Exploring Smart Entry Solutions: PTI Security Systems

Hi, I'm Gavin Shields and this is Self Storage Explained Expert advice on how to set up and scale your self storage business. Hi, everybody. Thanks very much for joining and today we are delighted to have John join us from pti. John, thanks a lot for being here. Would you mind introducing yourself, please?

Thank you. Yes. So my name's John deprano. I'm the vice president of PTI Security Systems Europe.

Great. And you're based in Wimbledon. We were just chatting about it beforehand. I lived in Wimbledon for a while. But you're based there and you have your own facility there too, to test things out?

Yeah, absolutely. As part of our offices here, we've got our own self storage facility, which is a miniature self storage facility designed for showing customers that are coming into the industry what to do, what works well, but also we get to try out new equipment and things that are coming in for self storage.

Yeah, great. It's a great idea. And I've got two sites, but they're sort of. They're further away from my office. I don't be. It would be handy to have them right next door so I could see things happening and test things more, but what a great idea. So what I'm trying to do with these recordings is just help listeners understand more about the options. And I'd love to hear about PTI and the different solutions you have. Obviously, PTI are a massive player in the industry, both in Europe, UK and the us. You've been around for, your company's been around for a long time, lots of different solutions. So I'd love to just start with, are you able to talk us through the different smart entry solutions that PTI has available to operators?

Yeah, absolutely. I've been along with the journey of PTI for quite a long time, so I've seen the system grow from just a keypad that would be opening a gate or a set of doors to a full integrated security solution. So that would be keypads out at the gate, or people can use their app on their mobile and their smartphone to be able to gain entry to the facility, door alarms within the units. So that as I come into the facility and I use my app or I use my code to get in, it's doing a number of things, checking to see, have I paid my bill, am I allowed in at this time? And then as those things are crossed off the list, it says, yep, we're allowed in, you've paid your bill, the doors will open and it will deactivate the alarm on my unit or my Units. If I've got a number of units and then going off to my unit, I could have an electronic latch on there, or I could have a standard padlock, or indeed a Bluetooth padlock, which again would be operated from my system. And when I say integrated, it's not just about the access control. The access control integrates with a lot more than just controlling entry to the building. So it will interface with the CCTV system, it'll interface with the remote monitoring station so that we're starting to give the information from the site to a remote site. Now, that's very useful for two reasons. One is if the staff have gone home at night, or two, if, if it's an unmanned site.

Yeah, okay, so that's really interesting. What does it mean to have an interface with the CCTV and the remote monitoring? Is that what do you allow what they can see so that they're able to monitor things more closely, or how does that work?

There's a number of different things you can do. You can be switching off areas where people are coming in. So as they're coming into the facility, we could say this user is on the ground floor. So I'm going to switch off the ground floor alarms that go through to the monitoring station and those are linked in with the CCTV cameras so that as somebody walks into that area, the monitoring station can actually see the person walking in and decide, are they up to no good, Are they in an area that they shouldn't be? In which case they can then use the internal speaker systems to alert them to the fact that they're in an area where they shouldn't be, or direct them to the help phone, perhaps in the facility or in the loading bay.

Okay, okay. And so for a CCTV solution or for the speaker system, are those systems that PTI provide as well, or do you work alongside kind of any CCTV or speaker system?

Yeah, absolutely, both. I mean, PTI access control is pretty much the access control, but here in the uk, we offer the full service. So we, we are able to supply the cctv, the speaker systems, the intercoms, and of course the PTI system. But equally we will work with other people's systems. If you're, if the customer has got a particular contractor that they use or a particular kind of system, we can work with those as well. It's not a problem.

Okay, okay, okay. So. So the thing that we're mostly interested in normally with our customers is a solution that works on the shared entry gates and roller shutter doors. So that's you know, you've mentioned that and then also often it's the, the indoor locks. And so that's a system that you've mentioned as well. So I know we've. There's a, there's a new product that's coming out, I think, in a few months from PTI that does that. And then there's also the Bluetooth padlocks, which really are a pretty good solution. Quite a flexible solution, too. So what I was going to ask there was what's the, what's the customer experience like? So, you know, you, let's say you've put some of this stuff in into your facility from pti. You mentioned an app and also some code. So it sounds like it's quite flexible there with how you, what the customer experience is. Can you talk us through what those options could be for the app?

