A Taste of Innovation

A Taste of Innovation

Up-to-date technology provides high-level security for Crider Foods

Privately owned and operated, Crider Foods represents a commitment to high-quality products, food safety and customer service. The Georgia-based supplier of fresh, frozen and pre-packaged food has been in business for six decades and is a leader in the food industry.

The Crider Foods Canning Facility was built in Stillmore, Ga., after a fire destroyed the company’s original Augusta plant. In 2003, a “fully cooked” plant was added to the site. As part of their commitment to being a leader in canning proteins and in its fully cooked operation, Crider places high priority on investing in equipment and expertise to ensure continuous improvements.

Securing the Food Supply

After completion of the canning plant, Crider needed an effective way to provide security for its large production and processing facilities. They contracted with Vanderbilt Industries, a global leader providing state-of-the-art security systems, to set up a high-level security system that would monitor operations throughout the expansive facility.

Today, the Vanderbilt SMS system manages access for more than 500 employees and contractors at approximately 150 contact points spread over 11 locations at the Stillmore campus. Locations include the fully cooked plant, company headquarters, visitors’ lodge, canning plant, cooler building, transportation building,warehouses and other sites. Tutela Inc., out of Brunswick, Ga., is the integrator and installer on this long-running project.

The Vanderbilt system helps management to control employee access throughout the plant, ensuring that only authorized individuals can access each individual area.

“The Vanderbilt system enables us to manage employees so that they can access only the areas where they have been scheduled to work, when they are scheduled to work,” explained Ron Sasser, Crider’s IT Director, who also oversees security. “We also have the flexibility to easily change those access privileges as needed, at any time.”

Crider also uses their Vanderbilt access control system to verify time and attendance information. If an employee doesn’t punch in, Sasser and staff can use the system to verify when he or she has entered the property. In addition to controlling access to buildings and within buildings, Crider employs guards at the facility’s road entrances to verify that all vehicles coming onto the property are authorized to be there.

Achieving Full Compliance

While asset protection is always an issue, for Crider Foods the No. 1 priority is maintaining full compliance with food and safety regulations in order to achieve the highest level of Safe Quality Food (SQF) Certification. Crider has succeeded in gaining SQF Level 3.

“We are committed to an extremely high level of access control management to prevent any cross contamination of our products,” Sasser said. “Only a few companies reach [SQF Level 3]. To reach such a certification level, we carefully control the movement of all individuals within the complex, and this means, for example, restricting access to chemicals and to the roofs of our buildings, among other sensitive areas. Our security system is absolutely critical to helping ensure compliance to all the health and safety rules and regulations we have in the food production industry. ”

An Integrated Approach

In addition to the access control solution, Crider also deploys 100 IP video surveillance cameras to keep any eye on operations.

“Cameras are helpful,” Sasser said, “but you have to start with access. My access control system tells me who I’m seeing on the video. Now, I know who someone is, because the access control system puts them in that location. Without access control, the cameras are only so good.”

Over the years, the Vanderbilt SMS system has helped Crider Foods to reach and maintain their strict access control goals.

“The Vanderbilt system is working well,” Sasser said. “It’s doing everything it is supposed to do. We’ve used it for so many years, and Tutela has been very good taking care of any issues and system expansion needs along the way. If we have a need, this team gets it taken care of. “

The Vanderbilt system, under Tutela’s watchful installation and administration, provides a layered level of security starting from the minute each employee or visitor steps onto the Crider property, down to limiting access to chemical storage.

The system supplements time and attendance data and provides documentation for OSHA reporting. But, at the end of the day, Crider’s high-level security system also provides management the tools they need to achieve one of the highest Safe Quality Food (SQF) Certification levels in the industry, and that’s worth a great deal in proof of product quality and company reputation.

This article originally appeared in the April 2015 issue of Security Today.

Featured

  • Evolving Cybersecurity Strategies: Uniting Human Risk Management and Security Awareness Training

    Organizations are increasingly turning their attention to human-focused security approaches, as two out of three (68%) cybersecurity incidents involve people. Threat actors are shifting from targeting networks and systems to hacking humans via social engineering methods, living off human errors as their most prevalent attack vector. Whether manipulated or not, human cyber behavior is leveraged to gain backdoor access into systems. This mainly results from a lack of employee training and awareness about evolving attack techniques employed by malign actors. Read Now

  • Report: 1 in 3 Easily Exploitable Vulnerabilities Found on Cloud Assets

    CyCognito recently released new research highlighting critical security vulnerabilities across cloud-hosted assets, revealing that one in three easily exploitable vulnerabilities or misconfigurations are found on cloud assets. As organizations increasingly shift to multi-cloud strategies, the findings underscore significant security gaps that could provide attackers with potential footholds into networks. Read Now

  • Built for Today, Ready for Tomorrow

    Selecting the right VMS is critical for any organization that depends on video surveillance to ensure safety, security and operational efficiency. While many organizations focus on immediate needs such as budget and deployment size, let us review some of the long-term considerations that can significantly impact a VMS's utility and flexibility. Read Now

  • Paving the Way to Smart Buildings

    In today's rapidly evolving security landscape, the convergence of on-prem, edge and cloud technologies are critical. The physical security landscape is undergoing a profound transformation, driven by the rapid digitalization of buildings and the evolving needs of modern organizations. As the buildings sector pivots towards smart, AI and data-driven operations, the integration of both edge and cloud technology has become crucial. Read Now

  • The Cybersecurity Time Bomb

    If you work in physical security, you have probably seen it: a camera, access control system, or intrusion detection device installed years ago, humming along without a single update. It is a common scenario that security professionals have come to accept as "normal." But here is the reality: this mindset is actively putting organizations at risk. Read Now

New Products

  • Unified VMS

    AxxonSoft introduces version 2.0 of the Axxon One VMS. The new release features integrations with various physical security systems, making Axxon One a unified VMS. Other enhancements include new AI video analytics and intelligent search functions, hardened cybersecurity, usability and performance improvements, and expanded cloud capabilities

  • A8V MIND

    A8V MIND

    Hexagon’s Geosystems presents a portable version of its Accur8vision detection system. A rugged all-in-one solution, the A8V MIND (Mobile Intrusion Detection) is designed to provide flexible protection of critical outdoor infrastructure and objects. Hexagon’s Accur8vision is a volumetric detection system that employs LiDAR technology to safeguard entire areas. Whenever it detects movement in a specified zone, it automatically differentiates a threat from a nonthreat, and immediately notifies security staff if necessary. Person detection is carried out within a radius of 80 meters from this device. Connected remotely via a portable computer device, it enables remote surveillance and does not depend on security staff patrolling the area.

  • AC Nio

    AC Nio

    Aiphone, a leading international manufacturer of intercom, access control, and emergency communication products, has introduced the AC Nio, its access control management software, an important addition to its new line of access control solutions.