Security Systems News

NOV 2017

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Max Kidd, 32 Associate director of technology, The University of Texas at Arlington Police Department Arlington, Texas M A x kIDD got involved in security after getting involved with The u niversity of Texas at Arlington a little more than two and a half years ago. "When I started at u TA, I was hired to do police-specific IT," k idd said. "But, what came along with that … was all of the physical security side." The campus has about 4,100 students and 60 buildings with security installations, k idd estimated. "What I handle is all of the physical security in regards to cameras and intrusion and PD specific access control. I fall under the police chain. I also do all of the police information technology," k idd said. "I think we're unique in that we self-install all of our cameras and I have another guy that works with me to help coordinate that effort," said k idd. h e added that this could become more common for similar sized environments, "because you can really control the end product if you're not having to constantly put it out for bid every year." The university just installed a self-learning camera analytic that—instead of being rules-based—it uses a two-week learning period to then determine any anomalous activity. "The idea is to change the perception from being reactive with the cameras to taking a more proactive approach," k idd said. At a university, state budgets have an impact on security. "If we are given less money, how do we use that more effectively to ensure the safety of the students and faculty and staff of the campus?" Asked about the future of physical security, k idd predicted that there will be more privacy concerns. "We're a public university, it's public space outside … but does that give us a right to record you, store images of you into some database?"—Spencer Ives Bryan Kramer, 39 GSOC manager, Noble Energy Inc. Houston B RYA n kRAMER is the g S o C manager for n oble Energy Inc., an oil and natural gas exploration and production company with about 2,000 employees worldwide. k ramer's responsibilities cover "everything from g S o C systems to g S o C administration, building a g S o C," he said. The company's main presence is in the u .S., around the g ulf of Mexico, central-Western Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean. "A lot of my day-to-day activities include representing the g lobal Security Department in meetings with cross-functional teams and different departments within the company; IT, Environmental h ealth and Safety, and Production. I also frequently speak with personnel in the control centers that monitor the systems that regulate the products coming out of the ground," k ramer said. "That's where the money is made in the company. So, if we can have better relationships with them, it helps build a g S o C to be more forward-facing and provides a better service to the company—not just by watching alarms or cameras, but by correlating threats to critical processes and assets such as facilities and tracking travelers." k ramer served in the u .S. Air Force for 10 years, which introduced him to security. " h alf of that time I was a military working dog handler," he said. "The last year-and-a-half to two years I was managing the Air Force Base's Visitor Center; so, very similar to access control—I see overlapping processes that the private security industry performs." k ramer added, "I was also a dispatcher for the base's 911 center; an Air Force security forces law enforcement desk sergeant." After leaving the military, k ramer attended college and received two bachelor's degrees: one in criminal justice and another in computer science – information systems. l ooking at the future of physical security, k ramer said, "It all depends on the culture of your company. There's a fine balance between convenience and security."—Spencer Ives Billy Langenstein, 29 Director of event services, U.S. Bank Stadium Minneapolis B I ll Y lA ng E n STEI n, now the director of event services for u .S. Bank Stadium, has experience working in public venues and sports arenas. "I started out as a water boy at 15 years of age for an event security company in Philadelphia," l angenstein said. "From there I just continued to grow and learn the industry … and absorb as much information as I could." h e continued this experience working in music venues in Philadelphia. l angenstein attended the u niversity of Maryland for his undergraduate, and went to g eorgetown u niversity for a graduate degree in sports business. " o ut of school, I had an opportunity to work with the Washington n ationals in Major l eague Baseball, out in [Washington] D.C. I started there as a coordinator of guest services and … ascended to the director of event operations for the ballpark," he said. "From there, I received a phone call with an opportunity to open u .S. Bank Stadium and be their director of event services," he said. "It was the right fit for me in my career, and a phenomenal opportunity, and that's where I am today." h e outlined some of his responsibilities: "I am overall responsible for event security, building security—everything from public safety as far as law enforcement, working with homeland security, the FBI, the n ational g uard," said l angenstein. h e is also responsible for guest experience, emergency response, the stadium's rewards and recognition program, transportation logistics, medical operations, and event oversight. l angenstein commented on how people will be involved in security moving forward. "We're never going to get rid of the human element in security; there's always going to be a human involved, and that's really important." he noted. "But, technology is here to support that person." l angenstein highlighted drones as an upcoming threat within physical security.