Inner Range Access Controllers

The experience of the COVID-19 pandemic has made us all more conscious of who is coming and going from our property. Whether it is a family home, business premises or public building, property owners want full control over access for protection and peace of mind. As a provider of access control technologies, we are seeing a growing demand for automated gates with a variety of access control systems. There are a number of considerations that buyers need to make when investing. And as an installer, there is advice that you can offer to help your clients make the right choice for their property. Here are some of the key considerations you’ll need to make and discuss with your client. Whomever you buy from, you should be offered more than a simple instruction manual. Electronic locks, magnetic locks and code security In the first instance, you’ll need to advise on the type of lock and access control available. Electronic locks release on the operation of the automation system to allow the gates to open. Locks are required for all non-locking (also known as reversible) operators and are recommended for any gate on a multi-user site or any gate over 2.5m. Apply the same logic to an automated gate as you would to a domestic door – for example, you wouldn’t fit your front door with a lock on the same side as the hinges or a drop bolt at the hinge end of a manual gate so why dispense with this logic when the gate is automated? Electronic locks release on the operation of the automation system to allow the gates to open There are a number of locks on the market including magnetic locks, drop locks that “shoot” a bolt into the ground and side latching locks. These are all designed for external use. While the gate itself will provide physical security, the customer will want to feel in control of who enters their property, when and for what purpose. Consider access for mail and deliveries, waste disposal and visitors arriving on foot etc. There is a range of options available. Intercom systems will allow the user to vet visitors, keypad entry can allow remote access for visitors with a specific code, remote controls allow an oncoming driver to open the gates without getting out of the vehicle, and a timer control can be used to open or close the gates at certain times of the day. Vehicle detection loops can be installed discreetly under the tarmac allowing the presence of vehicles to exit the gates and prevent closing while obstructed. Sliding gates versus swinging gates There are a number of locks on the market including magnetic locks, drop locks that “shoot” a bolt into the ground and side latching locks Gates can be automated to either swing or to slide open and in the case of swinging gates, the opener may be concealed underground or gate mounted. The most suitable opener for your installation will depend on the space available and the type of gate selected. Concealed underground automation is ideal for highly ornate gates. However, where gates are fully infilled (typical of many timber designs), gate mounted openers are concealed from the front of the gate by the gate leaf and present a cost-effective option. The choice between slide and swing is largely down to space - swing gates require a clear space for their opening arc while sliding gates require space to one or both sides of the gate. Sliding gates are perhaps the best choice where the drive slopes or when drive space is limited, as they use the least space when opening. Voltage Most swing gate and sliding systems are available in 24v or 230v. The 24v systems still need 230v mains power – there is a transformer built into the 24v control panels. Deciding which voltage to use can include a combination of factors such as the material of the gates, the location of the system and the safety features you want. Concealed underground automation is ideal for highly ornate gates With wrought iron gates, the wind can pass through them whereas with fully boarded wooden gates (popular because they give full privacy) the wind has nowhere to go, so they act like sails. For commercial or industrial applications with larger entrances and a heavy gate, you may need 3 Phase 400v power (sliding gates only). Installing gate motors in confined spaces The environment in which you are fitting may well influence which gate and motor you recommend. Will it be in an exposed area which is subject to the elements? Will it be positioned on a slope? Sliding gates are perhaps the best choice where the drive slopes or when drive space is limited Installers have always faced the challenge of installing gate motors in confined spaces. When fitting a pedestrian gate, there is often limited space in which to work – potentially making an installation time consuming and technically demanding. If this is the case for you, consider a gate operator which is designed specifically for installations with limited space for maneuver. An example of this is the E5 compact gate operator. The operator is not only small but has an optional slide lever attachment designed for installations where there is extremely limited space, meaning that just 8cm of the pillar is needed for installation. What’s more, improved fixing points and a simple ‘hook and fasten’ process means assembly is safe, quick and straight forward. Ultimately, you’ll be looking for a good quality, reliable product with good service. Work with a supplier that offers more than just a manual. If they are happy to offer training, their time and advice when you buy, the chances are you’ll get their support long term.

