Dan Rothrock, President, Zenitel Americas delves into audio and the pathway to ROI for secure access.

Security and safety with audio

In today’s risk climate, security leaders cannot make a business decision that does not protect the brand and the business.

Security leaders are tasked with helping a company identify all security risks and appropriately prioritize them so that the human and capital resources can be applied in a responsible manner to the highest risks that the company faces.

One business decision is with security technology: what to employ, how to employ it, how it will be used to mitigate risks and ultimately, how to show a ROI on its use.

The concept of ROI is simple. Time, money and resources are invested into the right security solutions to reduce security and safety risks.

Demonstrating that the ROI is key to securing future funding.

Yet, the task can also be difficult, as security and safety business units may not generate a monetary return like other business units do.

Security’s investment pays for itself in risk mitigation: a safety event didn’t take place today and everyone went home safe. 

Security teams have traditionally relied entirely on access control, video and other surveillance technologies to mitigate threats.

However, that’s a missed opportunity to be on the pathway to ROI.

Every facility needs audio and clear communications in conjunction with other security technologies.  

Exploring clear communications

Picture yourself attending a music concert that you have eagerly awaited for months.

The band has diligently prepared through many hours of practice and effort, aiming to inspire you to connect with the emotions and narratives conveyed through the music.

Simply put, you want to enjoy the concert.

However, once the concert begins, it’s inaudible.

The sound is distorted or the audio quality is so inadequate that it detracts from your ability to enjoy it.

It’s pointless to stay at the concert, so you leave.

The same can be said in daily security operations with intercoms that are employed at the entry to commercial and government buildings, schools, healthcare facilities and more.

Imagine these scenarios:

• A visitor approaches an office entrance that is just off a busy street. They press the intercom button but have difficulty hearing the receptionist and being heard
• A truck pulls up to an unmanned secure gate and can’t hear any instructions because the sound of the engine is so loud

The intercom may be on, but is it doing its job? If an intercom or IP speaker doesn’t allow the user to be clearly heard and understood, how can a security team depend on it? Is it even providing an ROI?

Enterprise security teams need the ability to see and they need good sound – sound that is clear, intelligible and understood, every time.

Only then can they acquire actionable business intelligence, increase operational efficiency and mitigate safety and security risks.

Only then can a security executive achieve an ROI on that intercom solution.

Transcending the threshold

While IP intercoms and public address systems that provide clear communications at doors are a critical part of a security solution, there are additional applications beyond the door that can help a security leader to achieve a successful ROI.

In commercial buildings and facilities, audio solutions can provide instant communication at the entrance, in an elevator, at loading docks, at the reception desk and in parking garages, to help employees, visitors or vendors who need it.

It also helps to keep people and business processes smoothly moving through the building and can help to improve customer service.

In hospitals, audio solutions can allow access and crystal-clear communication to restricted areas like pharmacies, cleanrooms and operating theaters.

They can also allow quarantined patients in isolation rooms to communicate with staff without the risk of infecting others.

In retail stores, instant voice communication is the key to delivering a quality customer experience and intercom solutions and speakers can assist customers, help security guards to perform their jobs better and enable communication between office staff and sales personnel.

Audio and intelligent communication solutions also help with employee training, to show how a situation was handled well or to demonstrate improvements.

Integration is key

Another path to achieve ROI with security solutions is with product integrations with systems such as access control.

At the perimeter, video can convey information such as what someone looks like – their hair color, what they are wearing and perhaps how they are acting.

So, if the objective is to simply gather an image, then a video camera is best.

However, if the objective is to glean more information, and it should be, then you need to integrate audio, as it provides information such as a voice’s intonation, the language spoken, how it changes or even how it rises.

This can help administrators or security teams to understand whether the person at the perimeter is a threat or if they should be granted access to the premises.   

Product integration also allows for analytics that can verify whether an event has taken place, such as glass breaking.

Automated audio announcements via IP speakers can be triggered when people are loitering in an area after hours or when shoplifting is suspected within a retail store.

When linked to live interactive monitoring, audio becomes an even more powerful tool to lessen security challenges.

A live voice confirms a human presence, even when they cannot be visually seen.

That interaction can’t be ignored and it can help a security officer to make the decision whether to escalate the warning or to dispatch first responders.

During an intrusion at a perimeter, security teams can use live audio to issue warnings or instructions, deter intruders and prevent security breaches.

During emergencies, live audio capabilities can broadcast announcements, provide instructions or calm crowds, thus providing public safety.

Audio incorporated into other security solutions also improves post-event incident management, adding an extra layer of context when security professionals investigate an incident.

The audio can help to correctly re-create the incident and the response, especially when an individual’s recollection of an event is unreliable.

How often have we heard someone say: “I don’t recall,” or “I didn’t see it”? Audio from the intercoms can add clarity to the event and the investigation and assist with future training.

Thinking of ROI

IP intercoms and speakers are no longer accessories to a security system.

They serve an important role in helping teams safeguard against threats, effectively manage incidents and coordinate an appropriate response.

With that can come a successful ROI.

It’s exciting to see security business leaders embrace intercoms and IP speakers to bolster their physical security infrastructure and include them as part of an integrated system, supporting other platforms such as access control.

It’s also thrilling to see the seamless integration of the solutions into other security technologies such as access control for a comprehensive approach.  

However, it cannot be understated: any audio solution needs to provide clear communications in all environments.

If it does not, like a music concert with bad audio, or a visitor who can’t hear a security guard at a door – if everyone cannot clearly hear or be heard, then the goal is lost.

Success in any business depends upon a strong ROI.

Ensuring any security team can hear, be heard and be understood will contribute to a successful ROI.

This article was originally published in the October edition of Security Journal Americas. To read your FREE digital edition, click here.