SECURITY UPGRADE

Notice 2017 No 28

SECURITY UPGRADE AT SUMMERWOOD ENTRANCE

Dear Member/Resident,

In the Notice No 22 of 3 January 2017 mention was made of aspects related to security which were being investigated by the Management Committee. Amongst others, this included electronic access control and a vetting system for visitors and contractors.
Over the past weeks the Committee has been engaged in a process of identifying the most suitable automation in respect of access and egress for residents and visitors and which could be considered for installation at the entranceway to Summerwood. Due to the advanced technology and vast range of systems available on the market, the advice of a consultant was sought in acquiring suitable products at a reasonable price, and a contractor qualified to undertake the work. The point of departure was the commitment to ensuring the greatest safety and security of the residents of Summerwood and not to simply introduce changes in order to keep up with the neighbours. Drastic and costly changes to the entranceway infrastructure also needed to be avoided.
The Committee will be reporting fully on these matters at the forthcoming AGM 2017. It will suffice to mention here that it was resolved to embark upon a phased approach in terms of what is envisaged and that the first step would be to address the residents’ access and egress. Due to illegal practices the access remotes are currently viewed as being the undoing of security control at the entrance. These need to be discarded and replaced with a more secure system.
The choice fell upon biometric access control which is to be put in place over the next few weeks. The system requires that underground ducting is to be installed in the residents’, visitors’ and exit lanes. The ducting process, for a very limited period of time, could be the source of frustration to residents. The work will, however, be done in a manner which ensures that the traffic flow remains as smooth as is possible under the circumstances. Your patience and tolerance of the situation will be greatly appreciated.
Once completed, the booms in all three lanes will be operated by fingerprint readers on goosenecks. The readers are linked to the booms. Prior to the system’s introduction all residents will be go through an enrolment process at the village office in order to obtain their fingerprint template. Residents “without” fingerprints will be specially authorised and allocated a specific remote with which to activate the booms.
The only deviation from the current arrangement will occur during the period that the gates are closed at night (between 23:00 and 06:00). During these hours only the visitors’ lane will be available to both residents and visitors for entry. Visitors’ gate entry will be auto- matic by means of an induction loop beneath the cobbled roadway. From there residents will be able to open the visitors’ boom by means of a biometric reader alongside the guard-house whilst the visitors, for an interim period, will continue to follow the protocol currently in place, i.e. the signing-in process.