Gallagher Protecting Aurora Cannabis

HID GLOBAL INVESTS IN PARAVISION FACE RECOGNITION

n HID Global reports it has invested in Paravision, a developer of computer vision software used by security device manufacturers, solution providers, systems integrators and financial services firms to deliver frictionless access control. HID said the investment aligns with HID Global’s strategic direction to embed facial recognition into solutions for a seamless and highly secure user experience in a variety of identity verification and authentication applications, including access control. “In partnership, HID and Paravision have already cooperated on projects and we look forward to further advancing our collaboration across a number of different markets and use cases,” said HID’s Björn Lidefelt. The strategic investment aims to accelerate the development of HID’s biometric solutions that leverage facial recognition algorithms Paravision has proven through successful deployments with highprofile customers. “We are excited to receive this financial investment from HID Global and to embark on mutual growth opportunities,” says Doug Aley, CEO of Paravision. “We look forward to working together in pursuit of new business, channel, sales and market opportunities.” According to Aley, Paravision is the only American company to rank in the top 10 in over 50 accuracy benchmarks across the 1:1 and 1:N NIST Face Recognition Vendor Tests, including top 3 global performance on demanding at-scale requirements. In 2020 Paravision’s biometric facial recognition was been found to have the second-best accuracy for identifying people with masks among algorithms tested by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in a Face Recognition Vendor Test (FRVT) with error rates below 3 per cent when the subject’s nose and mouth are covered.

STEVEN HAWLEY JOINS PELCO

n STEVEN Hawley has joined the Pelco team in the role of sales manager – Vic/Tas. According to Pelco’s Craig Cobbin, this appointment is a key addition to the local Pelco team and further cements Motorola’s commitment to grow its video line of business. “After 13 years at Aritech and with 25 years’ experience in the security industry, Steve will be a valuable asset to the team and brings a wealth of knowledge to his new role,” Cobbin said. “Steve is very excited by the opportunities that Pelco’s parent company Motorola Solutions provides, as they bolster the Pelco brand through new product innovation, an accelerated roadmap, and most importantly, by taking manufacturing back to the USA.”

Steven Hawley, Pelco.

GALLAGHER PROTECTING AURORA CANNABIS

n A GALLAGHER access control and security solution integrated with Milestone XProtect is protecting the facilities of medical cannabis supplier, Aurora Cannabis. Headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, in Canada, Aurora is a pioneer in global medical cannabis and its team is dedicated to helping people improve their lives. Importantly, Canadian law requires cannabis suppliers meet specific security requirements. With the company’s previous security systems coming to end of life, Aurora had an opportunity to consolidate and standardize. The company brought on Mike Soberal as senior director of corporate security. With over 30 years of experience in the security industry, Soberal took charge of searching for the ideal access control solution. The security team created a comprehensive document to vet competing systems. Included in this were several mandatory requirements, such as a simple user interface, alarm and video management integrations, and the ability to comply with presence management requirements across multiple facilities. Health Canada requires that cannabis companies produce reports of a Security Cleared Individual’s (SCI) presence aligned with video documentation. To comply with this regulation, Aurora needed a complete data synchronicity system that included cardholder, event, and configuration data. In addition, the company required its solution to have the ability to configure reports in real time or by set schedules, available from all locations. Gallagher met all requirements listed in Soberal’s vetting document and he described the transition as “the smoothest installation and every one of the guards and managers put in front of Gallagher Command Centre were blown away.” From curb to core, Aurora standardized its security solution while meeting Health Canada regulations across multiple facilities. Presence management and alarm integration provide Aurora the ability to track SCI’s and visitors alike while alerting relevant individuals of system events. Meanwhile, Gallagher’s Milestone XProtect integration backs presence management data with video authentication. The system also has an automated report generator with customized real-time and scheduled reports sent out through various methods. These solutions provide Aurora the ability to meet all security regulations required by Health Canada. “The customer service experience we received was awesome – you didn’t need to be at a specific level to solve a problem,” Soberal said. “There was a situation at an outdoor facility and Gallagher worked the problem through in 10 minutes – brilliant. Gallagher hit every mark and exceeded our expectations in ways we had no idea were possible.”