Absolutely. The code itself is generally the way people used to come into the facilities. And it's quite nice because if I've got a storing company that's helping, a removals company that's helping me put the stuff in, I could give them a code to be able to get in. But it does have its weaknesses. The use of a code in itself can easily be overcome. So the code could be spied by somebody, the use of a telescope or a camera to view the codes. So it's not the most secure way to be entering a facility. And the use of things like PIN guards are very good so that they kind of COVID the shroud of the keypad so that it's limiting who can see the code from afar. But it's still only a code that could be told to somebody. So that's where I think the app itself comes into it, in, into use. Because the app is then linked to the person's mobile phone and stops somebody from just finding out a code and being able to gain access.

Okay, and so let's say an operator is using the app. So a customer is moving in, say later on today. And let's say they're using stora. So we integrate with pti. And I know, I'm sure all software systems, I'm sure, integrate with pti. So whatever software they're using, let's say they're moving in later today. I assume the software product then would communicate with the PTI system and generate something that would kick off some sort of a message sent to the customer to download the app. Is that correct? How does that work? And you know, is it, is it the PTI app that they're downloading can you just talk us through that app experience for the customer?

Absolutely. So, so you're quite right. You'll be putting the information into the management software that then is transferred across to the storelogix cloud, the PTI software, which then has the ability to send out an SMS to the user, which gives them a link to, first of all, download the app, the easy code app, which is used for gaining entry to the building, and secondly, the information to fill in on the app for that user that then has allocated the app against their unit. And as they come to site, they can then use their phone to get in. And it's interesting that what they do with the app is they use geolocation because what you don't want is you don't want a customer that's sitting at home opening your gates or your doors. So it's looking for that phone to be within a vicinity of the facility. And it's typically set for about 250 meters. It can be increased and it can be decreased.

Okay, okay, okay. So the different ways that a customer can unlock a git that's controlled by your PTI access system would be codes, PIN code, or an app. Are there any other ways that they can open up gates?

Absolutely. We've got some customers that prefer to use fobs and give people fobs. That generally is an older way of doing it. There's also what's called a Wiegand interface, which can take a link from a fingerprint scanner, facial recognition camera, a license plate camera. I mean, they all, they'll all interface with it. It's an open protocol to be able to interface with the PTI system.

What's the most. So if you look at your install customers, you're installing your system into. Now, what's the most common way that people do that? Is it the app? Is it codes?

Yeah, it's. It, it's. The app is definitely the safest way to do it. I would say the majority of them have been codes, but that's only because we've been installing PTI for, you know, over 25 years. So it, it's a difficult habit to get out of. And if you, if you use the pinguard, you, you're protecting it to a degree. But definitely using smartphone with the app is one of the safest ways to be entering the site.

Okay, okay, okay. And then can we talk a little bit then about the. So the new, these new locks that are coming out, so you have the door locks that can be put right into the door of internal indoor self storage. And the.

So the Pro Edge is the newest Bluetooth electronic latch. And there's one here, this is due for release in April of this year. It's got a battery inside it that will last three years. And it works with Bluetooth so that you're using your phone to gain entry. And it's designed really for automation of self storage facilities so that the customer literally can make a rental on the web, come to the site, enter through the gate, through the doors, and get to their unit and open their unit, all without needing to see a staff member or get a code for a padlock. But the nice thing is that of course it means that it can automatically be overlocked as well. So one of the things with self storage is when your customer doesn't pay, if you've got a manual padlock on there, you're having to go and put a second padlock on there as an overlock with the automated system. That's all done electronically. So both overlocked so that they can't get in. If they're clever enough to sneak in behind somebody into the facility and get to their unit, they still can't open it because it's been electronically overlocked. And of course that gives them the option to pay on their phone, perhaps to, to their outstanding bill and instantaneously will send the information to the lock that says, okay, they've paid their bill now, so now they can gain entry again. And that's called the Pro Edge. And as, as you heard earlier, we've got our own demonstration facility here and we've got Pro Edge working in our facility here as part of our beta testing. Wow.