The unprecedented global impact of COVID-19 has taken its toll on all of us, but as cases of the virus thankfully recede, employers are now forced to confront how they can enable a safe return to work for employees. For many employers, this means they will have to carry out a COVID-19 risk assessment, redesign workspaces to maintain social distances, carry out more frequent cleaning, manage the transmission risk and find alternatives to touch-based security devices. Protecting workplace occupants in any emergency requires preparation and clear communication. This is especially critical in a health crisis involving an infectious disease. These are some of the essential best practices that could help organizations reduce the impact on their employees and operations during this pandemic. 1. Use a visitor management system With a visitor management system, organizations have a single source of real-time and historical insights into who is, or was recently, in the workplace. This is especially important because of the need to perform contact tracing should anyone in the organization show symptoms of COVID-19, meaning everyone they have been in contact with needs to be contacted and asked to isolate. Yet still, first impressions are made at the front desk or lobby, where the visitor experience needs to be a positive one. At the same time, though, any emergency event requires that there be strict control over who is entering the workplace. This policy also needs to be clearly communicated to visitors. Doing this minimizes risk to visitors as well as the workforce. In addition to delivering a high-quality visitor experience, the ideal visitor management system must: Enable organizations to meet regulatory compliance mandates and facilitate check-in at a self-service kiosk to minimize wait times. Customize the visitor experience to support specific security needs, such as accelerating and simplifying check-in or requiring additional security pre-checks. Automate compliance as it relates to visitor access rules with historical visit reports. 2. Pre-check questions at visitor registration kiosks Organizations can strengthen security at the registration kiosk using a flexible, enterprise-grade visitor management system to add visitor sign-in steps. This has proven successful in the past when used to control the spread of infectious disease during an outbreak. An example of this is a U.S. children's hospital which managed to reduce facility infection rates by 25 percent over a two-year period using a commercial, off-the-shelf physical identity and access management (PIAM) solution from HID Global. The solution provides two particularly important capabilities that can be used by organizations to protect their workplace from the uncontrolled spread of an infectious disease: Enhance visitor registration policy with additional mandatory questions to help identify any visitors who may need other screenings. Extend the visitor registration kiosk with a mandatory pop-up asking further questions during visitor check-in. 3. Understand who has visited your workplace Successful controlling the spread of infection throughout a facility requires the ability to automatically maintain an auditable trail of activity. This can be done using an enterprise-grade visitor management system that makes it easy to retrieve historical visit reports. This provides a timeline of who was in the workplace, and when they were there. Key features include: A single dashboard providing useful visitor insights at your fingertips. Historical reports that provide visitor details including location and contact information, all in compliance with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other privacy regulations. 4. Clearly communicate how infection risks can be reduced Global organizations must actively communicate with visitors and employees on the outbreak of infectious diseases and follow best practices outlined by the World Health Organization (WHO). Here are several things organizations can do in this area to help maintain a safe and healthy workplace: Re-enforce and communicate WHO best practices with guideline posters in the front lobby and throughout the workplace. Add posters that also encourage regular and thorough washing of hands. Encourage everyone to cough or sneese into their shirt sleeve in their flexed elbow or cover their mouth and nose with a tissue. Encourage everyone to keep a relatively safe distance from each other and use alternatives to handshakes when saying hello. Organizations must contend with a variety of workplace challenges during the outbreak of an infectious disease. These challenges can be solved with best practices that include a comprehensive visitor management system that automates critical check-in policies and maintains an auditable trail of visitor activity.  

Protecting against fire and security risks is an essential aspect of life for people and across all sectors. However, there is an increasing expectation and demand on fire and security providers, in areas such as education. The securitisation of our world paired with the rapid speed of communication and news updates means that young people especially have the potential to be more aware of potential dangers and threats to their own safety and the safety of those around them. Education institutions are large and sometimes sprawling sites that present considerable fire and security challenges. From Kindergartens to Colleges Each education site brings distinct challenges, with differing facilities and specialties, as well as the need to maintain the capacity of students, teachers and lecturers to study, learn and teach at the high level expected.Each education site brings distinct challenges, with differing facilities and specialties While some schools and universities are based in urban areas with a mix of heritage and high rise buildings, others are sprawled across green open spaces. Some of these sites have specialised sporting facilities, while others may be focused on engineering or scientific study, with costly technical equipment. Kindergartens and primary schools have their own unique requirements. Parents expect the highest safety standards, while schools require safety in addition to efficient facilities management. The demographic of these institutions is predominantly young children, who are often unaware of or only just learning about fire safety and personal safety. This creates a huge vulnerability and an added onus on teachers to keep their students safe. Facial recognition at West Academy of Beijing In response to this need, Chubb China upgraded the closed-circuit television (CCTV) system for Western Academy of Beijing (WAB) focusing on elevating video content analytic features, including maximised CCTV monitoring, automatic police calling, and a smart search solution. Complementing this, a facial recognition