News

The cause is not yet known of a huge blaze affecting a warehouse today (Tuesday, January 31). The fire has sent thick billowing smoke over west London. It started at 09:35 GMT and has now been contained thanks to 15 fire engines attending the scene. A fire service spokesman said the estimated total size of the warehouse area affected was 170m by 90m (557ft by 295ft) and half of that had been on fire. The combination of contactless smart cards and fire roll call software means that security and clocking products from Tensor ensure staff safety in a fire or other emergency. The cards operate using well-proven and reliable Radio Frequency technology, which gives a constant read range. It also means that employees can exit a premises in an emergency in the quickest possible time: when placed within range of your scanner, the smart card will be read in under ½ second, even if that card is covered in oil and grease.  

Downing Street said it will not interfere with the bonuses of other Royal Bank of Scotland executives, after RBS chief executive Stephen Hester declined his award of £963,000 in shares. Mr Hester waived the 3.6 million shares package, which is his performance bonus for 2010, amid a storm of political protest on Sunday. A government spokeswoman told the BBC: “We are not going to micro-manage bonuses. They [the bank] are doing a good job and making good progress.” Beginning from the basic WinTA Start package, Tensor offers a complete smart card-operated Time and Attendance system including all the features to manage salaries, hours and bonuses. Comprehensive user-definable working patterns, rosters and shifts can be swiftly set up by the software. Overtime is easily monitored with up to four different pay bands in each shift. Bands are selected based on the time and the number of hours worked. Periodic Overtime is used to calculate overtime on weekly, bi-weekly or monthly basis.  

More than 2,000 police workers are to be axed next year while another 3,000 Ministry of Defence posts will go as efficiency cuts continue to bite. The police numbers are made up of civilian staff who will depart when Scotland’s new single police force is created in 2013. They include admin staff, employees who field calls from the public, court liaison officers, forensics and human resources. One-third of workers currently employed by the eight police forces will lose their posts. Businesses can benefit from Tensor’s fast, accurate and easy-to-use system to record employees' hours of working. The large colour display on Tensor's T32xx time and security clocking station makes it simple for workers to confirm their clockings or make job-booking transactions. The Tensor T32xx boasts a 480 x 272 pixel colour LCD screen with video playback; multilingual functions; an illuminated keypad for ease of text input and use; tamper detection; and digital outputs to control door locks, fire alarms and wall clocks.  

Members of a smash-and-grab gang used two wheels instead of four to steal a safe. One of the cycling thieves took the strongbox containing £2,000 underneath his arm while precariously steering the pedal bike one handed. The biker trio wrenched the safe from a wall in a room inside a bar in Southampton. A witness caught them making their getaway and quickly called the police, but the trio had fled by the time officers arrived. Automatic Car Park Barriers are among the security devices and systems from Tensor which control car park and road entry points at your premises. Not only an efficient and effective way of increasing security at a site, barriers also double up as a way of monitoring the number of vehicles passing through the control point. Boom arms are available in a number of different lengths to suit various road widths. Other features include: an extruded aluminium barrier arm; high visibility red reflective striping; and a white exterior grade powder coat.  

Business Secretary Vince Cable wants shareholders to hold binding votes over executive pay. He said it was not Westminster's job to ‘micro-manage’ companies but insisted there were steps it could take when there was “clear market failure”. There has been much focus on what is seen as ‘casino-style’ boardroom pay deals. Mr Cable told MPs: “We cannot continue to see chief executives' pay rising at 13% a year while the performance of companies on the stock exchange languishes well behind.” Tensor time and attendance products such as WinTA Enterprise provide total control over working rules, pay rates, job costing and payroll at the workplace. WinTA Enterprise holds details for thousands of employees, including a photograph of each person, if required. There are numerous extra features that can be implemented on your time and attendance system to take into account diversity with working rules between different organisations. For example under Secondary Pay Bands certain pay bands pay into other bands either on a 1:1 basis or by using a multiplier.  

Legislation designed to tackle the growing problem of stolen metal failed at a second reading just before the weekend. Labour MP Graham Jones had drafted a bill banning scrap yards from making cash payments for metal and requiring them to take proof of identification and an address from any potential seller. The bill did not have government support, so it failed. A disappointed Jones said: “We will now not likely see legislation before the Olympics, possibly not until 2013.” Tensor Access Lite is the latest in our proven range of Windows™ based Access Control products, from simple door and registration point control, through to a fully computerised global network at the workplace. A variety of access equipment, devices and releases can be connected via the T8424 scanner control unit including: alarms and hooters, door locks, door release buttons, fingerprint readers and scanners. The scanner controller is the unit to which all Access Control equipment within your Tensor Access Lite network is connected.  

