Latest News, Blogs & Announcements

Police took part in a day-long swoop on metal theft in the Midlands. Officers stopped and checked passing vehicles as part of their clampdown. Metal theft has become a growing problem in the area, as well as nationally, with churches around the Daventry district among the buildings targeted. Police were happy to report that on this occasion they did not see any metal theft-related offences. Nevertheless, they plan on doing a day of action every month at a different location. Tensor’s durable gates are an example of our access control devices and PC-based systems which improve security at a site. Working alongside Tensor’s smart card and access control products, your gate can be used to monitor the throughput of an access control point as well as reporting on staff’s time and attendance. The gates cope with high traffic volumes, and perform to strict security standards and under severe operating conditions. Pictured here are swing gates, one of a number of different styles your organisation can choose from.  

There is more agony for the banking industry with this week’s announcement that 1,400 workers will lose their jobs. The Australian owner of Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks confirmed that it will cut the posts by 2015 following a strategic review of its UK operations. It means 29 of the banks' 73 Financial Solution Centres, which offer services to businesses and better-off individual investors, will be closed down. Nine other centres will be merged with local retail branches around the UK. Tensor can help your organisation make efficiency savings via our time and money-saving time and attendance devices. Contactless smart cards are used to operate time & attendance and access control systems. Our popular cards have no battery, thus offering the prospect of an infinite life, and can be read an infinite number of times. Each smart card reader transmits a 125 KHz frequency field (the electromagnetic field), which is picked up by an aerial in the smart card. This gives a consistent read range.  

Exercise Olympic Guardian is a major exercise being held over the following week to test security for this summer’s Olympic Games. The tests will take place on land, sea and air between today (May 2) and May 10. Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said: “Support for the Olympic Games will be an important task for defence in 2012 and this exercise is about pushing our people and our systems to the limit to ensure that we are ready for the challenge.” Security experts Tensor can provide access control equipment specially designed to protect sensitive or dangerous areas of your facility. Biometric fingerprint matching access control scanners for your exterior and interior point entry locations plus individual PC and laptop security devices are available. The T4220 is a ‘plug and play’ biometric fingerprint scanner which ensures that your files remain secure. This device is powered by state-of-the-art biometric technology that uses electromagnetic waves to read the fingerprint from below the skin’s surface layer.  

Last week's revolt at a Barclays Bank remuneration meeting put shareholder activism in the spotlight. A new web tool lets individuals complain if they feel executive pay at companies is too high. The letter emailed by the tool urges shareholders to “vote against excessive executive remuneration and rewards for failure this year”. Almost a third of Barclays shareholders voted against the bank's remuneration policies, with strong feelings generated by chief executive Bob Diamond receiving a £1.35m salary and a £2.7m bonus for 2011. Integrated Time & Attendance management systems from Tensor are the best there is at combining the requirements of company rostering and job costing. The WinTA system handles all major hours calculation methods, including different overtime rates and night shifts. The system allows you to create a series of shift premium rules that enable employees to earn bonus payments under special circumstances. The bonus is calculated either as extra hours or monetary amounts and can be included in the export to payroll.  

Network Rail has called for full national legislative reform to stem the tide of cable thefts. In a statement the company said it is investing extra cash to protect routes that are particular prey to thieves. It is urging full reform of the 1964 Scrap Metal Dealers Act to back up its security actions. Network Rail said magistrates should also have “the power to impose restrictions upon, and ultimately enforce the closure of, yards that fail to keep to the law.” For preventing access at road entry points, Tensor’s automatic barriers are also capable of operating alongside any installed control or ticketing systems. Car park barriers are the number one solution for controlling vehicle access to your site’s car park and entry points. Quickly able to recognise and allow or deny access to personnel, Tensor’s numerous barriers cater for all sizes of premises and are highly adaptable. To ensure a problem-free operation, our experienced engineers can install each barrier, individually adjusting it to suit your needs.  

A man and a teenager have been charged following a break-in and art theft at a museum. Various Chinese artefacts were stolen from the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge a fortnight ago. Patrick Kiely (28) and a 15-year-old youth, both from London, are due to appear before magistrates. The items, which are thought to be worth millions of pounds, were taken from the museum’s permanent collection in mid-April. Tensor has supplied digital CCTV camera and recording systems to many institutions, businesses and organisations to deter break-ins and to catch criminals when thefts occur. Digital CCTV comprises of a PC based, multi channel video surveillance system that utilises the most advanced compression technologies to bring you the highest picture quality and video performance. Completely upgradable, your network can be expanded quickly and easily by simply installing additional cameras. In addition, you are not restricted to the type of camera you wish to install as the CCTV software is able to support all cameras within our product range.  

