Zenitel Secures Salesforce Tower

Salesforce Tower in San Francisco is one of the city’s most iconic skyscrapers, soaring at 1,070 feet tall and 61 stories, which makes it not only the tallest building in the city, but the tallest building west of Chicago. It is in the heart of the city’s financial district and is a workplace for thousands of Salesforce employees and other tenants.

salesforce park rooftop
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by Diane Ritchey, Marketing Director, Safety & Security

Designed by César Pelli and developed by Hines Interests Limited Partnership and Boston Properties (now BXP), the building has a modern design that merges technology with art. For example, the design incorporates glass panels that reflect the sky and surrounding cityscape with an architectural feature that allows low-level sunlight to enter the building in the mornings, evenings and during winter but cuts out direct light during the summer.

A public art light sculpture at the top of the building, with 11,000 LEDs, displays video animations every evening that can be seen from up to 30 miles away. The 5.4-acre Salesforce Park, which is situated above the street level, features walking paths, gardens, open grass areas, a children’s play space, a cafe and a restaurant, and an amphitheater for community events. A gondola provides access from the street level plaza to the rooftop Park.

Securing Salesforce Tower

Every building has a life of its own. As it ages, the building and its surroundings change with the tenants, owners, and building requirements. Security and safety issues change, as well.

Every business and facility must confront three major workplace security issues – employee and visitor safety, securing assets, and the protection of data and other valuable information.

At Salesforce Tower, which has thousands of employees, vendors, and visitors entering and exiting the property, in addition to the park and exterior areas, the security and safety needs are to keep employees and visitors safe and protected, to know who enters the premises so that unauthorized people don’t enter, protect assets, and more.

That’s according to Greg Suhr, Director of Safety and Security at BXP, who oversees security operations at Salesforce Tower. He is responsible for the safety and security of tenants, vendors, visitors, and assets, as well as the implementation of emergency response plans and coordination of business continuity efforts.

Previously, Suhr was a San Francisco Police Officer for 35 years serving as the Chief of Police his last 5 years. He was the recipient of many commendations over the course of his career, including Police Officer of the Year.

The transition from public to private sector security was relatively easy, Suhr says, due to his strong relationships with federal, state, and local agencies. “I thought that the role was a great opportunity as it was a new building, and I could bring my connections and relationships that I had made citywide, statewide, and federally, as a strong resource for BXP.”

It’s paid off. For example, during recent periods of unrest in the city, Suhr was able to speak directly with SFPD Command Staff daily to quickly determine the veracity of any threats to Salesforce Tower.

Five years into his role, Suhr is enjoying the challenge while continuously learning. “The BXP family has been very welcoming,” he says. “Everyone is very smart and very dedicated to their jobs.”

Suhr’s team includes Sue Ko, Director, Regional IT Services at BXP, who Suhr credits with solving any challenges that arise with the building’s security technology. He also employs more than 50 contract security officers that are responsible for securing entries and exits, including the main lobby console, where the majority of the facility’s guests are greeted and screened. Security officers work to secure entrances and exits for vendors and contractors, the parking garage, the Gondola, the rooftop Park, and in the Security Operations Center (SOC).

The security officers are also brand ambassadors, greeting people and offering information such as directions. “The first thing that I did when I got here was, I wrote on a board in the SOC this message: ‘You only get one chance to make a good first impression. Let’s make it a good one. Our security is the first person someone will see in our building. So, we must make a good first impression. I stress that daily.”

“We also have a uniformed San Francisco Police Officer in our lobby during business hours,” Suhr adds. “That’s a tremendous luxury to help us to deter any type of workplace violence or other security situation that may happen. We are a well-known and iconic building, and we are visible all the way to Sonoma County,” he explains.

“Most people are delighted at the beauty of this building, and they love it. But then, there are some people with potential motives that align with the political climate of the world that may want to cause harm. We have had some protests here that are not related to Salesforce Tower, but that we still need to manage. We need to ensure a seamless entry and exit for all guests, but at the same time we need to have very tight security throughout the building because of the ‘what ifs’.”

Inside the SOC, Suhr says he has his “best” security officers working the main console that provides visibility inside and outside of the facility.

Inside the Technology

To achieve the goal of a secure building and surrounding exterior areas, Suhr employs security technology from Zenitel’s IP intercoms and emergency stanchions. Other technology partners include AMAG Technology, Genetec, and more.

There are 28 Zenitel TCIS-2 audio intercoms inside the building at entrances, inside the gondola, on a fifth-floor bridge, and throughout the park. The intercoms feature wideband HD voice for enhanced clarity, Open Duplex for natural two-way communication, and integrated noise suppression and acoustic echo cancellation algorithms for clean audio, even in noisy settings. They also incorporate a high-sensitivity MEMS microphone, a 10W Class D amplifier for high-output performance, and a custom-engineered speaker grill that is optimized for protection.

Outside in the plaza and in the parking garage are several Zenitel Emergency Communication Wall Units and Emergency Towers/Stanchions, featuring both an IP intercom and mass notification speakers.  These high-visibility call stations serve multiple purposes, including emergency intercom communication, broadcast notification, and audio paging, enabling guests or employees to call for assistance or receive instructions directly from the security team.

“The thought process is that there isn’t a path of travel for anyone where they won’t pass an intercom, which is exactly what we want,” Suhr says. “The Emergency Communication Tower with the blue light on the Plaza is great for mass notification messages. We test it every Tuesday evening. We are ready to use it in any emergency, including an earthquake, and we’re grateful that we have it.”

Zenitel’s Audio Quality

Overall, Suhr says he’s pleased with the audio quality from Zenitel’s devices. “We have never had a complaint about anyone not being heard or not hearing from the intercoms,” he says. “A lot of the calls that come from the intercoms come in after hours, from less fortunate people who don’t have a home and who happen to be in the area. They call us for help and they are not always clear in their speech, yet when they hit the intercom button for assistance, our teams can clearly hear them, which is important. I feel like the intercoms are clearer than speaking with someone in person, sometimes.”

“The intercoms and emergency stanchions are a great resource for anyone to report a situation,” Suhr adds. “Sometimes it’s not related to their personal safety or security, but that a system isn’t working. They are valuable for non-emergency situations, too.”

Overall, Zenitel’s intercoms and emergency stanchions are providing Salesforce Tower with a comprehensive approach to ensuring safety and security. Coupled with the facility’s other security technology, Zenitel’s solutions are connecting Suhr and his security team to employees, visitors, and vendors and ensuring they can all hear, be heard, and be understood and providing a safe and secure environment.

Key Information

Zenitel Solutions
Video Intercoms

Key Products
TCIV-2+

Market segment
Corporate and Public

System Integrator
Boston Properties (BXP) / BXP Security & Regional IT Team

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