When you are thinking of purchasing a new automobile, it is customary to test-drive a model that has most or all of the features that you are considering. There is a world of difference between reading about the car, and the experience of actually driving one. Some information cannot be conveyed simply with words and pictures. If most of your driving will be freeway driving for a long work commute, you may be most interested in how comfortable you are in the driver's seat, and how the music system sounds. On the other hand, if you will be using the car mostly for short in-town trips you may be more interested in how easy it is to park and how simple it is to operate the security features. A test-drive is the perfect way to experience these things first hand.

For an access control and security monitoring system, it is not practical or affordable to install a new system just for the purpose of testing it out. However, there are steps you can take to ensure that you get the product and features that most closely match what you really want and need. If you do sufficient preparation, you should be able to take several test-rides in a live system that is very much like the system you are looking for.

Preparation

Today's security systems are much more feature-rich than the systems of some years ago, which is why it requires a little more homework on your part to make sure you get a satisfactory installation. You will need to learn enough about the features of each candidate system to determine how well the features map to the needs of your facility and its occupants.

The best first steps are generally not in-depth studies of the product offerings. Instead, they should be the steps you take to determine what your security system needs are.

This may seem like a chicken-and-egg problem. How can you fully determine what your security system needs are if you don't know what system features are available? On the other hand, how can you evaluate a system's features if you don't have a clear idea of what your facility's needs are? Which comes first?

Start with the Real World

If you want to get a true and honest review of a particular automobile, usually a good source is a friend or associate who owns one. You will get real world feedback about what it is like to actually drive and maintain the vehicle. Often you will be offered a test-ride without having to ask for one. The best evaluation will come from someone who uses his or her vehicle in the same way that you intend to use yours.

Similarly, an excellent way to get a real world picture of a security system is by visiting a facility that owns one.

The best evaluation will come from a facility that is similar to your facility. That doesn't mean just physical similarity. It includes functional similarity such as hours of operation, the type of building occupants, and the nature of the activities performed in the facility. Be sure to include similarity of the local environment as well, since the facility environment will also impact security considerations.

Preparing the Passenger List

It will be helpful to identify early on the people who will have roles in the operation of the system you will be purchasing for your facility. They should be involved to some extent in the education and evaluation steps for the new system, including the test-rides that you take.

Exactly who should be involved will depend upon the size of your facility, and the extent to which you make use of the new system's capabilities. Often this will include at least one person from the security staff (for security monitoring and incident reports), at least one person from facility management or human resources (for security privilege data entry and management reports), as well as the facility's chief or assistant chief engineer.

Taking a Test-Ride

For a security system, a test-ride consists of a walk-through of the system that includes observation of the system operations and of the performance of key system tasks.

Before you take the test-ride, ask about what the system operators like most and like least about the system, and why. For the things they don't like, how would they change them to be more to their liking?

During your test ride, you can have them show you what they like and don't like by demonstration, so that you have a clear operational-level understanding of how the functionality works from the operator's perspective. For example, how easy is it to add or delete a user from the system? What kind of reports can you make? Are there any report capabilities that the system lacks?

Remember to ask if other changes were made to the facility to support the security objectives. For example, was additional security lighting installed in support of after-hours facility access?

Ask how the features of the system help them to accomplish their job. Each person who has a role in operating the system does so because of a related job function and a related responsibility. Find out who has what responsibilities in system operation and management or maintenance, and how this fits in the overall organizational picture.

Most people will be very helpful and will consider it a professional courtesy to share this worthwhile information with you. If the situation were reversed, they would want you to do the same for them.

You can follow up your test-rides by reading magazine case studies of systems that make good use of current technology. This issue and previous issues of Access Control and Security Systems Integration contain such case studies.

Identifying Your Facility's Needs

Once you have taken some test-rides, you will need to document what your facility's security needs are, and what you will expect of the security system you purchase.

At this point, how you proceed will depend upon the size of your facility and nature of your security needs.

For a large facility with significant security needs, you may need to engage a security consulting firm or independent consultant to work with you. One of the items the consultant would produce is a Request for Proposal document. It should include a detailed specification of the key system features and a full description of how you want to control and monitor access to specific areas within your facility.

For very small system needs, a vendor can work with a simple description perhaps a few pages long, which describes the key features you are looking for and what areas of your facility you want to secure and monitor.

Initially don't be too concerned with what the system's out-of-the box capabilities will be. Be more concerned with what you would like the system to do for you. If you have requirements that you think are special or unusual, document them in detail.

