Security systems

The trend today is toward integration of all building functions such as life safety, security, and energy monitoring. Combination into one computerized centrally-controlled system can reduce costs and maximize system performance. In regard to building security, the seriousness and pervasiveness of crime is hardly news. For specifying engineers it means that security must be considered in every new building design and that clients will inquire about security systems for their facilities. Security-meaning protection against loss-takes three forms: the physical, involving tangible items such as fences, alarms, and annunciators; personnel, or the selection of trustworthy employees; and information, comprising the procedures employed to safeguard confidential data, correspondence, and ideas.