Product category:
Access Control, Door Entry Systems
News Release from: Abloy UK | Subject: Innovations in locking technology
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 16 August 2004
Denying Access To Evil
Robin Rice, Managing Director of Abloy Security, looks at how innovations in locking technology are being used to combat the threat of terrorist strikes.
Now more than ever, acts of terrorism are the most serious threat to public security and safety Robin Rice, Managing Director of Abloy Security, looks at how innovations in locking technology are being used to combat the threat of terrorist strikes
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 1 Oct 2003 at 8.00am (UK)
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The devastating atrocities of September 2001 shocked and repulsed the world.
They left it fearful of further attacks on areas that were once considered safe.
The unprovoked attack in Bali in 2002 proved that terrorist actions were no longer confined to war-torn regions or military targets, they could happen anywhere and at any time.
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The aftermath of these strikes culminated in a reassessment of the way in which we secure our most basic civil liberty - our freedom.
Every aspect of our daily lives was scrutinised, especially those instances where large groups of people regularly congregated.
Regarded as likely targets of any subsequent strikes, public buildings became the focus for our understandable concerns.
The US-based Centre for Defence, a non-profit-making organisation that collates independent research on every aspect of global security, warned, "large scheduled gatherings are susceptible to terrorist attacks".
On its website, the Centre went on to advise that "attacks can be direct - with the terrorist physically part of the crowd - or indirect using mortar-like weapons.
The objective would be not only to cause death and injury from the explosive force, but from the expected panic that would ensue." The message is clear.
Acts of terrorism not only cause injury and misery through unprovoked attacks, they also trigger a follow-on effect that is driven by fear and executed through self-preservation.
The stampede from a public building following a terrorist attack can be as damaging as the initial explosion or chemical release.
Balancing act.
The events of the last two years have focussed the public and many organisations' attention on the problem of balancing access and, more importantly, egress with security.
This issue is especially pertinent in public buildings, where large numbers of people congregate either out of necessity or through other social activities such as entertainment, education or travel.
The risk of attack, either through direct action such as an explosion, or covert operations such as a chemical assault, have instigated security reviews in public buildings up and down the country.
Improving methods of securing facilities, enabling controlled access and providing safe exit have therefore been thrust to the top of the security agenda.
There are, of course, many ways to enhance security, including installing additional surveillance cameras or hiring more security guards.
However, with ever-tightening budgets, these often-unreliable access control and security methods are being rejected in preference of dependable, state-of-the-art technological solutions.
Controlled access.
Most of these solutions revolve around the modes of access used by members of the public and staff to enter and exit buildings.
These can be optimised by introducing access control devices such as electric locks, magnetic locks and automatic door operators, controlled by the use of keypads, swipe cards or proximity readers.
At the heart of these systems is the security, provided by a high-security cylinder mechanism, giving additional controlled access through a master key suite.
In many ways, these systems have been designed as much with convenience in mind as security.
An example of this was the recent security upgrade at Somerville College, Oxford.
The College's catering department was fitted with the latest two-way cylinders, automatic door operators, panic exit bars and electro-magnetic locks.
The project was extensive in its scope and encompassed a comprehensive security review culminating in a registered and restricted key system.
The underpinning technology that connected each facet of the project was the two-way cylinder mechanism, which is covered by a full patent in the UK and Ireland until 2020.
The cylinders feature a state-of-the-art disc construction, ensuring the highest levels of security and a disc-blocking function that makes the cylinders impossible to pick.
All the keys for the catering department are registered under a key registration system, which ensures that only the locksmith that originally issued the keys can provide replacements.
As well as providing peace of mind, the master key suite provides addition flexibility for the future.
Philip Munday, Catering and Conference Manager at Somerville College, says: "We specified a master key system because it has the capability to be expanded so the whole college can be locked with a common technology." Other equipment specified by the College ensures that during an emergency incident, safety is not compromised.
For instance, by installing automatic swing-door operators, the College has created a welcoming and unrestricted access system for both staff and students.
However, the operators' programmable options and mechanical closing functions ensure both high security and safe egress in the event of a power failure.
A complex solution.
Unfortunately, when securing a university campus - or any venue where people can gain public access - the challenge is not only confined to granting the rights of passage to authorised visitors but also refusing entry to subversives.
It also involves protecting property and facilities against less obvious security breeches, insurrections and vandalism.
This can be difficult when the site is spread over a large area and presents a number of possibly unmanned access points.
Add to this the complexity of ensuring doors can operate on a hands free basis, and you have some idea of the challenge facing Wythenshawe Hospital, located just outside Manchester.
A multi-million pound investment in new health care facilities required an access system that could cope with considerable patient, visitor and staff traffic, but could also offer high levels of security.