Okay.

There is also of course, the padlock, the Bluetooth padlock. And the difference between the padlock and the Pro Edge is this one is one way communication to the system. So whereas this one is communicating with the system all the time and saying, I'm here, everything's okay, it's actually got some tamper detection in it and an accelerometer to detect if it's being moved or the door is being opened. This one is, is very much one way. Again, it's Bluetooth. The battery lasts slightly longer in this one because there is no transmission to the system. You're able to get five years of battery life out of this before it will need to be changed. But again, used in exactly the same way the app is now controlling it. And if the the customer doesn't pay, the app is told, don't let them in through the Lock. So that's how the communication ends up at the padlock.

Okay. We have lots of customers who, who run container sites. Container self storage. Is the, is the padlock a solution that would be suitable for kind of enabling this sort of know, self moving and the overlocking? Is that padlock solution built for that in particular or would you recommend it across indoors?

Well, it's not built just for external containers. No, it is an IP65 grade 4 padlock. It's made by Abloy Asser. Abloy is actually the owner of PTI Security Systems. So this is something from their portfolio that they've integrated with the PTI system and it's used a lot in remote sites. It can be used on containers outside, it can be used on units inside. So you could pick a row of units that say I'm going to make these 10 units. My test automated units. See how they rent out as automated units, move them from one unit to another or simply buy some more padlocks and increase your automated units.

Well, so these padlocks are opened by the mobile app.

Exactly. Okay.

Okay. So let's say you had one on a door and let's say you want to. Let's just say it's on a container. For this example, a customer's moving in so it's their move in day. That lock could be on the container locked and they could use the PTI mobile app to open up the main gate themselves. Okay, so, so John, that the padlock sounds actually like a really, a really flexible solution for, you know, any operator, whether it's indoor or outdoor. Because one of the things that I like at my sites is my customers can turn up at the gate. They can go to my website and they can just book online, pay, pass the ID check and you know, get, get a code or get the app and just move straight in and open up the doors. It sounds like the padlock solution here. If you have an existing facility containers or indoor, it's a really not. It's kind of an easy way, I suppose to test out, to try out that kind of the ability to let people move it themselves. It's a very flexible solution. Is that how you're seeing people using it?

Yeah, absolutely. And I think flexible is exactly what it is because you're. Your example where you'd rent it out on the web is exactly how this is going to be used to its maximum. But equally you don't have to do that if you're going to just use it until a customer arrives and Then they could put their own padlock on there. You could do that as well. And then you can reuse this at another container to rent out on the web.

Yeah, interesting. So you could ask people to handle that lock or leave it into a Dropbox, bring their own padlock, leave that one in a Dropbox, and then you can reuse it. Yeah, interesting.

Okay, exactly.

Okay, so let's say somebody wants to find out about PTI and they want to kind of get it installed on site. What's the typical experience for an operator for installation? So do they need to think about power the gates, power the doors, Internet? What's the typical process there for actually getting it installed? Do you have people come out? Do they do it themselves?

It's a mixture of both. So we're happy to hold the hand of the customer as much as they want. So if they're a new operator coming in, we generally like to get them over here to our Wimbledon office to kind of talk through the different systems, the different bits that can go to make a fully integrated solution. But it all starts with a drawing, typically a site plan. And from there we would put together the solution, a mark on where all the equipment is, put a list together of the equipment we're going to be installing, a menu of the costing related to it, and then discuss with the customer how, how this would look in terms of, for the renter that's coming in to use the facility in terms of security, what level of security we are, and in terms of budget, what the budget's going to be.

Okay, okay. And then on an ongoing basis as an operator. So typically, you know, the software system will be communicating with PTI and kind of creating codes or kicking off the text messages. So a lot of the time, in my experience of it, you know, you can, you don't need to be really interacting with smart entry system if you get it installed correctly from, you know, from a, from a system like pti. Do you have a back, a back office system that operators need to use or can use some. Can they see logs of entries and things like that? Is that something that you provide to operators?

