark property
realized $67,064 in savings from improvement to fire safety
measures driven by this AI platform that directly reduced the risk
of fire from ovens and heating elements accidentally being left on.
Today, the walls between manned guarding, staff and technology
will come down leaving us with an ecosystem that allows ALL
things to cooperate at light speed which ensures
that we’re considering everything we need to
consider, and bringing all these resources to
bear in a way that drives better outcomes.
This article originally appeared in the September 2020 issue of Security Today.