A leading insurance firm has lost the vote on executive pay at its annual meeting. Excluding abstentions, the majority of shareholders at Aviva voted against the company’s latest remuneration report. Shareholders are angry at salary levels paid to board members while shares have fallen by more than a quarter during the past year. As a result, group chief executive Andrew Moss has agreed not to take a rise in his pay, which would have put his £960,000 salary above £1 million. A world class system is available from Tensor which deals with all aspects of employee hours, wages and payroll at the workplace. WinTA Enterprise is a top-of-the-range multi site network suited for larger companies. WinTA Enterprise can store up to 2000 employees on a single Time and Attendance clock. Comprehensive working patterns, annualised hours and flexi patterns are some of the features that can be set up. The Export to Payroll function links to Sage, Pegasus, Centrefile, Unipay, Moorepay, and others.

Three men have today (Tuesday) been jailed over a shop robbery. Joseph Junior Mullings, Nathan Walters and Kyle Mullings had all pleaded guilty at a previous hearing to robbery and possession of firearms. The trio were ordered to serve minimum terms of between three and a half years and five years and seven months. The raid by a gang took place last year at a floristry in Manchester. Tensor plc are now offering a free on-site visit by one of our consultants to undertake a basic Security Audit of your organisation’s site. Many companies have been surprised how easy it is for strangers to gain access to their site. Tensor has a lifetime of experience in advising the police, security sensitive organisations, local authorities, utilities and many smaller companies on Access Control and the identification and monitoring of employees and visitors. During an audit our security specialists will advise your firm how to develop a Security Plan that is user-friendly without compromising site security.  

Residents are unhappy at the closure of their local toilets, calling the prospect “degrading”. The public toilets in Ewell Village on the outskirts of London are to be auctioned off after being closed just over a year ago. Council officials said the closures would save £21,000 per year. One of the objecting residents, Pat Thomas, said: “I am appalled and shocked that the council could think of auctioning the toilets off. It will be so degrading for people.” Tensor’s turnstiles fully integrate with our smart card and biometric access control systems giving you full jurisdiction over movement and access in and around your site. Our coin operated turnstiles – which are ideal for public toilet facilities – are equally at home with high traffic volumes or prestige access points. Available as a double half height turnstile, your throughput can be doubled whilst keeping the amount of space down to a minimum. For more information on a Tensor turnstile, barrier or gate, please contact our sales team.  

Today (May 10) hundreds of thousands are on strike over government proposals featured in the Public Service Pensions Bill detailed in the Queen’s Speech on Wednesday which seek substantially increased employee contributions. “Thursday's protest is to all intents and purposes a traditional piece of industrial action, albeit by people who cannot withdraw their labour,” was the analysis of Dominic Casciani, BBC home affairs correspondent. The government also wants to eventually replace final-salary pension schemes with less generous career-average schemes. Versatile clocking stations fitted by Tensor let workers or contractors view their hours; book their holidays and production jobs; and much, much more. The IP enabled handily-sized 240x170x55mm Tensor T32xx Time and Security Station supports Tensor’s Smart Card technology plus the renowned MiFare cards. Colour LCD with video playback and illuminated keypad for ease of text input are just some of its user-friendly features. Speaker output, mobile phone SIM card support and GPS automatic location are among the optional features of the T32xx.  

Police officers kept a close eye on proceedings at a protest surrounding the main offices of energy firm Centrica. Campaigners staged a demonstration both inside and outside the London base of Centrica – who own British Gas – over high prices. The environmental group Greenpeace shut down the offices by sealing the entrances with bills printed on wood and locked various site doors. Officers managed to maintain order at the incident so that no arrests were made. Tensor uses the latest PC technology to supply an unrivalled Visitor Management System (VMS) to suit any size of business. Unlike paper-based systems VMS provides an accurate date and time stamped audit trail of visitors and contractors; plus individualised, bar-coded passes with monitored expiry dates. It allows faster throughput of visitors at reception as well as improving security levels elsewhere as the same checking process can occur at a company gatehouse. The receptionist is notified whenever a pass is swiped that is out-of-date or has other irregularities.  

A failed theft saw a young man menacing a petrol station worker with a stun gun. However, 22-year-old Jamie Miller got away with nothing after he tried to use the weapon to steal all the contents of the cash register earlier this year. The High Court in Edinburgh heard how Miller eventually gave up after the staff member ran away from the scene of the crime. During sentencing Miller was warned he would expect a lengthy prison term. Low cost door access control is one of the security solutions available from Tensor. The T351x range of 1-4 Scanner Access Control Systems covers doors, car park barriers and turnstiles. The T3511 Low Cost 1 Scanner Controller can deal with up to 10,000 smart card holders and allows easy set-up of badge holders and security patterns. Boasting early warning LED’s, audible alerts and tamper detection, the system adheres to international security standards applicable to Access Control systems; EN50133 Parts 1, 7 and 2; GW18, PC79 and DD243I2002.