At LMG, we’re constantly trying to anticipate the future, in every aspect of our work.

It’s in that spirit that we asked our in-house physical security specialist Mark Green to share some of his thoughts on how physical security in smart buildings is set to develop in the coming year.

From the shift to mobile credentials and the deployment of drones to attracting top engineering talent, here are his smart building security predictions for 2022:

1. Mobile credentials will grow in popularity in 2022

Moving from physical access cards to mobile credentials will be high on the agenda for many businesses eagerly anticipating a full return to the office in 2022. Replacing traditional physical cards with smartphone credentials is one of the most direct and currently available routes to widely sought-after administrative efficiencies while creating a user experience that is as frictionless as possible.

One of the most obvious benefits of mobile credentials is that they can be issued electronically en masse to visitors in advance of a visit, without having to wait or pay for physical card production. This seamless approach maintains high levels of security at the perimeter, saves on labour, costs, and is more environmentally friendly than using physical access cards.

Additionally, these access control features can be managed through an employee app that can also deliver administrative tasks such as site inductions or fire procedures. Having everything on one secure app provides a superior user experience for the employee, who can treat the app as a one-stop hub for all of their work-related needs.

2. Drones will be deployed to enhance physical security on campus and other large sites

The industry is constantly looking for technical solutions to augment manual labour, because people are expensive and manual activity is not always fully reliable. That’s why we’ll see drones coming to the forefront in 2022 to keep sites safe and secure. Facilities managers (FMs) will be deploying them to patrol site perimeters and building interiors, while also using them to respond to alarm coordinates.

Drones can deploy to incident locations very quickly, and this speed makes them invaluable in many instances. FMs who are dealing with disaster scenarios, for example, can rely on drones to provide critical information from the scene in real time.

3. Attracting top engineering talent will remain a challenge in 2022

Unless more effort and investment go into creating apprenticeships or training programmes in 2022, the industry will continue to be held up by a chronic shortage of skilled engineers that will threaten the development of the entire sector. Talented engineers are being hoovered up by enterprise end users who are actively recruiting from the industry and offering them huge salaries to deliver services in-house.

Going forward, integrators need to make more of a concerted effort to create programmes and initiatives to promote physical security education and training.

4. Creating a safe and secure environment will be a top priority for the hospitality sector

Finally, delivering a superior guest experience is critical in hospitality, particularly for luxury hotels. But creating a safe and secure environment that is unobtrusive and frictionless is just as important. To achieve this, we’ll see mobile credentials being integrated with customer booking systems to provide hotel managers with real-time data and alerts – flagging any potential security threats needing immediate attention.

Smarter, more secure

Every year, we look forward to seeing smart buildings continue to get smarter. We expect that in 2022, we’ll see a continued increase in use of the data provided by security systems. The changes to our routines caused by the pandemic and the anticipated return to the workplace in the coming year will drive plenty of physical security adaptation and innovation.