Keeping confidential documents under wraps
DS Graphics | Universal Wilde protects operations and sensitive client documents with an integrated Axis surveillance and access control solution. Besides greater safety and security, the system provides detailed user logs for security audits.
Mission
When DS Graphics | Universal Wilde moved its Westwood and Rockland plants into a single facility in Canton, MA, it needed to install a comprehensive security solution that could protect the new 307,000 square foot building. They were looking for full camera coverage of critical areas such as loading bays, machine operations, materials handling, and storage. They also wanted a door control system that could maintain a detailed user log. Because they would be printing documents containing highly sensitive content, these components were necessary to comply with system and organizational controls (SOC) audits required by its customers.
Solution
Cross Camera Controls, an integrated solutions provider and Axis partner, assembled an integrated surveillance and access control solution including AXIS Camera Station video management system, more than two dozen Axis panoramic and fixed dome cameras, Axis network video intercoms, Axis door controllers with RFID readers coupled with AXIS Camera Station Secure Entry for employee badge verification, Axis horn speakers for alerts, and PA to amplify doorbells. The system allows DSG | UW security staff to monitor the building perimeter and interior areas, restrict entrance to authorized personnel, screen visitors, and receive alerts on specific events. It also stores a full year or more of user logs for SOC-compliance audits.
Result
DSG | UW has been able to keep camera count low without sacrificing coverage by using Axis panorama cameras. Door sensors help the company protect sensitive paper stock from environmental damage by quickly alerting on doors left ajar in climate-controlled areas of the building. The company has also been able to use the Axis technology to conduct a thorough virtual security audit for a customer reluctant to travel during the pandemic.
Marrying all these Axis systems together not only protects our physical plant and our personnel but also the sensitive documents we prepare for our clients. This seamless integration has been essential in helping us meet the rigorous SOC-compliance standards demanded by our customers.
Producing sensitive customer documents
DS Graphics | Universal Wilde (DSG | UW) is a full-service communications company that produces and distributes printed and electronic information for corporations and government entities – everything from promotional materials, financial reports, and insurance policies to college entrance exams, voter registration forms and jury summons certificates. Most of the projects done in its Canton, MA, facility involve documents containing personal identifiable information, protected health information, or other content that requires tightly controlled dissemination.
“On any given month we might send out tens of millions of pieces of mail,” says Chris Wells, Executive VP of Sales and Marketing for DS Graphics | Universal Wilde. “Whether it contains someone’s date of birth or plans for an upcoming product launch, our customers expect us to not only produce top-quality pieces, but also safeguard their sensitive data from unauthorized access and circulation.”
To that end, many customers require DSG | UW to submit regular audits of the security systems and process controls they’ve put in place to protect the integrity and confidentiality of the materials produced for them. “Performing well in these mandated SOC compliance audits is essential to our trusted partner relationship with our clients,” says Wells.
Investing in a fully integrated security solution
When DSG consolidated its Westwood and Rockland plants into a new 307,000 square foot building in Canton, MA, the company decided to install a more robust security system than it had deployed in the two older properties. “We were looking for a more comprehensive solution, one that integrates video surveillance with access control and alarms,” explains Kevin Molloy, Executive VP of IT and Client Services for DS Graphics | Universal Wilde.
DSG |UW turned to integrated solutions provider Cross Camera Controls (CCC) and its partners to help them achieve that goal. CCC installed an AXIS Camera Station video management system that governs more than two dozen high-resolution Axis panoramic and fixed dome cameras, Axis network video intercoms with encrypted RFID badge readers, Axis door controllers, Axis network horn speakers, and an interface with DSG | UW’s VoIP phone system. Providing this fully integrated security solution not only protects the perimeter of the commercial space, but the employees and precious materials inside it as well.
“Every device has unique purpose,” explains Thomas Lienhard, Managing Director for Cross Camera Controls. “The cameras monitor the perimeter and the interior and trigger alerts. Employees swipe their badges at the access control reader to let themselves in. A receptionist screens visitors at the video intercom before remotely unlocking an entrance.”
“By linking all the technology through AXIS Camera Station we give DSG |UW security the ability to quickly detect and verify events as they’re happening,” continues Lienhard. “It allows them to be much more proactive about protecting their operations and their customers’ intellectual property.”