Yeah, absolutely. The, the PTI system used to be a, a bit of software that was loaded onto the customer's computer and that's how everything would bring all the information in the logs of the customers that had come in, the ones that had tried to get in when, when they weren't allowed or that hadn't paid their bills. But now everything has moved to the cloud, so we still have a controller on site. And the reason that's there is because if the Internet goes down or the power goes off, it's got battery backup and it can carry on working and your customers can still get in. But when we're connected to the cloud using the Internet, all of that information goes to the database, the PTI cloud database. And that's called storelogix Cloud. And it's where you, the, the customer will be able to, this is the storage owner will be able to log in and see their site or their sites. They can see the logs of who's, who's come in and who's gone out. They can set up the notifications for the alerts. That could be that they'd like, when Dave Smith comes in, they'd like an email to be sent to the manager to say Dave Smith's on site so that he can come down and meet Dave Smith. Or it could be the notifications that are going through to the monitoring station. So when we're linked to the monitoring station, they're looking at the alarms, the individual alarms from the units. Customers putting in codes that are either denied or too many attempts at codes going into areas where they shouldn't loitering events. And it's a dashboard as well of if you've got multiple sites, you can pull reports from all of your sites or just one site. And that's just using a standard web browser to log into.

Great, okay, fantastic. And what about, you mentioned their alarms. What sort of unit alarm options do you have at pti?

The unit alarms generally were always door contacts on units. And the reason they were door contacts was because they were fairly inexpensive but also incredibly reliable. In later years that's moved on a little bit. Thieves have got a little cleverer at how they're dealing with them. The door contacts have also got slightly cleverer. They're now monitored door contacts. So if you try and fiddle with them, they'll actually tamper the system, set it into alarm. But there's also things like motion sensors in units. So we've got standard pirs. PIRS with dual text for the environments that are a little bit harsher beams above the top of units. So if people are trying to look over the top or using their selfie sticks, they'll trigger an alert to say somebody's up to no good. And then things like with the Pro Edge where we've got the built in accelerometer in there so that it picks up the vibration or the opening of the door. Yeah, literally you can connect anything to the PTI system.

Okay. Okay, great. And what about countries? So you're, it sounds like, you know, you cover Europe and the UK from your, your, from where you're based there. Is, there is PTI available anywhere in the world? Are there any limitations to where you can, or where you can't be? Any language limitations or anything like that?

No, not, not as far as I know. There are some, there probably some countries that we don't work in due to political reasons. The rest of the world is covered. The languages in storelogix cloud now include English, French, Spanish, Italian and that will just start to increase as the requests come in and the translations are done.

Okay.

So yeah, out of, out of this office here we cover all of the uk, Ireland and Europe. Mainland Europe and the rest of the world is, is covered from USA and Australia.

Okay. Okay. Okay. Well John, is there anything else that PTI has or offers that we haven't talked about that you think would be important for listeners to know about?

Not really. I think if anybody wants to talk about solutions or security, I'd be happy that they picked up the phone or pinged me an email because that's something that I do like to talk about.

Yeah, we all like talking about Self storage if they want to find out more. Where's the best place to go to? Web address, email address, what's the best way for somebody to reach out?

Website is always the best. There's loads of information there. The USA website ptisecuritysystems.com and the European website ptisecuritysystems.co.uk okay.

Okay. So ptisecuritysystems.co dot UK to reach out to if you're listening in the UK or Europe.

Yep, absolutely.

Okay. All right. Okay, well look, thanks so much John. It's been great to hear so much about PTI and it's really exciting to hear about the, the Pro Edge and I think the padlock solution also is really interesting. I think lots of customers who would be interested in that. So that's something that we can be telling customers about now as well. So yeah, great to talk to you. Thanks so much and cheers for coming on.

Thank you Gavin, thank you for your time.

I'll see you soon.

All right, take care. Bye now.

Bye. Okay, happy enough for that. Thank you for listening to Self Storage Explained where we aim to provide expert advice on how to set up and scale your Self storage business. For more resources including financial models and in depth guides for setting up or growing your business, visit our Self Storage Academy at Stora Cora Co Academy and If you would like to find out more about how Stora can help your business grow sales and save time, set up a demo or contact us at Stora Co and Stora Co. Thank you.