Securing a safer future

General Article
October 17, 2002

New system of 'proximity cards' to phase in by February

Proximity cards trigger entry when placed near a sensor, eliminating the need to swipe. Photo by Todd McNaught

By CLAY EALS

The bad guys soon will get some bad news - and the news will be entirely nonverbal.

Doors that used to be open for them won't anymore. And if they manage somehow to get inside, they will have a hard time getting beyond the most public spaces.

Faculty and staff, however, will find it easier to get around, thanks to an upgrade to the Day Campus security system to be phased in from November through February.

"We don't really have problems to speak of now, but given the climate of the times and the technology that we're about to have in place, we're going to be in the position of providing much better security to everyone," said Jack Cusack, security manager.

It all comes down to what's contained in the photo-ID badges that faculty and staff clip on their pockets or hang from cords around their necks.

For the past six years that Fred Hutchinson has asked faculty and staff to carry photo-ID badges, the badges have been designed for swiping or sliding through a door sensor the size of a paperback book.

Soon, however, faculty and staff will receive new photo-ID badges, called proximity (or "prox") cards, which allow the same sensor to "read" the badges when they are positioned close (or proximate) to the sensor. (Administrative staff already use such cards for entry to the Yale Building during off hours.)

An obvious benefit of the switchover is that prox cards will eliminate the motion of swiping badges through sensors, making it easier for faculty and staff to enter and exit areas when they have their hands full.

New software

But Cusack said the cards also will be tied into new InfoGraphics software that allows for a more finely divided system of access to various parts of the Day Campus.

This means that faculty and staff will need to take a bit of time to be issued a new card. And some faculty and staff will need to carry both their old and new cards for a few weeks while the new system takes effect.

But the timing for the changeover couldn't be better, said Scott Ingalls, senior project manager for Facilities.

Fred Hutchinson was seeking a contractor to provide card readers for the Public Health Sciences Division building that is under construction on the Day Campus and scheduled to open in spring 2004.

"By combining a campus wide upgrade with the PHS project, we got very competitive bids," Ingalls said. "The pricing worked out very well."

While some initially may view the switchover as an inconvenience, the benefits will become more evident over time, said Cusack and Ingalls.

For example, the new system will provide pinpoint accuracy in determining who is where at the campus during off hours. It also will allow transportation staff to better monitor the use of secure parking areas to more efficiently fill parking spaces.

Cusack said he expects faculty and staff will welcome the changes over time.

"The nature of security has changed a lot in the last year," he said, referring to the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. "We have to take it more seriously, and people have an appreciation for security that they didn't have before.

"That's certainly important here at the Hutch. We have a responsibility to control who goes into our buildings to protect the center's research, staff and resources."

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