Who Should Read This Book

This book is designed for new and experienced system design consultants, designers, and project managers who build these complex systems and for the building owners, security directors, and facilities directors who operate them. Each will benefit from the expansive array of issues covered. Many of these subjects have only rarely or perhaps have never been discussed before in any book to my knowledge. These include such aspects as how to make your security system virtually disappear on the IT system infrastructure, as though it were not there at all to anyone but the system administrator (Chapter 17); a complete discussion on how to use security technology to delay, confound, and take down aggressors in very high-security environments (Chapter 4); and secrets on system implementation that help ensure a stable, reliable, and high-functioning system (Chapters 9 and 18). There is some discussion about pitfalls out of which the potential for lawsuits has arisen for well-meaning but unsuspecting project participants. My goal is to help you gain command of every aspect of the process necessary to ensure your success, the success of the project team, and especially the success of your client.

Designing enterprise integrated security systems seems daunting to most who have only designed systems for single buildings or for small campus environments. The challenge has become ever more important with the advent of terrorism and the move toward using electronic security systems to augment homeland security. The challenge of helping to protect our nation’s transportation, economic, and cultural infrastructure raises the importance of designing what used to be esoteric systems. Today, these systems are becoming more commonplace. However, many of them are being designed using old skillsets and outdated techniques, resulting in outmoded and therefore unsuitable results.

A Brief Background

When I wrote the first edition of this book, the security technology industry had only just recently crested a hill. Behind us, in the rearview mirror, is yesterday’s technology. Ahead of us toward the horizon is the technology of tomorrow. It is different from the past. It is IT based. Many in the security industry are afraid of it. They will resist the change. They will lose. Those who resist IP-based security systems will condemn themselves to security industry irrelevance.

In the 1990s, large corporate and government clients began to understand that they are better served by enterprise-class security systems. Enterprise systems differ from older approaches in that they permit the uniform application of security policies and procedures across the entire organization. They permit centralized monitoring of security, business processes, and adherence to policy. They reduce liability and operating costs. They permit a user from one facility to freely access any other if his or her access level permits.

At the time the first edition of this book was written, nearly every manufacturer had embraced the enterprise security concept, but many were still trying to make it work in the context of older system architectures. Increasingly, at the time of the second edition, these are gradually being replaced by systems with pure IT infrastructures. By reading this book, you will be ahead of the game and be able to make design decisions that will save you and your clients tens of thousands of dollars and many headaches.

These large-scale enterprise-level integration projects raise the bar, and we must all train well enough to jump over it. This book presents everything you will need to know to achieve success on these complex projects.

A Framework for Understanding the Design Process

I frequently receive calls from designers who are challenged with projects beyond their experience, asking how to approach the task. I tell them the first question is not how, but why? Now, do not misunderstand me: I do not mean why should I bother? I mean that the process should begin with a clear and complete understanding of the following:

• What assets are we trying to protect?

• From whom are we protecting them?

• And against what kinds of attack or misuse?

• How can I use integration to improve the operations of my client and disrupt the operations of criminals and terrorists?

Only after these questions are understood and answered can we begin to consider what to design and how to approach it. This book will help you learn how to design large integrated security systems, beginning with how to approach the project with the question, Why?

Goals of the Book

After finishing this book, you will have a new command of the following:

• Strategic issues

The importance of integrating electronics and physical security with a solid foundation of good security management.

How to work with the client’s best interests in mind.

How to know when to integrate systems and when it does not benefit the client.

The difference between strategic integration and haphazard integration.

The difference between component integration and integration of functions.

How to dramatically improve security at a facility using good integration strategies.

How to lower system and staffing costs and improve employee productivity using good system integration practices.

How to create a solid basis for design, including

What is security and what is not.

How to determine the appropriate level of security.

We will examine why you need to know more about IT systems and cover issues most designers did not know were important (to their ultimate peril and that of their clients).

We will discuss the esoteric side of integration, including how to design deployable delaying barriers and when and how to use reactive electronic automated protection systems that can actively intervene in a security event, stopping it immediately, from the security command center.

• Technical issues

How to budget systems and plan phased implementation.

We will fully explore the system design elements, including drawings of each type, and how to write quality specifications that stand up to challenges and clearly state the client’s needs. We will examine what can be achieved by integrating with other building systems and explore the many ways to interface with them.

