Blog Post

August is Condominium Security month at 3D Security Services. We would like to welcome everyone to the second part of our 3-part blog series to help both Condominium Managers and the Board of Director with security awareness within their condominium buildings. As we mentioned in the last blog, the three topics that we will be discussing are Education, Integration and Implementation.

Today we continue with Integration.

Where it relates to Condominium Security, we can define integration in the following manner:

Integration is the combination of a variety of components (such as people, procedures and technology) to form a system.

-Protection of Assets – Physical Security, pg 8, ASIS

With the understanding that a system is a collection of products, processes, or both to create a solution to a problem (or to accomplish a goal) we are now cognizant of the need for integration within our Condominium Physical Protection System (PPS).

One of the most basic examples of integration within the PPS is electrical integration. When performing security assessment reports for various condominiums, we need to verify that all systems have the necessary power and redundancies in the event of a security event. We are all aware of the law, defined by Murphy, that states that whatever can go wrong will go wrong. This means that it is prudent to ensure that all essential systems have the appropriate redundancy to function in the event of a security incident. The last thing a Condominium, or the Board of Directors, wants is the security system to stop working during a black or brownout.

The second issue regarding integration is the systematic harmony of the individual components of the PSS. As discussed in a previous post, this is a major focus of the Security Assessment report that we have undertaken at numerous condominiums within the region. A very basic example of this would be the integration of lighting within the CCTV system. From a security perspective, there are different levels of lighting required in different locations (one of the first things we check) and it needs to be adequate for two reasons:

Deter: A properly lit area, with the appropriate counter-intrusion equipment, can stop intruders from entering the protected area.

Detect: The appropriate lighting levels must be present to allow different components of the condominium’s PPS to detect any unwanted intrusion. These components could be security personnel or the CCTV system. If the proper lighting from a security perspective is not present, then the facility is assisting the intruder in staying undetected.

The picture attached to this blog shows a real-life instance of an integration issue within the perimeter defense of a facility. In this case, there is a security camera that has been installed within easy viewing of an exterior bike rack, which is a usual target for condominium intruders. However, the lighting level is such that it would be problematic to utilize any footage of a security incident, save to be able to determine when it took place.

Have a question about integration within your Condominium Security System? Or maybe you have a security question that you would like us to address in future postings?

Feel free to send an e-mail to [email protected]