As a business owner, you do all you can to protect your business, especially when it comes to protection against fire, theft, intrusion, and other potential threats.
Always-on security systems offer the detection and monitoring solutions that businesses need, along with mobile control and intelligent IP-based security tools that deliver real-time response and access.
And in emergency or crisis situations, real-time response is vital. Did you know that the average duration of an active shooter incident is 12.5 minutes, and the average emergency response time of law enforcement personnel is 18 minutes?
It is a stark truth — sometimes emergency response times exceed the amount of time an incident takes. But with Physical Security Information Management (PSIM), you can have integration across all of your security devices so that you can have benefits like gunshot detection. These integrated systems will send an alert within a second of a gunshot and greatly speed up response times to critical incidents. Increased response time saves lives.
Due to the many complexities and expenses of customizing PSIM, ProTech Security identified the need for an easier solution. We focused on building a system that would utilize a facility’s existing expenditures and infrastructure in security and also give first responders the information they needed for an intelligent response.
From that realization, our situational awareness security control (SASC) system was born.
Here’s how it works.
The Gold Standard
Our SASC systems have become the gold standard of PSIM because they can share real-time video revealing key information about an incident as it happens, giving details on where it is, what is happening and who is involved. This initial critical event alert can make all the difference in detecting harm. This is the best way to unlock the full potential of your security system to ensure your assets are protected.
The problem with PSIM, for many would-be adopters, has been its high price tag and lengthy implementation cycle time. It has traditionally been an enterprise solution only, meaning the entry fee has been a dedicated server facility equipped with state-of-the-art hardware after lengthy design work.
Our SASC, however, has been built in the Cloud, so it’s affordable to the organizations who need it most — like school systems — and it can be deployed with ease since it’s already designed for a myriad of applications and implementation models.
The Importance of SASC
SASC delivers metropolitan security infrastructure to micropolitan communities through the Cloud.
Municipalities, school systems, 911 centers, water treatment facilities and public venues such as shopping malls and museums can now afford the same situational awareness, security control, and interoperability as much larger cities.
SASC is a new tool for public safety officials, first responders, 911 directors, school systems, hospitals, universities and IT professionals to identify and then respond to critical incidents.
How SASC Works
SASC is a web-based version of PSIM. It is a software platform that integrates and manages multiple devices (such as surveillance cameras and access controls) and data streams of security sensors by consolidating them all into one common user interface.
When SASC is in action, it does four things: identifies an incident, distributes an alert to everyone who needs to know, enhances the alert with detailed instructions on how to respond to the given event, per the given individual, to bring the incident to resolution, and documents the incident to completion for a detailed incident report.
Step One: Incident. SASC connects to your existing hardware — including surveillance camera networks, access controls, fire and police alarms, intrusion alerts and GEO zones — via the cloud. When these devices detect a change in the environment that you have identified as an incident, SASC automatically identifies the event and engages.
Step Two: Distribute. SASC then distributes alerts to a predetermined list of people who need to know that the incident is occurring. That list may include a remote monitoring center, 911, field staff, and/or management. For every incident, there is a unique distribution list.
Step Three: Response. SASC includes instructions on how to respond. Those standard operating procedures (SOP) may vary depending on the individual. For instance, if a utility substation is broken into, field staff could get different instructions than the instructions sent to management, or the ones sent to the remote monitoring center.
Step Four: Report. SASC time stamps every incoming and outgoing data streams and sends alerts throughout the event, delivering a comprehensive incident report.
Examples of SASC in Action
Example 1: Active Shooter in School
A student is spotted with a gun in the hallway, and the police alarm is pulled. SASC immediately contacts 911, the monitoring center, and the resource office with pre-determined SOP instructions for each. The monitoring center and first responders can have access to live cameras, as well as recorded video, with full audio, giving them the information they need to be prepared when they arrive on the scene.
Example 2: Intruder in Utility Substation
A truck rolls up to the fence in the middle of the night. The intruder climbs the fence and trips an alarm, setting off a siren and camera feed. The monitoring center gets the alert immediately, with SOP instructions and camera feed. Since the camera feed is audio enabled, the monitoring center is able to address the intruder directly to scare him off.
Example 3: Trouble in Shopping Mall Parking Lot
A scream rings out. Thanks to an audio-equipped camera and SASC intelligence, the scream is identified as violence and both 911 and the shopping center gets the alert immediately. Since the camera feed is equipped with full audio the monitoring center can actually is able to address the aggressor directly to scare him off.
Example 4: Asset Tracking Within a Hospital
A computer on wheels assigned to the third-floor nurse station is moved to the second floor. The IT Manager gets alerted so he can follow-up. If it continues to occur, other levels of management can be alerted and action can be taken.
At ProTech Security, we have a strong history of experience, innovation, and customer service. The ProTech Security Advantage is more than 30 years of service in Northeast Ohio and a strong commitment to providing quality, cost-effective protection for homes, businesses, educational institutions and government facilities. To see what ProTech Security can do for you, contact us today.