We will also examine the foundation of how to design, including

Drawing hierarchies.

Specification hierarchies.

How to completely integrate drawings and specification into a single, thorough, and perfectly understandable set of construction documents.

We will explore in great detail how to design each type of drawing required, including

Title sheets

Site plans

Floor plans

Elevations

Detail plans

Physical mounting details

Riser diagrams

Single line diagrams

System interface diagrams

System schedules

We will cover every typical aspect of security system specifications, including how to make them communicate the client’s best interests so that the contractor understands what to do, how to do it, and how to know he or she has succeeded.

We will explore how to select the best technologies to use for each project, considering the client’s long-term interests, short-term budget concerns, installation cost factors, visual aesthetics, long-term maintenance and reliability considerations, the ability to expand the system flexibility, and the ability to scale the system size.

We will discuss how to secure the security system from various kinds of attacks, including insider attacks.

• Tactical issues

We will discuss how to manage client relations so that our design work is always in his or her best interest and he or she understands our intent and has constant confidence in us.

We will examine the differences between what needs to be in bid documents, construction documents, and as-built documents.

We will examine each type of technology and explore its benefits and limitations, including alarm and access control systems, analog and digital security video elements and systems, security communications systems, system infrastructure options, system integration options, and security command center options.

We will also discuss how to provide bidding support to clients that gives them a truly empirical standard of evaluation when selecting bidders.

We will explore the important and delicate matter of how to review system installation to help ensure the success of the consultant, the contractor, and the client.

We will also examine legal considerations and how good system design coupled with quality construction management and good relationship management can work together to the success of all project participants, avoiding problems, confrontations, and lawsuits.

Designing enterprise integrated security systems is exciting, challenging, and highly rewarding. A well-designed system can save a client millions of dollars over its life in improved operations efficiency, improved safety, and avoided security losses. The best enterprise integrated security system designers are highly prized for this reason.

Arrangement of the Book

This book is arranged to go from the strategic to the technical to the tactical. Strategic subjects are covered primarily in Chapters 2 and 3 and this chapter, technical subjects are covered primarily in Chapters 4–10, and tactical subjects are covered primarily in Chapters 11–19. The strategic section covers the “why” of design, including some important history that provides insight into how to stay in the path of industry development and not be sidetracked as it goes by. The technical section explains how it is done, and the tactical section provides the cultural knowledge that leads to project success. If at any time (especially in the technical section) it gets to be a little too much at once, it is OK to jump around a bit. If you are not interested in the history of electronic systems, or any other specific section, feel free to skip that section; however, each section provides important insight to the total process. For example, the section on history provides important insight into how to spot industry trends before they occur. I have provided advice and consulted with manufacturers on important industry developments many years before they were thought to be important by the manufacturers. Those who listened and modified their designs accordingly moved out in front of the industry. Those who did not were left behind. How did I know where the industry was going? The seeds of the future are in the past. Understanding how the founders of the industry dealt with the technical problems they faced provides us with insight into why things work the way they do today. Understanding what we want to achieve and how other industries have dealt with similar problems provides us with insight into how to manipulate technology to achieve it. The great body of knowledge is always “out there.” We only have to see and not just look. Understanding the industry from strategic, technical, and tactical viewpoints gives us the ability to solve problems in a way that endures as technology develops and as the organization grows. It is helpful to understand strategic and tactical aspects first to help understand why the technical details are so important. Although the challenge is considerable, the information is easily digestible if you take it in small bites.

The book is also arranged in a useful way as a learning tool that then can be used for years as a reference guide. You will find that some information is repeated. That is intentional. All the information herein is organized in a way that guides the user from the simple to the complex. So you will find a concept presented first, then a discussion of its strategic value, then tactical applications, and, finally, a discussion on the technical implementations of the technology.

Welcome to convergence-based integrated security systems design and thank you for reading.

Questions and Answers

1. Which of the below are true?

a. Integrated security systems comprise numerous subsystems together into one complete, highly coordinated, high-functioning system.

b. System integration involves both the integration of components and the integration of functions.

c. Convergence-based integrated security systems are integrated security systems that utilize TCP/IP Ethernet infrastructure as the basic communications media.

d. All of the above are true.

