The customer is responsible for the supply of drinking water to a defined geographic region as well as the treatment and disposal of sewage, and the protection of inland and bathing waters.

With this in mind, the customer required centralised access management to boost security at head office and at depots across the estate. Many of the depots were situated in remote locations. A key
objective was to ensure that staff, visitors, and appointed contractors were provided with the means to access buildings, zones in a controlled and audible manner. Regulatory compliance and control were absolutely critical.

From a technical point of view, the customer wanted to leverage their investment in secure wide area network connectivity to facilitate centralised visibility and management together with remote access card printing capability.

The Goals

In the case of this project, objectives were clearly defined including:

• Centralised Access Management to the customer premises for staff and visitors
• Simplified administration for those responsible for issuing passes
• Preventing unauthorised access to mission-critical environments

The Solution

G4S were employed to provide our AMAG Symmetry Access Control System to multiple sites across three counties. Tiered levels of access privileges with associated time periods were assigned across doors, barriers, and gates.

Pin and proximity readers were provided at each location with a centralised database providing control and access to management information. This was managed centrally by the customer using the AMAG Symmetry Software. The customer’s local and wide area networks were leveraged to provide a centralised managed solution with local access to simplify passage for staff and visitors but allow for the necessary controls to support compliance efforts.

Access passes were produced centrally to control printing, access right privileges and allocation of the required Access Cards. All installation and maintenance work carried out by G4S employees took place in accordance with all European and British Standards, manufacturer’s recommendations, and NSI standards and Codes of Practice.

Whilst working on this contract G4S’ main objectives, collectively with the customer, have been to:

• Minimise environmental impact
• Promote positive interaction with the community
• Operate with the highest levels of professionalism

Recognising the importance of safety and compliance to the Water and Utilities industries, G4S continually kept the customer up-to-date with the skills, qualifications, and accreditations of all those who operate on this contract. This has been supported electronically through a skills matrix that both G4S and the customer can access at any time.

A bespoke communication plan was produced for the initial mobilisation. This plan outlined all contract stakeholders, contact details, and the frequency of meetings to completion. To further ensure clarity of communication, a single point of contact was assigned to the customer’s contract through an Account Manager who took full responsibility for all contract requirements.

The Results

Originally installed over 10 years ago to the customer’s head office, the solution has expanded to additional sites and depots over time. The customer’s in-house security team, located in Head Office, is fully trained and has authority to administer the system.

Supporting the customer to leverage investment to the full, software has been regularly updated across the estate to ensure that the system benefits from the latest features and security controls.
More recently in 2020, an additional site, located in an adjacent county has been added, further leveraging the customer’s investment in their Wide Area Network. This included the full upgrade or replacement of existing OEM Readers and Software together with some additional doors and barriers.

Through the ongoing commitment to customer satisfaction, G4S has developed a close relationship with the customer which has resulted in G4S being engaged for a broader CCTV provision and support requirement.