Frontsteps HOA Solutions
Security Technology of South Texas, Inc. is pleased to announce a new marketing partnership with Frontsteps, the nation’s leader in HOA management and security automation. Fronsteps solutions for HOA and Condo communities feature all encompassing protection of residents and community assets via cloud-based security. In the cloud is stored vast amounts of data, keeping residents in the loop and assisting in their ability to self-serve, reducing the cost of employee overhead. Efficiency is improved by streamlining procedures and allowing workflow automation from a single dashboard interface. Here we will take a look at what makes Frontsteps an ideal solution for home owners associations in both condominium settings and communities of houses.
Frontsteps’ HOA solutions are a turnkey, singular answer to the needs of an HOA. The centerpiece of the solution is the centralized dashboard which allows residents to manage their maintenance requests, access documents from the cloud, and view calendar events, among other things. Email, text, and voice newsfeeds keep residents informed en masse with just a single log-in. Automated workflows allow the HOA to run more efficiently and hold on to more time in the day.
Equally important are the security solutions built into the system. Visitor management is a critical component of any large-scale security operation in a residential setting. Visitor entry is expedited with gated, guarded, and lobby-attended communities. Cars can be processed quickly and residents are notified through the system of guest arrivals. Residents manage their guest lists through the cloud using the app. If human guards are employed, they are aided by the ability to scan mobile passes and guest IDs. This logs the activity and sends guests quickly on their way.
Access control involved the monitoring of an unlimited amount of doors, entry points, and vehicle gates in real time. The software integrates with existing system infrastructure. This can include “clickers, key fobs, proxy cards, [and] vehicle transponders” (frontsteps.com) which gives another layer of security for community assets. This web-based system is backed with local storage, allowing admins to view status and connectivity of hardware in real time. Doors can be unlocked remotely and all transactions monitored. In this way, guards and admins can know who accessed a facility and when, improving incident reporting. Another high-tech feature is license plate recognition. In seconds, visitor and resident license plates are identified and logged into the system with entry either being approved or denied. Camera integration protects assets and residents through cloud-based surveillance camera integration. Again, existing infrastructure can be integrated here.
A key aspect of Frontsteps solution is “Mobile Patrol”. The fully mobile application allows security admins instant access “to patrol status updates and critical information, like incident reports and messaging.” (Frontsteps.com) Guards can give live updates in just seconds and share information for different checkpoints along a given patrol route. GPS GeoTagging assists in this process. This vastly improves the productivity and accountability of security staff as they must check in to their patrol checkpoints.
Security Technology of South Texas is happy to offer custom access control and surveillance solutions to the HOA market, designed either turn-key and from the ground up, or integrated into an already existing series of cameras.
Please contact us through email at admin@gostst.com on our website or via phone at 210-446-4863 24/7 to schedule a consultation.
Videofied for HOAs
Even as Summer closes, neighborhood and apartment swimming pools and related facilities face break-ins and the associated liabilities such as trespassing, vandalism and etc. Perhaps even more risky is the fact that in the case especially of children and teenagers who decide to sneak past your perimeter can cause a legal suit for you to deal with should they injure themselves.
We have discussed the Videofied platform before in this blog. A series of wireless IP cameras, motion detectors, sirens, and a 4G modem to communicate in the event of a wifi outage are considered the core components to a system.
This “wireless, cordless, and weatherproof security system, Videofied has proven to be an excellent candidate for a large variety of outdoor applications,” and now features the new “Look-in” smartphone app management, as well as video alarm transmission that is now faster than it has ever been previously.
Videofied provides a quicker police response to real crimes than human operators are able to filter out false alarms. This is because Videofied has what is known as a “Video Verified” system of human operators who dispatch police for burglars and break-ins, but do not summon police by accident when a stray cat or shadow crosses the camera’s view.
The IP cameras used for outdoor operations are weatherproof and sturdier than their indoor counterparts. Skilled installation can cover a surprisingly large outdoor area by using fully integral combinations of indoor and outdoor IP cameras, optional outdoor and indoor sirens, and motion detectors. Smoke detectors and a unique device called the “Outdoor Visual Verification Detection OMV-VX” are also available. All of these device link via Wifi to a central control panel, but the system can also be monitored and interacted with via the phone app.
When you are securing a pool, Videofied often makes the most sense because of the portability, weather hardiness, and the ability to do things like sound or not sound alarms, depending upon whether you want to just scare off the intruders, or silently have police come to catch them in the act. While this is certainly not the only way to secure a pool environment, it does offer in-suite access control ability through the use of key-fobs, quality video, and the quickest response times in the industry while reducing or eliminating the false alarm rate.
Security Technology of South Texas, Inc. has completed several such projects and our technicians have the skill and confidence to build the last system you will ever need to protect your neighborhood or apartment pool complex.
For more information or to schedule an appointment, please contact us at 210-446-4863 or email admin@gostst.com .
Stakeholders Expectations When Securing a Medical Facility
Medical facilities can be a unique challenge for security integrators. They tend to have a more diverse set of security needs all under the same roof. So-called “Behavioral Health” (psychiatric) units will need a tighter grip than the front door, with the entrance to the emergency department falling somewhere in between the extremes. These differences do in fact require very different approaches within the same overall design solution both in terms of doors and access control as well as security cameras and monitoring. Some areas may even be legally prohibited from operating surveillance devices. On top of this, a solid base of network security and competency from the installer is a must in an environment where a hack would lead to the compromising of medical records and billing information.
Owners or shareholders of private medical ventures will share some common concerns. Diversion of drugs from the clinical setting is one of the most frequently cited reasons for smaller clinics wanting to upgrade security, but is also well within the concerns of any larger operation. These environments have lockdown capability needs similar to what is being implemented in campuses, and stand to benefit from similar mass-notification systems. Moreover, any medical facility will have to at minimum meet legal requirements concerning HIPAA laws and fire code.
In large settings with many departments, it will be necessary to identify more than one decision maker. Because security and access control structure in one area tends to ripple throughout, it is typical that officers from compliance departments, HR, and security will be involved at a minimum. There are titles found only in healthcare settings such as the “CXO” (Chief Experience Officer) who deal with the patient experience rating. Because this will impact virtually every aspect of the hospital, and more directly, funding, this will be an important area of consideration in designing a system. Variations in system architecture allow for a mixing and matching of locks on interior and exterior doors to meet the needs of the customer. The demand for a “one-card solution” is already here, and increasingly users want and expect to be able to manage the functions of these systems through their mobile devices.
When groups enter the building, RFID can be logged from a card carried by each person. It is possible to give varying levels of access to interior doors to different individuals, and of course to track movement and time spent in different areas. Interior access control gives advantages to both management and the general employee.
Having the diverse array of technologies of todays security industry available could seem daunting, but does more to make it easy to tailor access control capabilities of each area and entrance to the complex than it does to confuse the process. The market for security in the medical field goes deep, which is why those who hold the shares and call the shots trust a dedicated outside enterprise to handle those needs.
As a Security Integrator, Security Technology of South Texas is prepared to build a tailor fit system for your site or project. Please contact us through email at admin@gostst.com on our website or via phone at 210-446-4863 24/7