system capable of finding the exact location of a student on campus within 30 seconds was added, aided by real-time remote gate operation. This integrated and advanced system resulted won the "High Quality Educational Technology Suppliers for School" award for the WAB project at the 2019 BEED Asia Future Oriented Construction of Universities and Schools Seminar. This award recognizes outstanding solution design and project execution. Parents expect the highest safety standards, while schools require safety in addition to efficient facilities management Awareness remains important at university As students graduate from kindergarten, primary school, junior and senior school, they become more aware of fire safety, relevant dangers and how to protect themselves. Unfortunately, external dangers remain. There are particularly high stakes for university campus facilities managers The safety of students in a university environment is also critical. It is often the first time young people live away from their family home and have the independence of adulthood. For this reason, there are particularly high stakes for university campus facilities managers. In the eventuality of a fire, students could be at great risk and, beyond the immediacy of physical harm, this can have serious ramifications for the reputation of an educational institution. Integrated solutions Integrated solutions must be nimble and adapted to a range of site types including campus residences, recreational areas, open spaces and lecture theatres. Chubb Sicli recently identified and overcame these challenges through the installation of a full suite of fire safety and security equipment and services at Webster University Geneva. Established in Switzerland in 1978, Webster University Geneva is an accredited American university campus that offers programs in English to students interested in undergraduate or graduate-level education.  Located in the Commune of Bellevue, just a few kilometres from Geneva's central station, the campus of Webster University Geneva includes five buildings in a park-style atmosphere. Full fire and security audit Chubb Sicli provided Webster’s fire extinguisher maintenance for over 25 years. This business relationship led to a full fire and security audit that identified the need for updates to the university’s security installation. The initial audit showed several improvements to the university’s security profile were needed.The challenge was to create and provide an effective and interconnected fire and security solution The challenge was to create and provide an effective and interconnected fire and security solution, enhancing the security of the student population and its ever-evolving needs. This included complete fire detection and intruder alarms for all five buildings, upgrades to existing CCTV systems, new video surveillance equipment and an automated fire extinguishing system in the kitchen areas. In addition to this integrated system solution, Webster University required access control for all main entrances, with the requirement that all documentation to be made available in English, because Webster is an American company. Customized solution Chubb Sicli’s quality, capability, and security expertise provided a customized solution for the unique educational establishment. Not only was the solution both tailored and integrated, the approach and planning were based on audit, fire extinguisher and emergency light maintenance, fire detection, intrusion detection, access control, video surveillance and Fire Detection. Through dedicated and integrated fire safety support, Chubb provides students and families peace of mind and security. From the moment a young child enters the education system, Chubb’s diligent and effective surveillance and fire safety systems work to prevent and protect, offering a new kind of ‘end-to-end’ service for education systems around the world.

Inner Range is reminding customers with Concept systems that its stock of parts is rapidly depleting with some items now down to single figures. The security system designer and manufacturer first announced its Concept system was nearing End of Life in November 2018. Many customers have migrated easily to Inner Range’s Integriti product at only a fraction of the cost of an entire system replacement. But the company says it’s concerned some customers have not yet migrated and may find themselves in a difficult situation when replacements are required if parts have become obsolete. Close to stock exhaustion We are now urging any remaining Concept customers to migrate to Integriti, which is easy, efficient and cost-effective" Tim Northwood, General Manager at Inner Range, said: “We want to support our customers as much as we possibly can. But the reality is that very soon we won’t have replacement parts available. For some items, we’re already close to stock exhaustion.” “Our technical support will continue to try to assist customers. But there’s a risk we might not be able to supply service replacements in the near future. Ultimately, that could put people and places at risk if their security system isn’t functioning properly.” “We are now urging any remaining Concept customers to migrate to Integriti, which is easy, efficient and extremely cost-effective, and will secure their system for the long term.” Cost effective migration Integriti is ideal for managing and controlling single and multiple sites at local, national and global levels Integriti is ideal for managing and controlling single and multiple sites at local, national and global levels. Benefits for Concept users migrating to Integriti include more integrations with current manufacturers for security, building automation, people and business continuity processes, superb graphics, enhanced reporting, more flexibility around global programming and permissions as well as being compatible with current and future IT platforms, such as Windows and Vista. Inner Range’s Integriti Concept 2000 was Inner Range’s flagship product, first launched in 1989. It was designed by three of the four founders of Inner Range: Doug Frazer, David Baughan, and Alan Winch. The system was updated to the Concept 3000 and later the Concept 4000, which have been installed around the globe. However, the system’s underlying technology is no longer economical to maintain in comparison with modern platforms like Integriti. Concept systems use Insight software. Insight follows the same End of Life timeline as Concept. Inner Range has been a world provider in the design and manufacture of intelligent security solutions since it was established in 1988. More than 150,000 Inner Range systems have been installed in over 30 countries. Customers include hospitals and high-security units, colleges, distribution centres and pharmaceutical companies, government and critical national infrastructure.

