Electronics play an ever-increasing role in managing a building’s entrances and the added initial investment that installing these advanced systems entails will be more than justified by the increased economic value generated by the opening.

Access security and exit safety features are now being combined into systems that also generate data for asset tracking or personnel scheduling.
These and many other applications are reshaping the role of the opening and providing solutions, whose benefits can be quantified. The resulting economic benefits are making electronic solutions more easily affordable by generating a much larger payback.
The growing sophistication and broader spectrum of choices available in electronic access control is leading to a greater integration with total building controls and systems, resulting in an increase in the economic value of a door opening that goes beyond security concerns.
There are several areas where technology is driving greater integration of formerly diverse functions to deliver greater value.

Creating an intelligent opening
As more openings are being equipped with access control systems that incorporate an ever-expanding technology, they can be managed to deliver an incremental value in other areas as well. Functions such as personnel scheduling or time and attendance record-keeping can be automated.
Networking of intelligent openings will improve building systems efficiency and allow the openings to be linked electronically to current building systems, using open architecture that is now being developed by leading firms in the field such as IR Security and Safety (IRSS).
IRSS offers the widest possible choice of quality products and brands to satisfy every need – wherever buildings are created or refurbished. Schlage, Briton, LCN, Von Duprin and Recognition Systems are just some of the IR brands that are recognised throughout the world for their quality and innovation.
Even in multi-family residential properties and apartment buildings, electronic keying or deadbolt systems such as the Schlage E-Bolt are providing value by eliminating the need to replace or re-key locks when a new resident moves in, or when key control has been compromised. Old keys can be made inoperative, and the locks can be programmed to give specific keys access only on certain days and times for maintenance or cleaning services.
For more commercial applications, the new Pegasys Lock System from IRSS, which is actually intelligent high-quality door furniture, can be added to existing doors fitted with 72-mm lockcases or incorporated into new door applications.
The flexible Pegasys can function as a stand-alone or as part of a system, and can be incorporated into existing smart card, key management, access-control or time and attendance systems.

Linking components
The growing number of hardware choices have increased the complexity of the opening and made it necessary to ensure that all components function together. As more components become electrically-controlled, access control functions are joined with exit hardware, and sensors can monitor the functions of mechanical hardware as well. In a networked system, for example, a malfunctioning closer or latch could be reported at once, enabling effective maintenance.
The ever-growing list of electronic hardware choices have made it easier to customise openings so that they perform the exact functions needed for their location and usage. IRSS intends to continue to innovate and adapt products to the demands of the market and provide greater economic value through added functions and capabilities.

Linking openings
Greater economic value will accrue from leveraging individual door systems into the total building network. Where such networks exist, they demonstrate that managing 50 doors on one system is much easier and more cost-effective than managing each individual opening.
Replacing locks or re-keying can be eliminated with the IRSS electronic access control system. The system dramatically reduces the maintenance function with the addition of diagnostics to the door.
It is important to consider all the components of each opening, including how they work together, and how they can be integrated into the overall building network. This should include the mechanical hardware, as well as standalone electronic locks, network systems with biometrics, to integration of all technologies. Integration technology now makes it possible to combine access control and exit safety with time and attendance.
For example, Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport in the US, which is renovating its entire terminal, is using a total system approach that includes a complete upgrade of its access control system. For the project, IRSS is partnering with the building control supplier that holds the overall contract. The project may be implemented in several phases, but the airport is being wired and prepared now for all areas where biometrics could be used in future.
More and more, integrated building systems are becoming Internet-driven, allowing remote monitoring of a door. This system improves security and makes it more efficient to administer with lower staff costs. For example, if a user presents an invalid credential, a signal will alert a security officer, who can redirect a camera to view the opening. Such technology is available and will become widespread soon.

Generating more data
From a building owner or facility manager’s point of view, thinking of the opening as an engineered system instead of a collection of individual components will provide the ability to gather data that can be “mined” in different ways, in addition to making installation easier, lowering its cost, and increasing up-time. One such area is personnel scheduling, where, particularly with the inclusion of biometrics from Recognition Systems Inc (RSI), the ability to manage and control staffing becomes much easier and more accurate.
Asset tracking is another practical use of the data gathering process. As we move toward greater use of RF technology with tagged assets, it will become easier to gather more data automatically and passively. With an RF tag, it will be easy to know that an asset passed through an opening without any direct action, such as swiping a card or entering a PIN code. Although the practical implementation of this technology may be a few years in the future, it already is a distinct possibility.

Biometrics
Biometric applications, such as those offered by RSI, are growing faster than ever. According to Frost and Sullivan’s World Biometric Report 2002, hand geometry continues to be the dominant biometric technology for access control and time-and-attendance applications. It is especially well-suited for handling large volumes of transactions where a high degree of reliability is required.
Although biometrics first was seen as a high-security solution, it is now being used more extensively in colleges, banks, corporate campuses, small businesses and similar everyday applications. While installation costs for a biometric system may be higher than a card system, the estimated costs of $15 to $30 per card in addition to the costs of administrating the system make biometrics a sound investment. Biometric systems also are more secure than cards or keys because they make it easy to remove someone from the system and be assured that they are out, and also eliminate the hassle of re-issuing credentials.
Access control issues focus primarily on security, and biometric data is gaining wider popularity because it shows who came through which opening and when. Keys or card-based systems only show that a card, key or PIN number accessed the opening but not who used that credential.
Time-and-attendance is perhaps the most straightforward use, where it can save up to five per cent of payroll costs by eliminating “buddy punching” and removing the cost and administrative problems of badges. In typical applications, the payback can be measured in weeks.
RSI biometric HandReaders from IR are currently in use at the Lebanese presidential palace and the education, justice and information ministries to provide access and track employee time and attendance. More than 700 employees use the 60 HandReaders on a daily basis, so the government knows who is in the building at any given time.
Since biometric time-and-attendance is actually a transaction-verifying technology, it also can be used in a membership setting to validate that people actually are who they say they are. In health clubs, for example, it helps protect revenues and cut losses from people sharing a membership. It also can reduce manpower needed at the front desk to verify membership and reduce liability by enhancing security.  For airports, government buildings and other high-security areas, biometrics will continue to be the only practical solution to controlling access.

Easier installation
It would seem that an opening able to provide so many alternatives would have to be more complex, but manufacturers are working toward solutions that will simplify both installation and maintenance. Simplified wiring systems now being developed will make installation easier and minimise chances for error. At the same time, door systems are being designed with diagnostic capabilities that pinpoint installation errors, aid in adjustment and assist with troubleshooting throughout the life of the product.
Even mechanical hardware is being designed to increase user value and profitability. One example is the growing use of VandlgardTM vandal-resistant lever trim that gives way under abuse or attack instead of breaking. By eliminating these incidents, it saves replacement costs and protects security as well. Another such product is the recessed exit device that helps minimise damage by carts and trolleys while improving corridor clear-width and aesthetics.
These are just some of the many economic values that intelligent openings are now providing and will provide on an even greater scale very shortly. By some estimates, there could be 10 to 20 or even more such values, depending on how the components are integrated into the opening and the facility’s overall system.
IRSS is the architectural hardware and access control division of Ingersoll-Rand (IR) and one of the UK’s leading providers of door furniture, locks and controls. The Middle East has long been an important geographical area for IRSS and an integral part of its development and service strategy.
* Julian Potter is sales and marketing vice president of IR Security and Safety.