The police bill for carrying out evictions at the UK’s largest illegal travellers’ site came in well under budget. The cost of dealing with the Dale Farm site in Essex ran up to almost £2.4 million when original estimates stated it could cost up to £10 million. Last year there were violent scenes as police led an operation to clear protesters from the site. The operation was the culmination of a long-standing row over unauthorised plots on Dale Farm. Tensor can implement a digital CCTV camera and recording system as part of a high-tech security set-up for monitoring and/or preventing criminal activity. We have systems to suit all sites and budgets. Infra Red CCTV Cameras are ever popular due to their ability to see in ‘absolute darkness’. By utilising infra red light these cameras ensure security and safety for your sites throughout any light conditions. Infra red detectors can either be added to body cameras, or often inbuilt infra red cameras purchased for your CCTV solution.  

A meticulously planned raid robbed jewellery worth £430,000 from an auction house. There was no sign of a break-in at the Glasgow premises and the thief left just 10 minutes before staff were due to arrive. The criminal took just 25 minutes to get into the building and turn off the alarm before emptying the safe of items which the auctioneers were preparing for sale. The thief was picked up by a vehicle which pulled into the car park outside. Security experts Tensor offer the T3512 which is a one door Smart Card Access Control system that has everything you need for controlling access through a single door. It comprises a T3511 Door Access controller, WinACnet PC software, magnetic door release, push button, break glass and 10 Smart Cards. WinACnet creates alarm messages when predetermined actions take place, or if a forced entry occurs. These alarms are immediately emailed to a specified address. Optionally a warning email can be sent if communications to the PC are lost.  

MPs are debating proposals about the introduction of regional public sector pay. The rationale behind this is the UK government says it wants to create a more balanced economy, but others say some regions will be disadvantaged. Plaid Cymru MP Jonathan Edwards said Wales could stand to lose if public sector wages were cut. Mr Edwards, who tabled a Westminster Hall debate on regional pay, commented: “We are talking about huge amounts of money leaving the pockets of ordinary working people.” A Tensor time & attendance and payroll system will calculate all manner of wages, shifts and bonus data. Using the WinTA software the personnel section can view all time and attendance information for an employee or a single department. In the Employee screens an index tab system is used hold different categories of information. Some of these are user definable fields, including user definable tables and arrays. This all means that the salaries and hours of your workforce will be accurately recorded and paid.  

On Wednesday (January 18) a national clothing company which employs approximately 9,600 people confirmed it was entering administration. Chief executive of Peacocks Richard Kirk issued a statement thanking staff. He added: “Peacocks is a brand with great heritage, and it is with deep sadness that we have been left with no other option but to today place the business into administration.” Mr Kirk blamed a tough retail environment, adding that measures to seek new investment did not pay off. Contactless smart cards which save businesses time and money are used to operate Tensor time and attendance, access control and visitor monitoring systems. Our most popular smart card (pictured) is the T1305, which is about the size of a standard credit card and is thin and flexible enough to be carried in your wallet. It has up to 34 billion different combinations of ID number, so there is no chance of duplication. Each ID number has built-in security and integrity checks ensuring that it cannot be misread.  

Toilets that are no longer used have been put up for sale by a council. Stockport Council pointed out a precedent, saying toilets had already been converted into a solicitors' office. The council said the sale of the facilities would not affect the number of public conveniences, as it had plans in place to ensure other toilets were available. One of these plans involved local businesses opening up their facilities for the public to use. Tensor 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. Toilet turnstiles are available that can also accept coin entry for a nominal fee. They cope with high traffic volumes and can be installed at prestige access points. Tensor's turnstiles offer improved security and extend flow capacity. Available as a double half height turnstile, your throughput can be doubled while keeping the amount of space down to a minimum.

Antony Worrall Thompson has been cautioned by police for shoplifting. The famous chef was caught at his local Tesco store. Mr Worrall Thompson was questioned and given a formal caution after the incident involving “low value goods”. He added: “I must also apologise sincerely to Tesco, with whom [I’ve] had a long and genuine working relationship, and to all the staff at the Henley branch, many of whom I've got to know over the years.” Tensor is the destination for anyone wishing to implement an electronic smart card based access control system for commercial premises or offices. When a person attempts to pass through an access point, the T32xx access control unit compares the individual’s security profile with that of the access point. Security profiles are based upon the day, time of day, and the security threat level of the attempted access. An individual's security profile is based upon their access group. People are assigned to an access group, either unique to them or common to their department or status.