NAPCO Joins ZWave Alliance, Supports Kwikset
NAPCO Security is a member of ZWave Alliance with its iBridge line of Interactive Remote Services, including lighting, appliance, locking and temperature controls available thru the iBridge App for use on any smartphone or smart device (tablet /iPad), etc. and also uniquely remote configurable by dealers from their smart devices, too for No-Roll™ customer service calls and service enhancements. NAPCO iBridge™ Online Remote Services Product is a slimline, android-based Tablet Computer, internet-enabled and uses 802.11 WiFi, and will put security and more at the fingertips of security accounts. iBridge will provide them with the ability to interact and control their Napco security system, view live video cameras and recordings, control thermostats and lighting, all from one easy-to-use tablet/touchscreen.
Z-Wave is a next-generation wireless ecosystem that lets all your home electronics talk to each other, and to you, via remote control. It uses simple, reliable, low-power radio waves that easily travel through walls, floors and cabinets. Z-Wave unifies all your home electronics into an integrated wireless network, with no complicated programming and no new cables to run. Any Z-Wave enabled device can be effortlessly added to this network, and many non-Z-Wave devices can be made compatible by simply plugging them into a Z-Wave accessory module. In seconds, your device gets joined to the network and can communicate wirelessly with other Z-Wave modules and controllers.
Napco announces that any of their new or existing iBridge-equipped, Gemini™ Control Panels now supports Kwikset’s popular line of SmartCode™ deadbolt locks with Home Connect™ technology through the Z-Wave automation functionality.
With a Napco Gemini Panel at the heart of a full iBridge interactive connected home automation system, controlling locking, security, video, temperature and/or lighting, homeowners will now have complete access control capabilities of their Kwikset SmartCode locks, including remote locking/unlocking, viewing current door lock status, receiving text-, email- and even video-clip-messages, when the Kwikset lock is engaged or unlocked, or the Napco alarm is turned on or off when the lock is used.
Kwikset’s SmartCode deadbolts and levers with Home Connect technology integrate with home security and automation systems, allowing the locks to communicate with other wireless products in the home such as security systems and home entertainment systems. Home Connect technology delivers convenience and peace of mind to homeowners with complete remote locking and unlocking via smartphones and tablets.
“iBridge Interactive Connected Home Services teamed with Kwikset Home Connect Locks, take a great first line of defense for residential security consumers and add new-found convenience and a new positive, daily consumer experience from their security system. This, plus Napco iBridge Dealers’ remote service-call options via their smart devices, should improve service levels, satisfaction, and overall, dealer account retention. iBridge Systems, integrating popular Kwikset Locks, provide a great new source of RMR for dealers, for new and existing alarm accounts, and a more-cost-effective means of competing with any large company, cable or telephone service provider,” says Jorge Hevia, senior VP, sales & marketing for Napco.
For more information, visit www.napcosecurity.com
SafeRise Solution Raises The Bar On School Security
The Bais Yaakov School for Girls, a high school in Los Angeles, has long been proactive about school security. Adam Cohen, a volunteer Facilities Manager for BYLA, initiated the effort as far back as 2003, when he oversaw the installation of seven doors with access keypads and electric door strikes. Cohen began working with systems integrator OMD, Inc. in 2006, when they upgraded security with the additional video surveillance. They also replaced the seven access keypads with more secure fingerprint readers and upgraded electric door strikes.
In the summer of 2009, Cohen upgraded to the FST21 SafeRise solution. "Given what is going on in the world, I saw the need to enhance the security at the school. What prompted the upgrade is that we wanted something better than fingerprints alone," he explains. “Using the fingerprint readers provided us with the needed security, but it was far from convenient. The students complained that the readers were slow and unreliable. Strangely enough, the enrollment process was not reliable for some users and their fingerprints don't even register. The enrolling system simply says there's nobody there. We needed a better system."
FST21's SafeRise solution In Motion Identification registers users and can identify anyone at the door and allow approved user access through a fusion of biometric recognition, face, behavioral, voice and even license plate recognition. No keys, cards or access codes are needed. The system can verify individuals and make an informed decision whether to allow entrance. (It also earned the Security Industry Association - SIA - Best New Product Award in 2011.)
More than 400 students and staff members in the Bais Yaakov School for Girls use the system. It spans seven secured doors, including the front entrance, three back entrances and three doors between each floor of the building. All are exterior doors.