Hospital workers moving patients from one area to another in beds and wheelchairs added a further dimension, as doors needed to be opened and closed automatically.
Keytrak Lock and Safe Company, the Warrington-based lock specifier and installers on the project, selected electro-magnetic locks, key switches and keypads.
A representative from the company notes: "Wythenshawe Hospital wanted a locking system that controlled access to the new facilities for both employees and the public.
In a department such as A and E, the public has access 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so the security and access control system has to be configured to provide ease of movement, but in a manner that is easily controllable." Electro-magnetic locks offer excellent holding strengths and are particularly suited to high-traffic flow applications where stringent security and door management is required.
The locks were fitted to both internal and external doors and feature opto sensing technology that enhances the accuracy of the locking device by ensuring the perfect alignment of the magnet and armature when the door closes.
Being able to restrict access to certain rooms within the Hospital was also of paramount importance and was achieved through a hall-effect device incorporated in the electro-magnetic locks.
This facility provides an anti-tamper monitor that ensures that the lock's magnetic field automatically increases if an attempt is made to force the lock apart.
Exit strategy.
Security breeches will almost undoubtedly occur at some time.
Although most of these are thankfully false alarms, suitable exit strategies are important to ensure the safe evacuation of a building - either in an emergency situation or otherwise.
A fundamental component of a successful strategy is selecting appropriate hardware for the exit doors located on escape routes.
Training is also extremely important.
The ability to make clear decisions, such as where to go, what door to use and how to operate it, can make a huge difference to the outcome of a potentially fatal incident.
If this doctrine is followed, emergency situations will be conspicuous by the absence of panic as the building's occupants, familiar with the premises and the panic-exit devices, re-enact the training they have been given.
Training is important if occupants, especially staff, are to emerge from an emergency situation unscathed.
However, where larger groups congregate, for instance in schools, colleges and leisure centres, the surroundings are likely to be relatively unfamiliar, thereby increasing the possibility of irrational behaviour in emergency situations.
It is therefore crucial that individuals exposed to panic situations in public places can easily follow the route of escape and operate the hardware located on exit doors.
Standard bearer.
In order to allow people to exit as quickly as possible, effective panic exit hardware must perform in the most extreme circumstances.
In addition, mechanically operated panic exit devices must conform to European Standard EN 1125 and, in the case of electrically controlled panic exit systems, pr EN 13633.
The following extract from the EN 1125 Standard highlights what is expected of a mechanically operated panic exit device.
"A panic exit device to EN 1125 is intended for use where panic situations may arise, to give safe and effective escape through a doorway with minimum effort and without prior knowledge of the panic exit device.
"It contains a bolt head [or multiples thereof] which engages with a keeper in the surrounding doorframe or floor for securing when closed.
The bolt head can be released by the bar positioned horizontally across the inside face of the door when it is moved anywhere along its effective length in the direction of travel and/or in an arc downwards." These detailed guidelines form the criteria on which most variants of modern-day panic exit devices are based.
The Standard's classification, for instance, identifies two basic categories of operation: panic exit devices with a push-bar operation, and those with a touch-bar operation.
The push-bar - or cross-bar - is an activating horizontal bar designed to be fixed between pivoted support brackets and operated in the direction of exit and/or in a downwards motion.
The touch-bar - or integrated bar - is a horizontal bar designed to be part of a chassis or other mounting that also operates in the direction of exit.
When push comes to touch The latest mechanical panic-exit devices conform to recognised standards and regulations, and are ergonomically designed and tested to ensure ease of use in the most demanding situations.
Electronically controlled panic exit devices take this principle and add a further element in the form of access control and monitoring.
By incorporating both local and remote controls through a system network, these electronic systems provide universal control over a number of emergency exit doors.
In addition, they can be connected to fire alarms so that doors are triggered to allow free egress when the alarm is raised.
Electrically controlled panic exit systems add a greater degree of intelligence to exit solutions.
For instance, some devices offer both electrical blocking (exit control) and monitoring (system control) while others feature monitoring with electrical dogging (entrance control) and electrical blocking.
Although electrically dogged bars remain locked when the power supply is cut - i.e they are fail secure - mechanical egress is always retained allowing emergency exit doors to be used for more than one purpose.
Planning for the unthinkable.
The greatest weapon available to the terrorist is the element of surprise.
Terrorist attacks are, consequently, unpredictable and designed to cause maximum disruption.
Forward planning is therefore an important element in mitigating the spectre of terrorism.
Part of that process is specifying appropriate lock systems, panic exit hardware and access controllers, to safeguard a building's integrity and create an open, yet secure and ultimately safe environment. Request a free brochure from Abloy UK ...
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