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Texas Communications Company
Connects On Door Security
Abilene, Texas
Pittencrieff Communications,
Inc., one of the leading mobile radio telephone
companies in the U.S., has improved security for
equipment and employees at its new Abilene headquarters
building by installing a magnetic card reader access
system.
Pittencrieff Communications (PCI) is headquartered
in the Abilene facility, from which it also serves
about 70,000 customers. It furnishes mobile telephone,
paging, and telemetry services in a seven-state
area, covering more than 500,000 square miles with
a population base of more than 22 million people
in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arizona, Colorado,
North Dakota, and South Dakota. Its services are
based on SMR (specialized mobile radio) that is
often substantially more cost-effective than cellular
telephones for high-volume users such as businesses
and government agencies. These include such customers
as oil companies, police departments and construction
companies. The company also provides paging services
and telemetry, which, among other things, is used
to monitor and control the flow of oil and gas wells
from remote locations.
 Card
readers blend in with any office decor and provide
several levels of control.
Recently, PCI consolidated its U.S. headquarters
from two separate locations into one five-story
building in Abilene. With the move, the company
recognized a need for greater security, to protect
both its 130 employees and the expensive equipment
and operations there. Danny Hendrickson, Director,
Management Information Systems, explains, "This
is the central data center for the entire company.
We run our billing out of here, as well as the payroll
and all the other company functions. We have a lot
of computer resources in the building, and we need
to protect all this from anything from theft as
well as information leaks."
To protect both employees and equipment at the new
location, the firm installed a Von Duprin 7000 Access
Control System. It combines fast, easy programming
with a high degree of control flexibility. It provides
many options of time, day, date and zone control
to suit the company's specific security needs. While
nine units are now installed, the system can accommodate
up to 18 card readers, which allows for future expansion.
The system's ability to accommodate varying schedules
and responsibilities is an advantage in an ever-changing,
around-the-clock operation like PCI. Hendrickson
says, "Certain executives have access to every
floor, while other people have access only to certain
floors. Consultants and contractors are restricted
to limited access during normal operating hours,
when company personnel are here." He also cites
the ease of change and convenience of not having
to collect keys if someone leaves the company. "It's
not easy for someone to duplicate a card, and we
can just invalidate the card in the system,"
he explains.
Mechanical cipher locks were considered as an alternative,
but they would have required changing the combination
whenever an employee left the company. Such combinations
soon become common knowledge and would have been
difficult to control, Hendrickson noted. "You
can't cancel an individual out as easily, and the
locks don't monitor activity the way we are able
to now."
Having the computer that records access activity
plainly visible also has a preventive influence.
Because it can be easily seen though a window to
the computer room, it serves as a constant reminder
that entry records are being kept and acts as a
deterrent against trying to get around the system.
Members of the design and installation team included
Rupert Rangle, Tittle Luther Partnership, architect;
Tom Widenbenner, Widenbenner Marketing Associates,
manufacturer's representative; Jim Rose, Rose Builders,
general contractor; Anthony Dulaney, AHC, The Hallgren
Company of Midland, distributor; On-site instruction
and programming were provided by the representative
and distributor members.
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