Emergency Plan

Everyone should have an emergency plan that is developed well in advance of any disaster that might hit their area. Some of us live in zones more prone to certain natural disasters such as tornadoes, active volcanoes, hurricaines, floods,tsunami areas, etc. At school we learn what to do if an earthquake or other disaster strikes, but families and individuals should have a plan in place that will help us cope effectively at home with an emergency.

Go over the following list with your children and spouse to cover the following:

- a contact person in or out of town.

- health information and where documents are stored.

- a meeting place to reunite with family members in case of separation.

- a person designated to pick up your child or family if you are unable to.

- decisions regarding the pets during an emergency and their priority compared to people safety. This can be a difficult conversation to have, but if you have all the standard pet safety plans in place, at least you know you have done what you can to take care of the pet.

- the decisions involving pet safety, what to do with them, and the priority of personal safety before pet safety, which can be a touchy subject for those who love their pets like family.

9-1-1 calls: Teach your family when to call these services and when to call the services in the phone book. 9-1-1 is for reporting fires, reporting crimes, and when saving a life.

During an emergency, follow your emergency plan, take your emergency kit which you should have put together ahead of time, keep a listening ear on the radio and television for alert updates and evacuation orders, stay where you are until all is safe or until evacuation is ordered.

One important mistake we make is forgetting about designated someone to pick up family members. Children should be assigned a password, in order for them to know when it is okay to go with someone else. This password should be frequently tested in order to ensure they do not forget it. They need to know they cannot share this password with anyone. Its very funny providing scenarios and seeing them handle themselves with a password, but in real life, it is not funny if they are vulnerable to leave with someone they shouldnt. Practice scenarios so they know what to do regardless of what the person tells them.

The 72-hour emergency plan is a worldwide disaster planning phrase that allows people to think of what they would need for the initial three day period and to be absolutely ready and stocked with supplies for that time period.

Having an emergency plan also includes identifying safe areas in the home in the event such as an earthquake or a tornado. Identify the most heavy furniture to drop under, how to cover your head and torso to protect from flying objects and heavy items falling, windows and outer walls to stay away from. When outdoors, keep away from trees, walls, power lines and buildings. If you are in a car, keep off of bridges, away from buildings, power lines, and park the car off the side of the road until the tremors have stopped.

Radio Stations " a decent radio should be able to pick up on AM 530 " 1710 khz, FM 88 " 108 mhz, Shortwave 3 -12 mhz with antenna.

Television Stations " VHF channels and Weather Alert channels.

April 27 2009 | home security | No Comments »

Access control system Basics

Access control system (ACS) can offer top notch security for both private and commercial premises. An ACS is used for preventing unauthorized entries into restricted areas. Access control systems can also play the role of permission granter- a smart one actually. An ACS can be programmed to allow only authorized people to enter. When an unauthorized person seeks permission to enter, you can or cannot grant permission for entry. An ACS can also record check-in and check-out time of company personnel.

The systems offers better and increased security for unwanted people and trespassers of all kind. State of the art access systems can also be a very good idea for managing your workers.

For both commercial and residential facilities, functional versatilities are integral parts of Access Control Systems. An access control system can be truly useful for facilities with multiple entry points. Access Control Systems can come on different hardware platforms. Here are some common ones-

Control panels - Control panels are used with many access control systems. You interact with numeral keys or buttons here. But modern systems also have touch screens as interactive interfaces. Such arrangements are directly tied up with the locking or releasing system. If you know the right pin codes, all you have to do is enter them and the lock will open after verification of your entries.

Magstripe Readers - Magstripe Readers are used extensively with access control systems. They are also renowned as Swipe Card readers. Their usage is simple yet efficient. For instance, a company can issue encoded cards to its employees.

Proximity Readers - Long Range readers happen to be the closest counterparts of proximity readers. But both of them are usable with standard access control platforms. This hardware has sensors to read encoded cards. This means there is no swiping. Proximity Readers come with the functionality of reading cards from distance up to 100mm.

Smartcard Readers - They enable access control systems for processing additional info for additional services of a company or private premises. Good examples are time-ins and outs record maintenance. Access control systems usually have the capacity to be interfaced with payroll coordination, parking scheme, catering or even vending services.

Identification methods The bottom line of access control system is to identify visitors or non-employees. For efficient identification, 3 methods are used in access control systems. a) Door bell system- These systems alerts people inside a premises. b) Audio intercom system- They allow visitors to speak with people inside the premises. c) Camera equipped audio intercom systems- When you are inside the building, they allow you to actually see and talk with a visitor. If you grant access to the visitor, the entry door is unlocked remotely. At this point you can send someone to escort the visitor.

In some instances, cards and tags are issued for apposite identifications. Access control systems are great way to control, monitor and grant access into or out of premises.

April 26 2009 | home security | No Comments »