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Minnesota Security Startup Partners with Bethel University in Eliminating Crime

Quill Security Risk MapJust over two years ago, Quill Security Technology set out to create a set of tools that would assist campus security directors with their reporting and analysis. Today, Quill may be changing the entire face of civic technology for physical security planning and management.

As owner, Lewis Werner, pointed out, “Security is where accounting was before Excel, and we’re creating Quickbooks.” These new tools are dynamic and agile in their ability to change with the given parameters of any day on campus. Specifically configured for hospitals, universities, and city governments, this software subscription program helps security personnel more easily identify their vulnerabilities and implement real-world solutions to issues that arise. Using a CVT model (criticality, vulnerability, and threat) the software takes into account the entire landscape of the facility and creates a risk map, helping staff in identifying the biggest threats and making suggestions as to how to mitigate them.

Some of these ever-changing dynamics might be construction projects, an influx of new employees or students, weather, or even the implementation of new software. Data is collected over a six-hour period for every activated building and the analysis is then available to authorized users the very same day. This makes reporting more accurate and beneficial because the risks are changing all of the time. Relying on static reports that are based on the slow, costly, manual model of risk assessment, still collecting the same data that was important five years ago, leaves too many gaps for threats to find their way through. As Lewis told us, “The concept of return on investment is controversial in security, because you’re essentially talking about the safety of human beings, but this type of dynamic model allows directors to tweak reporting and essentially get better outcomes.” 

Quill Security Technology

One campus that is giving this new technology a go is Bethel University. They have agreed to take part in a case study to determine if this type of data analysis is beneficial to their organization and its stakeholders. With an initial deployment of 10 buildings across their campus, they are now in the process of gathering data and working with their “forward-thinking” security officer, Zachary Hill, to tweak the reporting and configure things the way they will work best for Bethel. The software provided by Quill allows for customization on the data visualization to meet Bethel’s management reporting standards, and their first reporting should be available in mid-September. As Zach said, “…reports lose relevance as the underlying information becomes outdated and a detailed understanding becomes more difficult. Quill’s assessment philosophy addresses both these issues and will help us blend analytics, technology, and the human factors to stay ahead of the curve.” On a scale of one to ten of importance, “humans are always a ten,” stated Lewis. This new technology aims to protect all of an organization’s assets, particularly their human assets, more effectively.

 

Valerie Lockhart
Valerie is proud to spend her time immersed in the Minnesota tech scene, whether she’s writing articles for tech.mn, designing websites, or coordinating events for the Minnesota Women in Technology meetup group.