With industry in Australasia moving to 24/7 trading cycles, it has become imperative for organisations to become more aware of the issue of site security, says global entry solutions leader Boon Edam.

The Australasian industrial sector encompassing manufacturing, warehousing, data, distribution and export facilities among others is following global trends towards 24/7 responsiveness to world markets. While these business practices are needed in a highly competitive global environment, such a scenario also exposes organisations to criminals who target activity hotspots for theft, commercial data penetration and trafficking of illegal goods and substances.

“Good business risk management practices mean we should ensure now that industry facilities are prepared for new security issues arising from the expanding flow of visits to company facilities at different times of the day and night,” says Boon Edam Australia Managing Director Michael Fisher.

“As 24/7 business practices expand, more people need access at different times to sensitive areas of company operations, including goods handling, data centres, dispatch, financial and proprietary information across facilities that may be working multiple shifts,” says Fisher, whose company provides entrance security for scores of Fortune 500 companies globally, as well as banks, data centres, legislatures, government agencies, resource development sites, airports, hospitals and educational and scientific facilities subject to unwanted attention.

Responding to the need for high security even at times when security strength is low, Boon Edam Australia has introduced a suite of security entrance products including Turnlock, Lifeline, Tourlock and Circlelock designed for areas ranging from outdoor company perimeters, through to building entrances and sensitive interior areas.

Boon Edam’s new products are also recommended for 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.

“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,” says Fisher.

The latest version of Boon Edam’s Tourlock 180+90 revolving door system is designed for vulnerable areas such as the entrances to company HQs and data and financial centres that might be at risk of physical penetration from people seeking to access or damage data facilities vital to trading companies.

“This latest Tourlock 180+90 system is a 24/7 solution offering high volume capabilities (20 people each way per door a minute) proven by some of the world’s largest companies and government agencies. It is a superbly flexible, non-intrusive way to control physical access and prevent problems arising from unauthorised access to sensitive facilities and areas. It is also an outstandingly cost-effective and reliable way to overcome the problems inherent in expensive manned security systems,” he said.

Boon Edam also offers the latest BoonConnect software to configure the system to individual users’ needs; the system can also be specified to include StereoVision ‘time of flight’ camera systems that create extremely accurate 3D images of the person in the door to determine whether they are alone. StereoVision is even capable of discerning between a person and a briefcase or bag.

Case study: Pacific Rim shipping terminal

A multipurpose Pacific Rim shipping terminal was being managed by A.P. Moller Maersk as part of a 30-year contract. The manual processes employed by the security staff for all entry control and registration activities detracted from the effectiveness of procedures and controls. To overcome the deficiencies, the terminal invested in new access control equipment designed to modernise visitor and employee application processing and auditing standards for objectivity and efficiency.

The terminal selected Boon Edam's Turnlock 100 full height turnstiles  as part of a large-scale physical security plan to protect their assets from criminal activity. The security objectives were achieved thanks to the robust barrier construction of Turnlock’s turnstiles and their ability to efficiently control the flow of visitors and staff to the facility, all of which is recorded via security cameras during entry.

In addition to the full height turnstiles, the terminal installed biometric access control systems, electronic barriers for vehicle access, a module to manage visitors, software to register and control personnel access with capabilities such as automatic locks and anti-passback capabilities (a user can only exit if his/her access has been logged in the system), among others. The system operates 24/7/365 in order to service the high level of traffic. 

“The product families involved – which have been proven globally with distribution extending over 27 countries – are engineered to provide a cost-efficient way to regulate access to a facility without having to employ an army of security people or to construct facilities that look like a fortress,” says Fisher.

“This is particularly true of businesses such as logistics facilities that are part of globally fast-moving industries that have to be able to provide immediate access to people who are entitled to have it – but to exclude unwanted visitors posing threats to physical and cyber security,” Fisher concluded.

Boon Edam security solutions are designed to blend security with corporate aesthetics to provide individually engineered, world-class entry solutions of a quality already in service with dozens of Fortune 500 companies including some of the world’s largest firms. Boon Edam already has more than 100 installations in Australasia of its architectural revolving doors and security entrance systems.