4 minute read
Security Update
I am a Winter person, I love the colder days and so every year I wish Summer away, for the first time in years I have wished for the opposite, Winter is still here and it feels like it isn’t going anywhere, anytime soon.
It was noted that comments had been made on social media in connection with security at The Hills and access to The Hills estate. The following gives some background and explanation on the irregularities questioned.
Access control at The Hills consists of 3 systems.
1. Softcon system
This system is the biometric system and owners, family members, tenants, long-term visitors, gardeners, domestic workers, estate agents, HOA personnel, security, and landscaping personnel are registered on this platform. You use your biometric profile to open the boom gates and turnstiles. This system can be used to allow entry only on certain dates and times. It also prevents entry on certain dates and times. If this system is not used for 5 weeks, the access expires.
2. ClickOn system.
This system is the telephone system. It allows security to call owners, tenants, and main contractors from the contractor’s gate.
Our GOLDEN RULE is access by confirmation. This system works 100% according to stand numbers. Owners, tenants, and main contractors are contacted and access is granted by pressing 9 on your mobile phone.
This system is split into two groups:
• Completed stands using the Garsfontein gate and Atterbury gate. • Construction stands using the contractor’s gate.
3. My Estate Life system
The My Estate Life system is a pre-authenticated access control system. It is based on the premise that the owner of a stand knows that the visitor or service provider is coming to the estate and then supplies the visitor or service provider with an access code. Security scans the code and the boom gate is triggered to open. This system makes use of street names and stands numbers and not street numbers.
Actions at the gate:
• Security only uses the My Estate Life scanners. • Vehicles arrive at the visitor’s boom gate with an access code. • The code, vehicle, and driver’s license are scanned. • The fact that the person has a valid code will allow the security officer to press “Submit” and the system will trigger the boom gate to open. • Registered owners and tenants will scan the
QR-code located at the boom gate and the system will trigger the boom gate to open. • Registered owners and tenants will use the
When a vehicle arrives without a preauthenticated code:
• The driver provides the stand number to security. • The officer calls the stand number on the ClickOn system and access confirmation is provided by the owner or tenant by pressing 9. • The officer uses the My Estate Life scanner to scan the vehicle and driver’s license. • The officer selects the applicable address on the scanner and presses “Submit” to trigger the boom gate to open.
1. Visitors arriving without a code and the stand owner or tenant confirms the visitor’s access by pressing 9. The scanning will be successful except when the officer must select the address and the owner or tenant is not registered on
My Estate Life. Now the officer must “Submit” an address. He uses the stand number to look for the address and finds nothing. The scanner then provides him with the closest resembling address, he incorrectly selects this and the gate opens. The SMS on my estate life is then also sent to the wrong address. The tenant or owner then complains that security allowed access to a person illegally although the visitor is a legitimate visitor to the estate. 2. The visitor arrives at the gate with no code and then simply asks for the stand number. The officer contacts the resident on the ClickOn-system but the resident is not expecting any visitors so access is then denied.
3. The officer has already scanned the vehicle and driver’s license and after contacting the cell phone number provided, he realises that the person is going to, for example, 35 Hardekool Street and not Stand 35. Visitors, delivery vehicles, and service providers arriving at the gate with no access code and only the name of the estate and the resident. Security then searches the Softconsystem for the resident. All the residents with the same surname then have to be contacted one by one. Some do not answer or some reply that they do not know the visitor or that they are not aware of any delivery while others sometimes open the gate by pressing 9 without confirming the identity of the driver.
4. Visitors arrive at the main gate and supply the wrong stand number. The resident then complains as they must then carry the cost of the ClickOn phone call.
5. Security will not deliberately call a wrong stand number.
6. Sometimes stand numbers are incorrectly entered, for example, 676 becomes 667 or 766.
7. Street numbers are entered instead of stand numbers and every time the call is made to the incorrect resident, complaints arise.
8. Yes, security can make mistakes. In May 2021 only the Garsfontein visitors gate recorded 2991 entries on the Softcon-system only, not even counting My Estate Life or biometric entries.
The solution:
1. Owners and tenants must register on My Estate Life.
2. Owners must use My Estate Life codes as far as possible for visitors, deliveries, and service providers. NO CODE NO ENTRY must be the way forward.
3. My Estate Life will be resolving all anomalies identified as soon as possible.
Site Manager: 076 821 7567
Regional Manager: Tertius Goedhals 082 871 0726
Control room Arcadia: 012 654 9690
Control room The Hills: 082 826 3761
Control room: 012 996 1610
