The heart of the system is the data it produces and feeds to management. Those data are contained in and distributed from the system's database. The fundamental requirement of good system management is good database management.

Although most Alarm/Access Control System databases are pretty well conceived, it is important to ensure that bad data do not creep into the system. Bad data can include:

It is imperative to keep Access Control System databases free of outdated card-holders. This can happen naturally as employees leave the company if the card-holders are not quickly marked as terminated. It can happen much more quickly if the database includes visitors whose unreturned cards are not immediately voided. I know of one system where this occurred and the company ended up ordering an additional 5,000 visitor cards within a few months of its initial operation. As the database grows in size, each additional card can cause the system to operate more slowly. Over time, the system may become slower and slower, and eventually crash.

Similarly, an accumulation of false and nuisance alarms, or system error reports, when left unchecked can obscure real problems with the system. Most people know that the purpose of the alarm system is to notify the security console operators of an alarm, but fewer realize that it has a second purpose — to allow the operators to see system reliability trends that need attention. When false and nuisance alarms and system error reports go unchecked it is common for operators to ignore actual alarms and for the system to go into a general state of disrepair that affects its ability to do its primary job.

As systems grow many organizations discover that different buildings in their organization are operated by different access control systems. This can happen even on a common campus. At some time, the organization may want to consolidate its access control system operations. While this is simple when all buildings are on the same access control system, it is complicated when they are different systems. Typically, a common desire is to have the access cards of both systems useable in both, without having to manually enter and maintain both databases individually.

One effective way to do this is to use one of the systems as the enrollment and card management source for both. Then, a daily update from that one system to the other can ensure that both access databases are in sync. This requires that a script be written to adjust the data fields of the controlling system to write its data into a transfer database that is formatted in a compatible format to the second system. Then the second system can be updated daily, or with each record update of the controlling system's database.

After the Access Control Database, the Alarm Database is the second important product of the Alarm/Access Control System. It can be used to notify management of active alarms, and help management determine vulnerabilities in the facility.

A prevalence of alarm events at a particular location can mean that the system needs a redesign, or when such alarms occur unusually, that someone is testing your intrusion detection capabilities. In any event, false or nuisance alarms are a signal that something systematic should be done to remedy the problem.

The heart of Alarm/Access System usefulness lies in its ability to generate reports that can uncover trends and generate reductions in risks for the organization. Critical reports include:

By using system reports, especially in conjunction with other systems, you can uncover potential risks that would otherwise go unnoticed.

Nothing beats a good set of security system drawings for clarity about how a system is designed and installed. A good set of As-Built drawings begins with a good set of design drawings, which are updated by the Field Foreman with actual “As-Built” conditions.

A good set of As-Built drawings should include:

Each cabinet or rack should have a pouch on the inside of its door with relevant drawings to the equipment in that cabinet, which should typically include:

Another way to document wiring is by using Wire Run Sheets. A Wire Run Sheet is a spreadsheet that includes each cable in the system and its component wire colors and connection points (source to destination). A Wire Run Sheet will include:

This is done for every circuit in the system. Wire Run Sheets are usually assembled according to the devices to which their wires connect. For example, in a pouch inside the door of every equipment rack or cabinet there is a Wire Run Sheet for the cables in that rack or cabinet.

The most common time for electronic components to fail is when they are fresh from the box. In the electronics manufacturing business, this is called infant mortality. Every electronic product including camera phones to spacecraft suffers from varying degrees of infant mortality. The degree of quality control in manufacturing processes will determine the percentage of products that suffer from infant mortality, but all products suffer from it to some degree.

Installing contractors should be aware of infant mortality and have some spare products on hand to handle failures that occur soon after a product is installed.

To people who are new to the installation or management of Alarm/Access Control Systems, the terms maintenance and repair are often used interchangeably; in fact, although maintenance and repair are similar, they are also different.

Maintenance is the act of monitoring and evaluating a system's operational condition and readiness and making such adjustments as may be required to keep it in good working order, whereas Repair is the fixing of the system when it malfunctions.

A surprising number of system owners wait for the system to malfunction before calling the installing contractor for a repair. This habit results in a system that is perceived as unreliable and, in fact, is unavailable for its duty until repairs are conducted. It also usually results in higher cost than is necessary to keep the system well maintained.

The best way to keep a system well-maintained is to set up a Scheduled Maintenance program. Surprisingly, well-maintained systems need little, if any, repairs. There are a variety of ways to set up a good Scheduled Maintenance program, but the essentials include:

The Maintenance Agreement should also include provisions for Emergency and Non-Emergency Repairs, as well as Scheduled Maintenance. At some time, every system needs an emergency repair; however, not all repairs are emergencies. The maintenance agreement should define what is an emergency repair (cannot operate system), and what is a non-emergency repair (portion of system not working but its operation is not immediately critical).

The maintenance technician should be required to respond to emergency repairs within a suitable time frame (usually four hours after declaring the emergency), and should bring the system back into operation within a certain amount hours after arriving (typically within eight hours). It is important that either the system owner or maintenance service agency should stock critical spare parts for this purpose. For example, we recommend having a back-up workstation programmed and ready to go just by swapping it out with a bad workstation.

Spares for typical replacement parts should be kept in stock at the client's facility. This should include one spare card reader, door position switch, lock, request-to-exit device, and camera of each type.

The owner of the system should create a Maintenance Agreement to ensure that the system is well maintained. But how does he do that? What are the options open to him? The most common options are listed next.