As many as 120 senior housing complexes across the southern U.S. could eventually be outfitted with an intelligent access control device that uses what manufacturers call “vectoral behavior patterns” to keep buildings safe and secure.

The potential conversion to FST21’s SafeRise monitoring system started in January 2011 at Faush-Metropolitan Manor in Birmingham, Ala., with SPM Property Management agreeing that ion247 could outfit the buildings on the property and the office.

SPM and ion247 have since installed SafeRise in a similar development in Mobile, Ala., and Houston.

“(The residents’ reaction) was pretty skeptical at first, but we saw it as a better way to do video monitoring,” says Ed Welden, president of ion247. “Because seniors have more mobility issues, or sometimes are more prone to forget to bring their keys with them when they go out, this adds a level of convenience as well as a better security system.”

The Safe Rise concept, which uses 40 different parameters to create a composite profile, was built by the Israeli army almost a decade ago and took home top honors in the Security Industry Association New Product Showcase at ISC West in April.

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Security And Convenience

One aspect the residents took to quickly, says Welden, was the idea of denying access to people they didn’t know.

“They like that it recognizes them and lets them in when it sees them,” he says. “There’s also a sense of pride, I think, having something that’s technologically advanced. We haven’t had anyone say they miss having the guard at the door.”

Welden has seen his team get better at installing SafeRise as it learned more about the system. Each time the company installs SafeRise, it hosts tenant meetings to explain the basics of how it works, including how they can allow guests to come into the building or deny access to a stranger.

“The biggest challenge is that guests understand what the system does,” Welden says. “Part of that is about education.”

Because the properties where ion247 is installing SafeRise are owned and operated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the company needs federal approval each time it does an install. SafeRise saves money for property owners, meaning HUD has to kick in a smaller subsidy, so it’s a financial advantage for everyone.

“We want to be the monitoring center of choice,” Welden says. “We’ve got to go out and educate people about this and sell them on it. The goal is to go out and take it to a wider audience.”

About the author

D. Craig MacCormack

Craig MacCormack is a veteran journalist with more than 15 years experience covering local and national news and sports as well as architecture and engineering. He joined Commercial Integrator in January 2011. Follow him on Twitter: @CraigMacCormack.

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