CCC used the AXIS Site Designer tool to select and lay out devices on a virtual floor plan, keeping track of product models and part numbers used in the installation. “AXIS Site Designer takes the guesswork out of remembering all the materials used in the project,” says Lienhard. “It really helps you stay organized.”
Checking all the boxes for its clients
Kevin Molloy points to several advantages in deploying Axis technology. “Not only do the Axis 180o and 360o cameras give us sharp images, they also allow us to reduce our camera count without sacrificing coverage,” says Molloy. “That’s huge for us.”
Maintaining sufficient security logs has been another plus. “Most of our clients require us to keep a full 365 days of user logs from our security badges,” says Molloy. “AXIS Camera Station Secure Entry not only let us manage up to seventy thousand credentials, they can also store logs for a year or longer if our customers need.”
Another issue that the Axis solution solved was how to hear the doorbell in a noisy production environment. “If a truck driver coming to pick up or drop off a time-sensitive delivery rings the doorbell or knocks, nobody’s going to hear it,” shares Thomas Lienhard. “So we configured the doorbell to send the signal to an Axis network horn speaker that then emits an extremely loud ringtone in the warehouse to let people know someone is waiting.”
From tracking doors ajar to packages gone astray
Like many industrial plants, DSG | UW has instituted extensive systems and safety protocols to protect its employees. Employees also undergo rigorous training on the proper way to use equipment and handle confidential information. “While we have the utmost confidence in the training and experience of our people, if something should occur, our Axis technology gives us the ability to monitor and quickly mitigate what’s happened,” says Chris Wells.
Molloy points to the door sensors placed on the door to the storage room cage and the fire doors as an example. The sensors send an alert to AXIS Camera Station and the cameras record activity at the source of the event. “We can immediately see who left the fire exit ajar or enter the cage afterhours,” says Molloy. “We’re particularly vigilant about open doors that could undermine our climate controls and damage our paper stock.”
In addition to logging alerts, the smart search feature in AXIS Camera Station makes it easy to find specific incident video. “One Friday night we had a package for a client’s project come in afterhours,” recalls Kevin Molloy. “The nightshift crew accepted the delivery and set it aside but forgot to inform the morning crew where they had put it. I was able to log into AXIS Camera Station remotely, review the pertinent video and quickly locate the missing package. It really saved us from losing a whole weekend of production.”
Conducting virtual security audits
One major surprise for DSG | UW was how they were able to use the Axis system to pivot from in-person compliance audits to virtual ones. “Typically our clients come here and walk through the plant and review the user logs,” explains Chris Wells. “But with the pandemic we had a client who was reluctant to do that.”
So Kevin Molloy took the client through a virtual tour of the facility using the Axis cameras, AXIS Camera Station software, and screen sharing. “That was amazing to us,” says Wells. “And it was sufficient enough for them to pass us through the security audit, which is absolutely unheard of.”
Wells also points out that conducting the virtual audit saved the client the significant travel costs of flying an audit team to the Canton facility and possibly exposing their employees to a health risk.
Maintaining system updates efficiently
“A big benefit of deploying an Axis solution is that the end user and the integrator and the manufacturer work together as partners,” states Thomas Lienhard. “In addition to top-quality cameras, door controllers, network video intercoms, and horn speakers, Axis embeds a wealth of tools in an AXIS Camera Station system that make it easy to configure devices, install firmware upgrades and applications, and apply cybersecurity controls.”
For instance, when Axis posts software and firmware updates on their website, the integrator uses AXIS Device Manager to download the upgrades onto all the pertinent devices. “With AXIS Device Manager we can install an update globally rather than updating each Axis device individually,” says Lienhard. “It makes routine maintenance so quick and easy that DSG can do a lot of it themselves.”
Video Case Study-DS Graphics
Hear first hand how DS Graphics | Universal Wilde is benefitting from the Axis technology that was installed in their new Canton facility with the help of system integrator Cross Camera Controls.
The access control component of this solution was recognized as a winner for the 2022 Security Solutions Awards sponsored by Security Sales & Integration.
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