Metrasens, a leading provider of advanced magnetic detection technologies and the Platinum Award Winner in the 2017 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program for Best Cell Phone Detection Solution, has been honored as a winner of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise 2018 in the category of Innovation.
The company earned the distinction for its ground-breaking work in advanced screening capabilities designed to enhance safety and security around the world.
This is the second consecutive year Metrasens has received the Queen’s Award, as the organization was recognized in 2017, in the category of International Trade.
Metrasens has installed its cutting edge ferromagnetic detection systems (FMDS) widely around the world.
Their innovative approach combines advanced magnetic detection technology with product design that is customized for the specific needs of various customer groups and applications.
Metrasens’ solutions are:
- Used in hospitals to ensure patient safety in MRI suites
- Deployed in prisons to detect dangerous contraband and smuggled cell phones; and
- Are increasingly implemented in secure government and commercial facilities to provide physical data security.
The company’s most recent innovation is a screening system that can be used at a variety of venues – such as sports arenas, large scale events like concerts and at corporate campuses – to detect threats involving weapons of mass casualty, without disrupting the flow of people.
“Our unique technology provides capabilities traditional security systems cannot, and is making a tangible difference in more than 40 countries worldwide,” explains Metrasens CEO, Dr. Simon Goodyear.
“We are constantly looking at new and innovative ways to deploy our core technology, with an intrinsic focus on making people safer through cutting-edge screening methods.”
“To be recognized with the Queen’s Award in the category of Innovation is a testament to the unprecedented advancements achieved by our team of physicists and engineers.”
“It is also a perfect complement to the recognition we received from the Queen’s Awards last year in the International Trade category for our successful business growth.”
Extending Your Perimeter to Protect Against Major Security Threats
Featuring highly effective ferromagnetic detection (FMDS) technology, Proscreen 900 has been designed to explicitly focus on screening for large, mass casualty threats in perimeter locations. Proscreen 900 screens head-to-toe with high throughput efficiency.
The far perimeter of a venue is an ideal place to screen for weapons of mass casualty.
Most of the time, a terrorist is trying to get closer to the immediate perimeter of the venue, to inflict the most damage to large groups of people waiting to get in; farther away, event attendees are walking toward the entrance and thus are more dispersed, not standing in clusters or lines.
This advance screening is possible using ferromagnetic detection systems (FMDS).
In the most basic terms, FMDS uses passive sensors that evaluate disturbances in the earth’s magnetic field made by something magnetic moving through its detection zone.
Everything else is invisible to it; it doesn’t see people, clothing, backpacks, purses, etc.
Nothing can be used to shield the threat, because FMDS doesn’t detect metallic mass; it detects a magnetic signature, down to a millionth of the earth’s magnetic field.
It is also highly accurate – there is no false alarm rate, because it is programmed to find only what security personnel need to find (e.g., a weapon).
Although it is a passive technology, it is more effective and reliable than using observational security methods to screen a perimeter, because the technology will never miss something the way a human would.
An important point is that the system only works on moving objects.
This makes it immune to environmental conflicts such as rebar that would trip up conventional metal detectors, and allowing people to be screened quickly and unobtrusively without stopping to divest their possessions as they walk toward a venue – up to 50 or 60 people a minute.
FMDS does not need people to be organized into lines or groups; it simply detects a magnetic signature on anything that passes.
It runs on batteries – there is no need for an electricity source, as with a walk-through detector – and can be placed on just about any form factor (a pole, a stand, etc.).
This gives security personnel flexibility when deploying FMDS, allowing them to create a wide perimeter around a venue without worrying about portability or a power source.
Screening can be as obvious or as concealed as personnel prefer for a particular situation, based on the form factor they select.
Proscreen 900 is easily integrated within current facility considerations, requiring no added infrastructure changes or costly construction modifications.
All of these combine into a solution that creates a way to close a gap in mass screenings at large events, by expanding the secure perimeter and creating a highly accurate way to detect weapons of mass casualty farther away from a critical asset and large crowds.
It does not replace screening for smaller items necessarily, and all large venues should use a layered security solution that also deploys tactics like roving security guards, walk-through metal detectors and hand wands.
FMDS simply gives the opportunity to add a layer of security where there currently is not an effective solution.
The Queen’s Awards have been recognized as the UK’s most prestigious business accolades since they were established more than 50 years ago.
Metrasens in 2017 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program
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Metrasens
- Platinum ‘ASTORS’ Award Winner
- Proscreen 500
- Best Cell Phone Detection Solution
Over 100 distinguished guests from National, State and Local Governments, and Industry Leading Corporate Executives from companies allied to Government, gathered from across North America and the Middle East to be honored from disciplines across the Security Industry in their respective fields which included representatives from:
- The Department of Homeland Security
- The Department of Justice
- The Security Exchange Commission
- State and Municipal Law Enforcement Agencies
- Leaders in Private Security