Access control and security systems manufacturer, Inner Range has announced a new integration option for customers with specialist IP-based intercom systems from 2N. Integriti  Inner Range’s intelligent integrated access control and security system, Integriti can now integrate with 2N’s IP-based intercom systems. 2N products allow secure and comfortable communication across even the most complex commercial sites, with multiple communication points, such as entrances, car parks, reception, lifts and meeting rooms. Integration with 2N’s IP-based intercoms Like Inner Range, 2N designs and manufactures its own products, taking the time and many rounds of testing" Tim Northwood, General Manager at Inner Range, said, “Like Inner Range, 2N designs and manufactures its own products, taking the time and many rounds of testing to get things right, before releasing systems to the market. As a result, we are confident 2N intercoms will be a reliable and useful addition for our customers in the UK and across the world.” Michal Kratochvil, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at 2N, said, “Inner Range and 2N are natural partners, and not just because both companies have such extensive experience in security access control systems and a global footprint. We also share the same commitment to innovation through ongoing investment in R&D, and have built our companies through the same focus on customers.” Strategic collaboration He adds, “We see alliances like this as vital to maintaining 2N's status as an innovator in the residential and commercial markets. Together, I am confident that Inner Range and 2N can meet the growing demand we are seeing across the globe for smarter access control systems.” 2N offers intercom systems for residential and commercial markets with products that are Bluetooth, smartphone and tablet-enabled. The company developed the world’s first IP intercom in 2008 and the first LTE/4G intercom, ten years later. Intelligent access control and security system 2N now covers the full range of solutions in the field of security, access control systems and communication within buildings. Integriti is Inner Range’s award-winning intelligent access control and security system that can integrate with a multitude of third-party products to create a sophisticated and highly secure access and security solution, while also providing trouble-free access for site users.

The tallest building in the European Union, Varso Place in Warsaw, Poland, is now live with Forge Bluepoint visitor management and Inner Range intelligent access control. Forge Bluepoint, Forge’s cloud-based visitor management solution was chosen by Varso Place’s developer HB Reavis after the firm researched the market and found it could provide a great experience for visitors as it was multi-tenant ready, multi-lingual and it could integrate seamlessly with Inner Range’s sophisticated Integriti system. Jakub Kacer, Security Manager at HB Reavis said: “When all tenants use Forge Bluepoint, our receptionists will have less administration work, we will have real-time visitor statistics and it’s a modern attractive visitor system.” Access control system Forge Bluepoint will allow the main reception teams at each building to focus on the experience at Varso Place. Visitors will be invited by tenants via email which will provide them with a unique QR code. Visitors will use this QR code to check-in at the Forge Bluepoint kiosk or with the reception team. The integration with Inner Range’s Integriti access control system allows visitors to also use the QR code to call the lifts, supplied by Schindler, to access the floor of the tenant company and nowhere else. Paul Speariett, Co-founder and Director at Forge, said: “Working closely with the onsite security and building management team at Varso Place, in Warsaw, we were able to implement Forge Bluepoint during the COVID-19 crisis from the UK. It wasn’t ideal, but we overcame the challenges and are proud to see Forge Bluepoint working to give visitors a great experience.” Visitor management supplier Forge is currently rolling out Forge Bluepoint at Nivy Tower in Bratislava and the Agora Tower in Budapest Tim Northwood, General Manager at Inner Range, said: “Our flagship intelligent integrated access control system Integriti provides robust security and sophisticated controls around access to these new buildings. But it also allows trouble-free access for users, including the ability to invite and manage visitors easily via Forge Bluepoint.” With 1.5 million sq ft of leasable space, companies including Cambridge Innovation Center, Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (a state-owned development bank in Poland) and the Polish offices of Nvidia, Yves Rocher and Workday will call Varso Place home and use Forge Bluepoint to invite visitors easily, safely and securely. Forge, as the chosen visitor management supplier for HB Reavis globally, is currently rolling out Forge Bluepoint at Nivy Tower in Bratislava and the Agora Tower in Budapest. Access and security solution Inner Range has been a world leader in the design and manufacture of intelligent security solutions since it was established in 1988. More than 150,000 Inner Range systems have been installed in over 30 countries. Customers include hospitals and high-security units, colleges, distribution centers and pharmaceutical companies, government and critical national infrastructure. It’s Integriti product is an award-winning intelligent access control and security system that can integrate with a multitude of third-party products to create a sophisticated and highly secure access and security solution while also providing trouble-free access for site users. Varso Place is Warsaw’s largest mixed-use development and consists of Varso 1, Varso 2 designed by HRA Architekci, and Varso Tower, the tallest building in the European Union at 310m high which was designed by celebrated architects, Foster + Partners.