Manufacturing Company Requires Integrated Intrusion/Access

Mike Hilt, senior facilities manager for Echo Inc., can change and monitor the status of the Bosch G Series Control Panels right from the keypad. PHOTOs COURTESY OF BOSCH

Echo Inc. turned to LaMarco Systems for a solution that would integrate access control and intrusion detection capabilities. PHOTOs COURTESY OF BOSCH

Dzmitry Beliayeu, operations manager for LaMarco Systems, and Mike Hilt, senior facilities manager for Echo Inc., worked to secure Echo's two independently-operated facilities. PHOTOs COURTESY OF BOSCH

LaMarco Systems' relationship with Echo Inc. dates back to 1999, when the company installed a fire alarm system for Echo's first distribution facility. PHOTOs COURTESY OF BOSCH

Echo Inc., a manufacturer of landscaping equipment for both the commercial and residential homeowner markets recently expanded its facilities and locations. Its two locations expanded to more than 35 acres with facilities spanning a total of 540,000 square feet. The company was in need of a cost-effective, convenient and easy-to-use solution that would enhance the security of these two independently-operated facilities. Echo also desired a solution that would integrate access control and intrusion detection capabilities.

With this in mind, Echo standardized on the Bosch D9412 G Series Control Panels for intrusion detection at both facilities. The control panels are integrated with a card-based access control system, enabling employees to arm and disarm select areas of the facilities using their company identiﬁcation badges. With this design, Echo employees only need to interface with one system instead of two.

Select authorized individuals, such as the facilities manager, can also change and monitor the status of the G Series Control Panels using D1255B vacuum ﬂuorescent display keypads. With eight interior partitions across the two facilities, emergency exits remained armed at all times, while other doors and areas are armed and disarmed as required to ﬁt the day’s schedule.

The intrusion system is monitored for alarms by LaMarco Systems Inc., and communications from the control panels are sent to the integrator’s UL-listed central station via a wireless mesh network.

A variety of intrusion detectors, including glass-break and photoelectric beam devices, provide advanced detection capabilities. Professional Series PIR Detectors installed throughout the facilities also feature Sensor Data Fusion technology — which processes data from up to ﬁve different sensors to make intelligent alarm decisions — as well as Tri-Focus Optics to produce sharper images that make it easier for the detectors to distinguish intruders from false alarm sources.

The integration of the G Series Control Panels with the access control system makes the system very easy to use. It eliminates the need for Echo employees to remember and key in system passcodes to arm or disarm an area within the facility.

“The G Series system is easy to use and reliable — it does what it was designed to do every day. The keypads are easy to read and operate, and the detectors tell the truth about the situation at the facility. LaMarco Systems made minor adjustments after the initial installation, and following that, we have had reliable performance with no false alarms,” said Mike Hilt, senior facilities manager, Echo.