Enabling users to access sites using only their smartphone, Supra is one of the leading access control companies in the telecoms sector. Part of UTC Climate, Controls & Security, the company has a firm footing in R&D and world class quality processes. TowerXchange speak to Didier Trehout, Supra’s Sales Director for EMEA to discuss challenges in controlling access to cell sites and how Supra helps its customers tackle such challenges.
TowerXchange: Please can you introduce Supra to TowerXchange readers
Didier Trehout, Sales Director, Supra Europe, Middle East, Africa:
Supra is a leading global provider of key management and access systems, offering innovative solutions for industrial sectors that require remote sites access such as telecommunications, banking and cash management and utilities. Supra provides a broad range of systems that enable authorised individuals to access sites and properties, including the TRACcess® solution, specifically designed to address remote sites access issues.
The Supra TRACcess® system is a real time access control solution, which provides users, keyless entry to remote infrastructure, where the only key they need is their smartphone.
Supra operates in four continents and we are proud to have, among others, telecom customers like Verizon, AT&T, CenturyLink, Rogers, Telkom, Swisscom and UPC that have chosen the Supra TRACcess® solution.
Supra is part of UTC Climate, Controls & Security, the leading provider of heating, air conditioning and refrigeration systems, building controls and automation, and fire and security solutions. With its world-leading business units such as Otis Elevator, Carrier and Hamilton Sundstrand, UTC brings Supra world class quality processes and R&D resources.
Supra as a global manufacturer, work in close partnership with recognised and well-known VAR’s in countries, fully dedicated and specialised on market segments, like Transaction Controls Technologies, our partner in South-Africa and the SADC Region.
TowerXchange: Where do you see some of the biggest problems and inefficiencies coming into play when it comes to controlling access to cell sites. What measurable impact have you seen these factors have on site uptime and opex costs?
Didier Trehout, Sales Director, Supra Europe, Middle East, Africa:
I think we can summarise the challenges network operations face in day-to-day cell site management into several categories:
1. How to prevent key management operational costs
Traditional lock-and-key systems can create significant overhead costs. Travel to rekey locks is time-consuming and expensive. Physical keys pose a security risk when employees or vendors leave the company. Programmable locks require travel to the site to add or delete keyholders and often limit the number of codes available.
2. How to increase vendor accountability
Holding vendors accountable across remote facilities is challenging, especially when locations are hundreds of miles apart. Arranging site access for a vendor for emergency situations becomes expensive when you have to pay an employee to meet a vendor and admit him; if it’s after normal business hours, the cost goes up even more.
3. How to know what’s happening on your remote sites at any time.
Adding communication infrastructure for traditional access control at multiple sites can be cost-prohibitive. Authorised visitors such as service technicians and contracted vendors, often trigger false alarms while servicing these sites.
All of above challenges incur recurring opex costs, although potential security risks and site downtime still exist.
TowerXchange: How is Supra helping to address these challenges and what kind of improvements are achievable?
Didier Trehout, Sales Director, Supra Europe, Middle East, Africa:
Supra/TRACcess® can definitely help MNOs and towercos with dispersed networks of valuable equipment, to explore ways of improving efficiencies throughout their organisations:
- Stop travelling for keys! Eliminate distribution and collection of physical keys, associated key inventories and manual audits.
- Engage employees or contractors quickly: online credentialing.
- Increase employee and contractor accountability by monitoring site access and keyholder activity: real-time access alerts for sensitive areas.
- Provide one-key convenience to your service and maintenance teams.
- Use the full audit trail available on TRACcess® Manager system, to know who’s accessing where and when.
TowerXchange: We constantly hear companies talk about wanting better visibility on cell site operations but also at the same time complain about unmanageable volumes of data being generated from multiple sources. How does Supra find the right balance between this whilst integrating with other platforms?
Didier Trehout, Sales Director, Supra Europe, Middle East, Africa:
On the one hand we believe it is of paramount importance to be independent from the availability of the communication network, and local power; on the other hand, we think integration of activity data with a Network Operations Centre, for seamless incorporation of information is a must. The Supra TRACcess® solution meets these requirements.
TowerXchange: Ultimately, what do you think differentiates Supra from their competitors?
Didier Trehout, Sales Director, Supra Europe, Middle East, Africa:
The key benefits of TRACcess® from Supra are:
- The only key you need is your smartphone!
- No need to be under network coverage to access remote sites
- Robust and secure web-hosted management platform for central administration.
- Solid reporting features including real time email notifications, online monitoring, and automated reports
- Possibility to integrate with existing Management System, through API
Supra will be exhibiting at the TowerXchange Meetup Africa & Middle East being held on 3-4 October 2017 at the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg. For more information, please click here
