One of the biggest headaches in Latin American educational centers today is the access control of their students, workers and visitors, so tailor-made solutions are a priority for manufacturers, integrators and, obviously, end users.
By Santiago Jaramillo Hincapié
Nawel Javier Vargas, director of sales for the Andean region of HID Global, affirms that educational institutions have challenges in monitoring and controlling the movement of people on their campuses, given that thousands of students, visitors and officials circulate daily on campuses.
Taking into account this high circulation of people from this type of space, it is essential to formulate strategies and security solutions that allow the control of entry, exit and access to the different dependencies of the education buildings in order to avoid robberies, vandalism and other threats.
"Initially, it is necessary to plan how the circulation will be, both of students and officials, as well as that of visitors and then define the rules of use of the different spaces within the institution for each of the possible active elements that move through them, such as visitors, officials, students, equipment, vehicles, parcels and lost and found objects, "- Vargas notes.
In this way, as the representative of HID Global points out, the institution transmits an image of welcome, organization and security for those who visit and frequent its campus.
Regional market
Cameron Javdani, Director of Sales and Marketing of Louroe Electrónica, in relation to the importance of this market, ponders that "we are seeing higher interest and stronger growth rates in 2014, compared to previous years. This balance applies to most Latin American countries. Because economies are constantly growing, it is critical to ensure that access control or visitor management systems are not excessively onerous or designed to keep everyone out. A key priority is to enable rapid user verification to facilitate the entry and exit of authorized persons."
For her part, Jeannette Sweatt, business development manager for South America, Central America and the Caribbean of the company Boon Edam Inc., states that currently security in this area is very important due to the insecurity we have been facing to be able to carry out a control and support for the safety of its employees, of your sensitive information and at the same time of your facilities.
As for what is required to have an integrated access control system, Cameron Javdani stresses that Louroe Electronics specializes in audio subsystems intended for access control. "Having the ability to speak and hear people who are trying to enter the premises makes it easier to solve any problems that arise, for example, if a credential is not read correctly, or if someone does not possess proper identification. The audio also allows to solve this type of situation remotely, without having to assign a security guard at all access points, "he ponders.
Similarly, the representative of the company Boon Edam Inc., points out that to have an integrated system requires only a dry contact and preparation for the assembly of the reader. "A subsystem that can be integrated into our equipment and in turn to access control is an alarm and detection system, since if there is a fire conato a signal is sent to the equipment and where there is an access control it is released," he points out.
The Director of Sales and Marketing of Louroe Electrónica emphasizes that a huge advantage that the incorporation of audio has is that it can normally be installed with existing video systems. "Usually, there is no need to remove existing equipment to install the new equipment. Thanks to this, it is possible to save on equipment and installation costs. Additionally, integrators can participate in tenders with more competitive proposals. Most IP cameras synchronize audio streams with video, so operators can see, hear and respond verbally in real time," he says.
Javdani also argues that "we are seeing in almost every market an increasing interest in the audio feature. In Latin America in particular, audio is primarily used to obtain additional evidence in crime cases, and two-way audio is primarily used to prevent criminal activity. If you have the ability to talk to a suspect before he commits the crime, and say, "I'm seeing him on camera, the police are on the way," it's possible to provide better protection for assets."
Moving on to what are the main risks or problems that are currently faced in Latin America in terms of access control systems, and what is the best way to deal with them, Jeannette Sweatt, explains that "the only problem we can face is that some client has a team operating and is obsolete, spare parts are nil. The only way to solve this is to change an obsolete equipment for a new one."
For his part, Cameron Javdani ponders that "audio is rarely used on its own. It is much more frequent to find it integrated into video cameras and video recorders. The main risk in this regard is the possibility of ensuring compatibility between the different manufacturers. Fortunately, most manufacturers conform to industry standards for interoperability and it is increasingly rare to find that other equipment does not provide audio support, "he says.
Access Control Solution
For Nawel Javier Vargas, sales director for the Andean region of HID Global, there are some key points that must be considered when choosing an access control and people movement management solution:
- Automatic filling of each field of the visitor form when the visitor presents a driver's license or passport.
- Pre-registration of visitors by officials through the Internet or Intranet.
- Self-registration of a visitor through an autonomous computing point.
- Mobile solutions that facilitate the control and management of the entry of people, goods and packages in remote premises such as doors with guards.
- To ensure the proper functioning of these procedures, it is necessary to use a smart card, which allows, in addition to physical access control, other functionalities such as:
- Permission for logical access to workstations, and audit of access times and places.
- Loan of books in the library and transportation service within the campus.
- Cashless payment at campus restaurants or automatic product machines.
The greatest benefit of a traffic management system is the safety of students and officials, in addition to reducing theft, vandalism and other risks associated with the entry of unauthorized individuals.
It also allows the institution to convey an image of organization and trust, with the use of tools that streamline the registration of visitors and the movement of different resources within the educational institution.
