Security in Automated Buildings

July 2009

The benefits of integrating building-automation systems are many, but did you know that integrated building automation also offers security benefits?

In terms of the security benefits: Suppose a criminal forces an exterior door. An integrated building-automation system would pan a security camera to the door, turn on the lights to ensure a good view of the intruder, lock interior doors as necessary, and notify the security staff.

Integrations like this are being done now. “Is it possible? Yes, absolutely,” says Charles LeBlanc, a managing associate with Kroll Security Group in Bastrop, TX. “Right now, however, it can come with a lot of heartache. Getting the players – the security system, the fire-alarm system, the elevators, the lighting, the HVAC system, and other building systems – to work together is difficult.”

Read full article here (as featured in Buildings > Security magazine).