Lights and canopies were added where needed. "We learned a lot about cameras, lighting, and all the environmental conditions that effect how the system works," Cohen explains. "If, for instance, someone's face is in the sun, it affects how a camera recognizes them. The canopies provide even lighting on the face, as do exterior lights at night, to ensure accuracy of user recognition."
BYLA upgraded the system a few months ago to add an eighth door – an internal door to an office of the staff members. “At BYLA's request, we created specific parameters that include restrictions for each group in the database. For example, students are expected to enter the school before 8:05 a.m.. every day. Any student that arrives after that time is diverted to the school receptionist to be listed as 'late for school'. We also created the doorman application designed for the receptionist to see all cameras on the same screen and open under supervision the doors for deliveries and for students who are late and/or the system didn't open the door for them,” explained Daniel Peled, FST21 VP of Sales & Marketing.
"We've customized who has access and at what times," Cohen adds. "Staff, for example, has different access hours than students. Custodial staff has different hours than students, and if, for instance, there are extra-curricular activities going on after school hours, we can remotely update the access parameters for any group."
Cohen advises that the first line of defense for any school is to keep the doors locked, and the outer perimeter secured. "You want to have perimeter security, surveillance, and monitoring from different places. Having a security guard is always a great thing. You're always going to have visitors, so its' good to have a person to monitor any access control system and talk to visitors through an Intercom system. There should be one person dedicated to letting people in."
With school security uppermost as a priority in the hearts of minds of so many, especially in the aftermath of the tragically sad incident at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the SafeRise solution from FST21 represents a strong and significant line of defense, letting the good people in and keeping the bad people out.
"It's a very precise system," Cohen adds. "It works very well and is upgradeable. And, FST21 is great about giving us the support and solutions we need to meet our needs."
Ingersoll Rand Secures Military Barracks
Hotel-style locks, designed for infrequent use, are not holding up at military bases where they are predominantly used in barracks. As a result, Ingersoll Rand is providing the military with a “Try Me” program to learn how to better secure military bases.
“Hotel-style locks have historically had a shorter than desired lifespan when used in military barrack applications,” emphasizes April Dalton-Noblitt, Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies, director-vertical marketing. “Military barracks maintenance managers are finding that Schlage commercial lock solutions, the CO-Series locks and AD-Series combination locks and readers, are a perfect replacement. They are more secure and durable and are especially easy to program and install on retrofit programs.”
Of special interest to the military, the exclusive FIPS-compliant wireless combination lock and reader, the AD-401 complies with the HSPD-12 / FIPS 201 / PIV directive.
Dalton-Noblitt cites how a navy base had predominantly hotel-style locks throughout their many barracks. The Facility Maintenance Manager (FMM) responsible for base maintenance and locks programming was frustrated that their six-year old hotel locks at the training barracks were already in need of repair and replacement. He also wanted to upgrade from magnetic stripe cards to proximity. Their integrator suggested Schlage CO-Series locks as a better alternative to address the durability and credential concerns.
They showed the FMM how easy installation and programming was and emphasized that the cost to replace hotel locks was offset by the doors not having to be replaced. He let the manager hold the lock to appreciate how the commercial ANSI Grade 1 standard CO-Series lock is more solid and durable than the hotel-style lock and, therefore, better able to handle the abuse they get in a military housing. Lastly, the integrator offered a “Try Me” test. After the test, the FMM got the approval to not only install CO-Series locks on the floor originally being addressed but to implement them throughout the entire building.
The CO-Series offers a variety of options – keypad only, proximity, magnetic stripe and dual credential plus PIN options are available. Users can control where people go and when by setting up access rights and schedules in a central database which gets transferred to the locks using Schlage Utility Software with a handheld device. With some versions, audit trails can provide visibility as to who accessed a door and when. An innovative key-in-lever design also lets users leverage their existing master key systems.
The modular, open architecture AD-Series lets users customize door openings with options such as credential reader type, networking, finish and levers to create a perfect fit. Yet, as their business needs change, so can their access control solution to new credential technologies, a variety of network protocols, increased security levels and system expansions. Upgrades can be as simple as interchanging a module.
Military barracks FMMs wanting to “Try Me” on CO-Series locks or AD-Series combination locks and readers can simply contact their local Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies sales office for their nearest authorized integrator.
