Blogs

There’s been a lot of spin churned out lately about “compatible” card reader technologies. Several manufacturers offer card readers that claim to be "HID-compatible", “iCLASS-compatible” or “MIFARE-compatible”. What exactly does that mean? A popular...

Today’s security system specifiers, designers and integrators face the constant challenge of maintaining their technical knowledge base so they can evaluate, recommend, and deploy new products to better solve their client’s problems. The speed at which technology enables new products to be...

Recently, at a manufacturer’s media event, I learned about an emerging technology called CFAIRS (pronounced “sea-fairs,” it stands for combined face and iris recognition) that can scan irises of people anywhere in a room without them knowing they’re being scanned. The technology...

A few weeks ago, a second report analyzing the tragedy at Virginia Tech was released. This time, it was an external group of reviewers, as outlined in this FacilitiesNet news article . Much of the controversy around the incident deals with the notification of students and staff about what was happening...

On May 9, not even a month after the tragedy at Virginia Tech, the school’s president Charles Steger requested that three internal reviews take place to analyze the event but more importantly, to analyze the school’s actions and responses the day of the incident. The panel could find no reason...

Since 9/11, managers and owners in all types of facilities have struggled to balance two essential priorities — tighter security and practical, cost-effective security technology. Most organizations have taken some steps to retrofit buildings to protect occupants, operations and assets from attacks...

Managers in commercial and institutional facilities undoubtedly tire of trying to explain to those outside their organizations — and within, sometimes — just how difficult it is to find site-specific solutions to ensuring the security of their buildings. So let’s let someone else give...