For a real-life example of the benefits to documenting special needs, see the sidebar Special Needs.

The Final Test-Ride

There will be another test-ride that you need to perform once the system is installed, and that is acceptance testing. How and when acceptance testing is performed is critical to a successful installation.

This is one aspect where delivering a security system differs greatly from delivering an automobile.

An automobile arrives from the factory with its features installed, with the possible exception of a few vendor options that the vendor's service department installs prior to delivery. You would not expect to take physical delivery of the vehicle until after the vendor has installed all of the final options.

A security system is physically delivered and installed in your facility before many of its features are set up and activated.

Once the equipment is in place the installing vendor will often be willing to "hand over the keys" after a "quick spin around the parking lot". If the customer takes the keys and starts "driving" the system at that point, it can soon become apparent that more training and additional system setup are needed.

The opposite can also occur -- where the customer insists on an unplanned-for "cross-country trip" to prove out the system, with the vendor in protest over what he views as an unwarranted and delay in the schedule.

System turnover is more problematic for security systems than for other types of systems for the following reasons:

• The customer, not the vendor, must define the security privileges that will be assigned to the users. Many customers don't know this and are not prepared to provide this information at the point where the vendor needs it.
  
• Customers that are new to the system being installed won't actually know how to define the access privileges.
  
• Some customers expect the vendors to "just know" what to do based upon the vendor's experience, and don't expect to participate in the system setup process.
  
• Some vendors expect to give the customer a short introduction to the system then have the customer complete the system commissioning. This is not uncommon, but often comes as a surprise to the customer.
  
• It's possible for customers to "goof-up" a system while using it, which is why some vendors want to obtain a final sign-off before the customers get involved in operating the system or defining security privileges. This means that the system would be signed off before commissioning is complete. Unknown problems with the system setup or the installation can still exist at this point.
  
• Insufficient preparation regarding system setup issues can lead to a mismatch of expectations between the customer and the vendor, resulting in friction between vendor and facility personnel and project delays.

This is why understanding the requirements of a successful system turnover and preparing for them well in advance will minimize the problems you encounter.
Working with your vendor, determine who will type in the user security privilege information, you or the vendor. Determine whether this will be performed during the operational test period, or prior to it.

System Commissioning and Startup

The process of setting up the system according to your particular needs is system commissioning. It should be performed prior to final acceptance of the system.

A system is fully commissioned when it has been completely set up for its intended use, all punch list items (items to be corrected) are corrected, and the system has successfully passed all tests. Tests performed at this stage of the installation are called field acceptance tests. Field acceptance tests demonstrate that the system is fully set up and ready to be used as you intend it to be used.

The next step after system commissioning is system startup, whereby the system is actually put into full operational use.

At that point the operation of the system is verified by fully operating the system for a test period, usually 30 days. This is called the operational acceptance test. The operational acceptance test is your final test-drive of the system.

During the operational acceptance test, minor deficiencies are corrected without restarting the test period. If there is a system failure that requires the reinstallation of a major component, or a major change to the system configuration, then the test period is restarted. To prevent disputes regarding failures during the test period, it is important to define what constitutes minor and major failures prior to the start of the operational acceptance test.

Large systems that are subject to formal contracting procedures almost always have the various points of testing identified, documented and scheduled. Formal customer approval of the test plans and procedures are expected and are usually specified in the Request for Proposal.

Small and medium size systems are often purchased with much less formality. Often the customers rely upon the vendor to define the test and acceptance procedures. If this is the case, you must let the vendor know at the start that you expect him to define the system commissioning procedures and acceptance test procedures and submit then for your review.

Your Own Preparation is Required to Ensure the Success of Your Vendor
It is you as the customer who must (a) provide the security and monitoring objectives, (b) determine how the secured areas of your facility will be monitored and accessed, (c) specify the types of reports that you will need, and (d) describe any special requirements in detail.

A good vendor will be able to explain what information he needs from you. He should also be able to describe the points where you and he must work together to determine exactly how to best use the system that he is providing.

You as the customer must also define and assign the security access privileges for individual users. You should learn this aspect of the system as early as possible so that you have plenty of time to discover how best to use the capabilities of the system. The access privilege scheme should be designed and verified well before the system is ready for commissioning.

See the sidebar Recommended Steps for a Successful Startup of a New Security System for a summary of specific actions you will need to perform.

Attending to the preparation steps described above will help ensure that your final test-drive leaves you with a smile on your face and with confidence that your system will perform according to your expectations.

From Access Control & Security Systems integration magazine, August 2000.