Five tips for beginning a campus security project from Convergint's Micah Carlson

1. UNLOCKED
Five Tips For Beginning a Campus
Security Project
from Convergint’s Micah Carlson
This is an excerpt from the UNLOCKED podcast, a series from
ASSA ABLOY about campus physical security. Listen to the whole
episode and learn how to start and budget for your physical security
project at www.intelligentopenings.com/unlocked

2. Start by answering the questions:
Which departments will be affected?
Which departments have budget for this
type of project?
Involve them from the start.
#1

3. Walk around and do a quality check on
your own before engaging an outsider.
Look for older facilities; they can come
with difficulties, especially for doors and
access controls.
Take note of the condition of hinges,
doors and locks; time and 18- to 24-year-
olds can do a number on them.
#2

4. Next, talk with a security expert you
can trust.
They might not be easy to find,
but they’ll be incredibly valuable.
Find someone who is in the industry,
goes to the security shows, talks to
manufacturers, knows the standards and
keeps up with industry trends.
#3

5. Basic cost estimates are easy to get
from providers.
But there’s so much more that goes into
large-scale security projects. A decent
amount of due diligence is required;
there is no one-size-fits-all.
Everything’s custom in this industry. And
it requires a lot more legwork than most
end users are prepared for.
#4

6. Finally, watch out for factors that will
impact your timeline.
Just the color of the lock alone can
immediately bring in all types of
variables that weren’t otherwise
foreseen.
Not only can this impact the budget, it
can also significantly impact the
schedule, depending on
manufacturer’s lead times.
#5

7. UNLOCKED
Listen to the UNLOCKED podcast and learn
how to start and budget for your campus
physical security project at
www.intelligentopenings.com/unlocked