—Spencer Ives Daniel Lowrey, 34 Director of security, Switch, LTD. Las Vegas C o MI ng ou T of the Army at age 25, Daniel l owrey said he was fortunate to be hired by Switch, a technology infrastructure ecosystem corporation whose core business is the design, construction and operation of advanced data centers. "At Switch, I have come to enjoy many of the same things I enjoyed in the Army—the structure and the camaraderie—coupled with the demanding and awarding task of providing excellence in customer service," he said. "This challenging environment has been a catalyst that propelled my inspiration to continue my career in the security field." l owrey's role at Switch includes ensuring the physical security of more than 700,000 square feet of Tier 5 platinum data centers and their supporting infrastructure. "I oversee the daily operation of a security staff for our l as Vegas 9 and 10 facilities, which includes training and mentoring to the managers on my staff, and acting as a liaison between all operational staff to mitigate any customer impacting work," he explained. l owrey also assists customers with access requests for employees/vendors and guests, drafts policies and procedures as needed and serves on the company's l ife Safety Committee. o verseeing security for the company's newest facility, l owrey gets to deploy new and emerging technologies. "I have the honor of working with trailblazers—the most talented, forward thinking engineers and technicians—in all aspects that go into the construction and operation of the world's best data centers," he said. o n the new technology front, l owrey is excited about the role of robotics, both aerial and ground-based, and sees further cooperation and partnership between law enforcement and security, "as law enforcement uses predictive policing to better identify when and where there will be issues," he said. "That partnership is going to go a long way to shape our industry."—Paul Ragusa Armando Martinez, 32 Regional loss prevention manager—Midwest, Bob's Discount Furniture Manchester, Conn. I n h IS current role at Bob's Discount Furniture, Armando Martinez is responsible for "driving our loss prevention program in 21 retail stores in Illinois, Indiana, Wiscon- sin and Missouri, conducting audits, store investigation training, store safety, and security of our buildings, for example" he said. h e also manages and maintains the company's loss prevention case management and audit management systems, as well as its website. Since Martinez joined Bob's Discount Furniture in late 2015, the company has grown from 64 to 89 stores. "I have helped to open 21 of those stores here in the Midwest," he said. "So I have had the opportunity to play a heavily involved role in [the] planning and coordinating of our security systems in those new facilities and creating the roadmap for future buildings." A tech enthusiast, Martinez said it is exciting to see how far CCTV has come. "When I started in loss prevention 10 years ago, I was working at a store changing V h S tapes out of a VCR every day, and today we are tapping in remotely to n VRs from our home and viewing locations from anywhere," he explained. h e continued, "Things like facial recognition, thermal technology, P o S integration, analytics—all of these features are getting a lot more traction and becoming much more useful to businesses, not just from a loss prevention and security standpoint, but also to identify business patterns, be notified when VIP customers are in the store, etc." Maritnez also predicts an increase in smart technology being used in commercial physical security. " l ike with access control using biometrics and voice recognition and the Internet of Things really becoming prevalent in the industry—all of those systems working together to create better efficiencies for our facilities and better communication for us and for the operators."—Paul Ragusa Amanda O'Loughlin, 39 Security supervisor, Crane Currency Nashua, N.H. A S SEC u RITY supervisor for the n ashua location of global banknote manufac- turer Crane Currency, Amanda o ' l oughlin is responsible for both physical and information security. "Crane Currency is an international company with several locations. My site is unique in that we manufacture the security features for currency all over the world," explained o ' l oughlin. "What I am looking at is the risk not only to our physical assets but also our intellectual property and our data." As the chairperson of the company's information security committee, she also liaises with the IT department in developing an information security training program for the company, training employees in security awareness and active-shooter preparation, as well as first aid, CPR and AED. o ' l oughlin got her first experience working part time as a security officer while earning her master's degree in criminal justice. "I really liked private security—bringing that security awareness and teaching people how to protect themselves," she said. "That is really what motivates or inspires me on a daily basis—getting to help others help themselves; helping them to understand where their risks are, how to mitigate those risks and what to do when you can't possibly mitigate." She sees a continued "overlap or blurring of the lines" between physical security and information security. "There was always a separation between IT and physical security but it is important for us to be working together for oversight and collaboration," she noted. "We can't do it alone and we don't want any one person having too much power. I already see it with our integrators needing much more knowledge about network security, how to design a network and connect and communicate across different networks." —Paul Ragusa www.securitysystemsnews.com November 2017 S e CU r ITY SYST em S N e WS 20 under 40 30

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