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Adam Bannister is a contributor to IFSEC Global, having been in the role of Editor from 2014 through to November 2019. Adam also had stints as a journalist at cybersecurity publication, The Daily Swig, and as Managing Editor at Dynamis Online Media Group.
February 9, 2015

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Executive Alarms Installs ACT Access Control across 450 Hospital Doors

Bip Mistry Portrait Documentary PhotographerExecutive Alarms has installed ACT access control equipment on more than 450 doors in a roll-out across multiple hospital sites across Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

A new £11m centre for adolescents with mental health problems in Headington and a £40m 80-bed adult unit Aylesbury are among the sites covered by the SSAIB member.

After winning the contract in open tender Executive Alarms’ designers collaborated with ACT engineers to replace disparate legacy systems.

The Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust and the Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust already use ACTenterprise, the latest version of ACT’s management software.

A role-based platform the software is adaptable to a wide range of  users according to their particular needs – for instance depending on whether they’re an installer, security guard or system administrator. It can be fully integrated with ACT’s own VMS solution, ACTviquest.

Executive Alarms and ACT created a role-specific database structure for the client to populate from their existing software without any re-keying.

The trusts ran parallel systems initially at small sites while security managers tested the new equipment in the field.

“The key performance indicator here is that ACT have delivered a completely focused solution that allows central administration of previously fragmented systems and enables the client to obtain MIFARE cards themselves in a cost-effective manner,” says Jason Thomas, senior engineer at Executive Alarms.

Bip Mistry Portrait Documentary Photographer“The sites include high, medium and low security in-patient units as well as day care centres. The savings have been widespread and include the cost of the controllers over rival suppliers, a reduction in the number of engineer call-outs and rationalisation of system administration.”

The trusts use ACT’s ACTproMIFARE1040 proximity readers, which can be installed indoors or outdoors, support third-party smart cards and fobs, are housed in polycarbonate housing and have an ingress rating of IP67.

They can also be flush mounted, reducing the likelihood of self-harm by factoring out ligature points. Door stations and controllers from the ACTpro range are also being used.

Says Richard Huison of ACT: “The client needed precise tailoring of access levels. Facility managers can put an individual into a group in terms of roles-specific user rights but also fine-tune that person’s unique access privileges. ACT are industry leaders in this functionality.

“The trusts are also benefiting from alarm management so that if a door is forced or there is a voltage problem, the self-diagnostics in the ACTenterprise software will advise security. Another core offering was embedded interlocking or ‘airlocks’.

“These are logic-based and intuitive for the user to understand but are not a core feature of our main competitors. ACT has empowered the trusts with an adaptive system that allows interlocking of doors as patient care processes change.”

Founded in Oxford in 1990 Execuctive alarms installs intruder alarms and fire protection systems as well as access control.

 

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