Entrance security products from Boon Edam are helping companies control the flow of traffic from staff and visitors in compact building spaces.

Rising property prices and rents are shrinking commercial and industrial spaces; however, this trend towards more compact building facilities will impact upon security, driven by factors such as the rapidly rising workforce creating more pressure on security facilities as well as the increasing population, which is up six million since the turn of the century.

“The 21st century global trend towards more compact and efficient offices will continue in our major centres also, moving down here towards the Building Code of Australia’s requirement of 10sqm a person average minimum. Better use of space is inevitable, given that our workforce of 12.5 million now exceeds the total population less than 50 years ago,” says global entrance security leader Boon Edam.

Public spaces as well as industrial and commercial facilities have to cope with expanding internal and external security access needs arising from more visitors and workers, says Boon Edam Australia managing director Michael Fisher.

For instance, the new Paramatta Square development in NSW will see more than 4,200 public servants move to two new towers in a $3.4 billion development marketed as Australia’s biggest office development.

Boon Edam has responded to the need to provide greater security in more compact spaces as well as reduce the need for increasingly expensive manned security points by introducing to Australia a suite of entrance security products proven worldwide.

Boon Edam Australia’s latest Turnlock, Lifeline, Tourlock and Circlelock ranges of security entrance products are designed for areas ranging from outdoor company perimeters, through to building entrances and sensitive interior areas.

“Such entrances can quickly repay the cost of their installation by moderating the need for more expensive manned security points at all times. Often a mix of manned and automated security installations is the most cost-efficient way to protect staff and visitors and an ideal way to regulate and monitor traffic flows into and throughout buildings and workplaces,” says Fisher.

Boon Edam provides entrance and internal security solutions for scores of Fortune 500 companies in the world’s largest and most rapidly developing economies. The 140-year-old, family-owned company provides security access for public hotspots such as transport facilities including road and rail facilities as well as hotels, high-end retailers, hospitals and schools. Boon Edam’s security entrances are in widespread use by Australian and international banks, corporate HQs, cyber information centres, legislatures, government agencies, resource development sites, ports, and commercial, industrial and scientific facilities that may be subject to intrusion attempts.

“Boon Edam’s compact Lifeline Swing speedgates reflect changing work and public space environments that must keep up with larger numbers of people entering existing smaller spaces, with the obvious rising security concerns surrounding busy spaces,” says Fisher.

“Lifeline Swing seamlessly guides large groups of people safely onto the next point of their journeys, using sophisticated and intuitive sensors and modern technology. They can be used to protect employee workspaces, fulfilling employers’ Duty of Care obligations to their workforce while helping to protect them even when security staff are not present.”

Boon Edam’s latest Speedlane products also cover top security facilities, such as data and financial centres, where the highest level of entrance tailgating protection is achieved using the latest in camera detection systems to help prevent unwanted physical access by visitors tagging along behind authorised personnel.

The optional ‘Safety Plus’ low-level sensor enhancement in Boon Edam’s latest speedgates detects objects that might otherwise not set off their security breach alert.

“The new Boon Edam Speedgates with Safety Plus are the only such speedgates with a sensor height that guarantees nobody can crawl through undetected,” said Fisher. “This feature is not required in all applications, but where it is needed it provides a tailor-made and proven solution for specifiers, including architects, builders, building owners and facility managers seeking to govern entry into and access within buildings.”

The Safety Plus feature not only protects the facility against deliberate attempts to circumvent security but also prevents children in public building environments from crawling under the standard sensors undetected.

Lifeline Series

Designed to the highest standards of quality, aesthetics and ergonomics, the Lifeline Series is an intuitive, refined and secure entry management system for guiding and managing people flow through to secured areas of buildings. Consisting of three models – Slide, Swing and Open – the Lifeline Series allows each model to be further customised with dimensional and glass choices as well as a range of currently trending colour finishes. Every combination is possible for all levels of security.

The Lifeline Series interacts with those who approach it, guiding the flow of high visitor levels and acting as a boundary between public and private worlds.

Key features of the Lifeline Series include unique sensors detecting approaching visitors; sleep function to save energy; pulsing light strips to guide the user; intuitive and proven symbols for user-friendly operation; ergonomic design for customer comfort; customisation possibilities aligned with interior design; and premium quality materials.

“People rightly focus on online threats to data facilities, but there is also another more forgotten dimension to cyber security, and that is protection of physical facilities from unwanted visitors, including industrial intelligence thieves and even sometimes disgruntled former employees,” concluded Fisher.