Our leading politicians often remind us that security is our responsibility ... and to a great degree they are right. The issue is certainly one of responsibility, and everyone living in the Grand should be as responsible as they can be in helping to keep the building secure. One simple way of doing this is to look at the person you are letting in behind you ... are they about to use their fob ... do you know them ... would you let them into your apartment? You can ‘test’ them quite easily. An easy way to test someone is to make simple conversation: ‘A bit cold today?’ ‘How long have you been living here?’ ‘Do you know about the BBQ/next COM meeting/website?’ ‘What’s Mario’s last name, I must call him ...’ and so on.
There have been several ‘breaches’ of security over the last year, ranging from cars broken into to stolen newspapers; from hosing the northern porch with the fire hose (and causing damage to the apartment below) to riding up and down the corridor in a shopping trolley; from vandalising our rustic garden urns to scribbling graffiti by the entrances on Spencer Street. Being vigilant and testing can reduce such acts of misbehaviour and help keep our lovely building more secure and safe. Every little bit helps!
New locking system
To further combat security breaches, a new locking system is presently being installed in the building. The swipe card readers are being replaced with a proximity fob reader system, although areas necessarily able to be accessed by hotel guests will have a dual system in place (swipe card and fob). The new proximity readers emit a 13.56 MHz signal that the fob picks up and sends a code back in reply—the fob has no battery. If the code is the right one, the reader tells the system to release the lock. A computer controls all the readers, and every fob is numbered and registered. Lost fobs can be programmed out of the system and a new one issued in its place. You can find out more about how HID cards are read here.
Here’s picture of the new fobs and typical readers installed in levels 1 to 3 of the building:
The new HID fobs can handle two applications, so there is scope to have your apartment lock(s) made electric and programmed to be used with the same fob(s) if you wish to have that done at a later time.