Threat-level management

Authorized persons use the application interface, an activation badge, or a hardware device to activate the threat level in response to a situation that requires a change to the scheduled access requirements for one or more specific facility areas.

Threat levels

Threat levels and threat level groups form the core of threat level management. The procedures outlined in the related topics require an understanding of how threat levels work and involve configuring system properties.

By default, the system provides a set (or range) of active threat levels, which are available as enumerated options.

Figure 16.   Activate Threat Level window

Assuming you have appropriate administrative privileges, you may rename or supplement this set of threat levels. Each threat level definition includes a number within a range up to a maximum of 255. This number indicates relative degrees of building access.

The default level for normal operation is [5]. This relaxes the restrictions in certain cases, such as when an evacuation is needed, or emergency response teams need general access.

Generally, each successively higher number within the range is more restrictive, so that the higher the threat level, the higher the access privilege that is required to enter the building.

Threat level groups

Threat level groups apply and manage active threat levels in a facility’s physical space.

If you intend each access right, card reader, and door strike to be affected by threat levels, configure each with a threat level group. Without a threat level group assigned, an access right or device cannot respond to or interact with threat levels. Only those access rights and devices with a threat level group assigned are threat-level aware.

To assign a threat level to a person, you assign an access right with an associated threat level. By default, the threat level assigned to the access right is also assigned to the person. You may change this and directly assign a threat level to a person.

Threat level group hierarchy

You can arrange threat level groups in a parent-child hierarchy that makes sense for your facility.

Figure 17.   Threat Level Group parent, child hierarchy

Changing the parent threat level group’s active threat level automatically changes the threat level associated with the its child threat level groups. You may change the active threat level assigned to the child without affecting the active threat level assigned to the parent or other children under the parent.

Threat levels and people

Threat level assignment, for people, is initially accomplished using access rights. When a person is assigned an access right, the Default Assigned Threat Level on that access right becomes the assigned threat level associated with the person. While this automates the initial assignment of threat levels to people, you can specifically change a person’s threat level without changing the person’s assigned access right.

You would use this method of assigning threat levels if you have a large number of people assigned to an access right, but only certain people assigned should be granted access in special situations.

What to do when the threat has passed

The threat level does not change automatically when the condition clears. You can override a thread level through the web UI, a hardware input, or by u sing a threat-level card. These methods return the threat level to the level designated for normal conditions.