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6 news www.securitysystemsnews.com You started your career as a paralegal working on defense litigation for casinos. How did you get involved with security? Specifcally Speaking Michelle Hofmaster In my prior career as a paralegal, I was tasked with proving that a videotape had not been tampered with and was admissible as video evidence in a court of law. The investigations of how video systems were designed and operated piqued my interest, which led Senior Project Manager— Security; The Sextant Group Omaha, Neb. february 2014 me to my current career over ten years ago. You've followed a unique educational path. Was it your work in security that led you to become a PhD candidate? Tell me about the PhD you're working on. I was originally a pre-law student with a dream of one day becoming an attorney, I even sat for the LSAT exam and applied to law schools. Electronic security became a pas- Satisfy your customers' app etite. seCurITy sysTeMs news sion and I changed my major to criminal justice, which is what my undergraduate degree is in. Graduate school was next and my degree is in security management. As I continue to have a hunger for learning, I began pursuing my PhD in public policy and administration with an emphasis in homeland security to not only continue my education, but to understand where our industry regulations and standards came from and where they are going. Besides systems design, what other security services does The Sextant Group provide to its customers? Here at The Sextant Group, we provide our clients with a holistic approach to security by not only offering electronic security systems design but security consulting services that include master planning; electronic systems assessment and migration planning; budget planning; policy writing; threat and risk assessments; and other specialized assessments. What security technologies and other related technologies do you think will have the greatest impact on architecture in 2014? View Account Information Alarm History Account Testing Call Central Station Request Service Log Off Mobile Edition Introducing your company's smartphone access. access with your company brand Offer your customers and give them the peace of mind that could improve customer satisfaction, reduce attrition, and increase referral sales. Mobile Edition Get your own private label computer, tablet, and smartphone subscriber access only at COPS Monitoring. Read more at copsmonitoring.com/appetite. Providing nationwide wholesale alarm monitoring and dealer services from New Jersey | Florida | Arizona | Tennessee | Texas | Maryland 800.367.2677 | Fax: 856.629.4043 | info@copsmonitoring.com | copsmonitoring.com CA: ACO6132 • DE: 05-85 • FL: EF20000481 • IL: 127-001299 • MD: 107-840 • TN: 632/1626 • TX Burg: B11561/17961 • TX Fire: ACR-2215 • VA: 11-1941 With the rapid increase in technology, more and more buildings are becoming "smart buildings," but what does this mean? The following are seven independent technology systems that may be designed and integrated together to function as one system: 1. Security—Video, access control, and intrusion detection are already being integrated and designed as one system or a security management system. In addition, Web-hosted visitor management systems are increasingly becoming popular. A visitor or new employee can visit your web site and pre-register the visit by filling out a form. 2. Lighting—Lighting control has been on the rise, since programming when lights turn on or off does save energy. 3. Life Safety—The fire n o t i f i c a t i o n a n d s u p p re s sion systems are also being designed as one system and are networkable to be monitored and/or tested remotely. 4. Mechanical—The heating and cooling of a building can be very costly. By monitoring and controlling these systems, energy is conserved and the cost to maintain the building decreases. 5. Elevators—Elevators of today are computer controlled and if integrated with an elevator call system can run more efficiently, transporting more passengers in shorter durations speaking see page 10