2. Which of the below are true?

a. Typical subsystems include alarm, access control, closed-circuit video, two-way voice communication, logistics control, and other related systems.

b. Typical subsystems include alarm, access control, closed-circuit video, two-way voice communication, animal control, and other related systems.

c. Typical subsystems include alarm, access control, closed-circuit video, two-way voice communication, parking control, and other related systems.

d. None of the above is true.

3. Which of the below are true?

a. In a well-integrated security system, when an employee is terminated, the act of pressing OK on the human resources software screen can cause the employee to also be terminated from the access control system and IT system and even shut down access to his or her personal cell phone.

b. In a well-integrated security system, when an employee is terminated, the act of pressing OK on the human resources software screen can cause the employee to also be terminated from the access control system and IT system and even shut down access to his or her business telephone and voice mail.

c. In a well-integrated security system, when an employee is terminated, the act of pressing OK on the human resources software screen can cause the employee to also be terminated from the access control system and IT system and even shut down access to his or her personal email address.

d. None of the above is true.

4. Which of the below are true?

a. Enterprise systems differ from older approaches in that they permit the uniform application of security policies and procedures across the entire organization.

b. Enterprise systems differ from older approaches in that they permit the application of band-aid approaches to technology problems that should be fixed strategically.

c. Enterprise systems differ from older approaches in that they permit uniformed security officers to carry weapons.

d. All above are true.

5. Which four questions to ask before designing any system are true?

a. What assets are we trying to protect? From whom are we protecting them? And against what kinds of attack or misuse? How can I use integration to improve the operations of my client and disrupt the operations of criminals and terrorists?

b. How can we protect the facility against fire and riot? From whom are we protecting them? And against what kinds of attack or misuse? How can I use integration to improve the operations of my client and disrupt the operations of criminals and terrorists?

c. What assets are we trying to protect? Is activism a problem? And against what kinds of attack or misuse? How can I use integration to improve the operations of my client and disrupt the operations of criminals and terrorists?

d. What assets are we trying to protect? From whom are we protecting them? Can dogs help? How can I use integration to improve the operations of my client and disrupt the operations of criminals and terrorists?

6. After you finish this book you will have a command of the following:

a. Strategic tissues, technical issues, and tactical issues

b. Strategic issues, tactical issues, and power control issues

c. Strategic issues, technical issues, and tactical issues

d. None of the above

7. The best enterprise integrated security system designers are highly prized because:

a. A well-designed system can save a client millions of dollars over its life in improved operations efficiency, improved safety, and avoided security losses.

b. A well-designed system can save a client thousands of dollars over its life in improved operations efficiency, improved safety, and avoided security losses.

c. A well-designed system can save a client millions of dollars over its life in increased manpower costs, improved safety, and security losses.

d. None of the above.

8. Which is true?

a. Strategic subjects are covered primarily in Chapters 2 and 3 and this chapter, technical subjects are covered primarily in Chapters 4–10, and tactical subjects are covered primarily in Chapters 11–19.

b. Spreadsheets are covered in Chapters 2 and 3 and this chapter, word processing is covered primarily in Chapters 4–10, and network storage subjects are covered primarily in Chapters 11–19.

c. Security guards should not eat sandwiches while on duty due to the possibility of food poisoning affecting their performance, or dozing off at the security console if the sandwich is really good.

d. All of the above.

9. Which below is true?

a. Understanding the industry from strategic, technical, and tactical viewpoints gives us the ability to move easily between IP and analog technologies.

b. Understanding the industry from strategic, technical, and tactical viewpoints gives us the ability to solve problems in a way that endures as technology develops and as the organization grows.

c. Understanding the industry from strategic, technical, and tactical viewpoints gives us the ability to answer why the chicken crossed the road. And contemplate why we are questioning its motives.

d. None of the above.

10. In this book:

a. You will find a concept presented first, then a discussion of its strategic value, then tactical applications, and, finally, a discussion on the technical implementations of the technology.

b. Strategic weaponry can be used against petty offenders.

c. Only tactical weaponry should be used against petty offenders.

d. Tactical weaponry should only be used against Petty Officers.

Answers: 1: d, 2: c, 3: b, 4: a, 5: a, 6: c, 7: a, 8: a, 9: b, 10: a