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The chief inspector of prisons says an overcrowded jail is unsafe. Barlinnie is more than 50 per cent over capacity, which meant Brigadier Hugh Monro said it could not be regarded as “safe”. He has called for a review of the management of overall prisoner numbers and wants an explanation of why so many men who have not yet faced a trial are held in the Glasgow prison. “The prison has an operational limit for very good reasons,” he said. The Prison Pass easy to install computer based pass system from Tensor allows HM Prison Service Officers to quickly check the identity and monitor the movements of visitors. Using our tried and tested visitor control system, Prison Pass allows the pre-booking of legal representatives, contractors and inmate visitors with maximum speed and minimum fuss. Lists of banned individuals are maintained and updated in real time. The list is checked during registration and will immediately warn prison staff both visually and audibly (as an option).  

A pub has installed a swipe card machine that can be used to dispense beer when it is busy. Landlord at the South Yorkshire establishment Dave Barron says measures are in place so that customers could not abuse the system and staff could monitor issues such as drunkenness. “The machine is in full view of staff at all times, and there’s also a method of blocking a particular card, so if anyone has had too much, we can block that card,” Mr Barron commented. All Tensor smart cards or key fobs for time & attendance and access control systems use the same well-proven RF (Radio Frequency) reading technology. This is much quicker than equivalent swipe card clocking technology – sometimes up 15 times faster. Smart cards from Tensor have no battery, thus theoretically they can be read an infinite number of times. Our most popular smart card is the T1305, and the RF technology means it can stay in a wallet or purse to be scanned, thus ensuring quicker throughput.  

Hundreds of passengers were delayed after cables were stolen which led to signal problems on Friday (November 18, 2011). The theft of copper cables near Hull caused delays to services from the start of the day between Hull, Doncaster and Selby. The charity organisation Crimestoppers is offering a reward of £1,000 for information about the theft. Furthermore, the Association of Train Operating Companies has called for tougher regulation of scrap metal sales. Tensor can install a comprehensive system to reduce or prevent thefts occurring at premises which are difficult to secure. Digital CCTV camera and recording systems using the best picture quality can be incorporated with PC-controlled access control door and barrier security networks. Digital CCTV Bullet Cameras are cameras mounted in a cylindrical casing that resembles a bullet. The casing makes them easy to install when pointing them in the right direction, and keeps the case compact. Their smaller size and inbuilt lens make them ideal for situations where space and price are paramount.  

Richard Evans, president of PepsiCo in the UK and Irish Republic, defended the scale of top bosses’ salaries after they were criticised in a new report by the High Pay Commission. Mr Evans said the UK has to be competitive. “If we want great people to come and work in the UK, given it’s a global talent pool, we’ve got to be prepared to pay the amount of money that those executives can get elsewhere in the world," he told the BBC. A major requirement of any Time and Attendance system is the ability to export information to the payroll system. Tensor is the leader in this field and has worked with all of the major payroll packages. Our class-leading WinTAnet Time & Attendance clocking and payroll network has a wide range of configuration options to extract payroll information in exactly the correct format. It can share or receive information from third party applications by using readily available interface modules.

A church has suffered thefts so often it has had to replace much of its lead roof with a non-traditional material. The church in Lincolnshire, called St Nicholas, made the drastic steps after it fell victim to four thefts in 2007 alone, and more since then. The price of lead has risen steeply, which has been blamed for the increases in this type of crime. The roof has been covered with plastic sheeting for much of the past four years. If your site or office is in a vulnerable area Tensor specialise in security access control systems which are at the front line of fighting crime. The complete T3512 Low Cost One Door System utilises cutting-edge .NET PC-based access control software that has everything you need for controlling access through a single door. It enables the easy setup of badge holders and security patterns and features speech output announcing flagged arrivals and security breaches. The expandable system also has a power fail battery backup.

A man aged 64 and a 58-year-old woman this week were arrested over a tyre fire which burned for three weeks. The conflagration started on June 16 this year, and smoke from the blaze closed roads on the industrial estate which hit a number of businesses in Swansea. The pair, also from Swansea, have been released on police bail. The hazardous burning tyres had to be removed using specialist equipment and dunked into large water filled containers. Tensor’s access control or time & attendance systems and devices can be integrated with fire roll call software. This vital health and safety tool will automatically generate a report in the event of a fire or other emergency. Employees simply log themselves on and off site using either their proximity read smart card or key fob which they would otherwise use to gain access. In the event of a fire, the fire roll call software annunciates the emergency while simultaneously activating your existing warning system.

Ministers clashed with unions as Francis Maude said mass public sector strikes next week could cost the economy £500m and lead to job losses. Mr Maude, the Cabinet Office Minister, explained the Treasury had made the estimate based on lower output in the public and private sector. More than two million workers are expected to strike on November 30 over changes to public sector pensions. Mark Serwotka, PCS Union head, said the government was making “false” claims about the pensions. How does your company set multiple working patterns, plus ensure its employees are paid properly and turn up when they should do? Simple: install a fast, accurate and easy-to-use Tensor Time & Attendance system for recording workers’ hours. It is also suitable for large multi-national businesses as WinTA Time & Attendance is multi-lingual too. WinTA is compatible with Tensor Personnel Software which will save time and aid strategic planning. It contains a Pay Reviewer feature including reports, projected pay increases and salary expenditure.  

Vandals have been blowing up 14 parking meters with explosives in Sussex. Police are investigating whether the acts of wreckage are linked to a previous spate of attacks between 2004 and 2006 in which about 200 meters were damaged. Fifteen attacks have been made on 14 meters in Lewes in three months with the most recent taking place last Monday (November 21). The authorities think someone with a grudge against parking rules is responsible for the vandalism. Tensor can boost security around company car parking facilities as our gates, barriers, and turnstiles give you full jurisdiction over movement and access in and around your site. Access Control Barriers prevent unauthorised access while providing minimum inconvenience to those who do have authorised access to your site. All gates from Tensor include a manual override facility preventing closure on a pedestrian or vehicle as well as offering safety in a power failure. The Tensor range of barriers and gates need no routine maintenance.

In his Autumn Statement Chancellor George Osborne revealed public sector pay rises are to be capped at one per cent for two years. This follows a two year pay freeze for public sector staff. The Chancellor also has announced that UK economic growth would be lower, and borrowing higher, than was forecast during the Budget in March. Mr Osborne told MPs the UK economy was now forecast to grow by 0.9% this year. A major requirement of any Time and Attendance system is the ability to export information to the payroll system. Tensor has worked with all of the major payroll packages and our WinTAnet office clocking system handles all major hours calculation methods. The Tensor WinTAnet system has a wide range of configuration options to extract payroll information in exactly the correct format. It can share or receive information from third party applications by using readily available interface modules. Data transfers can occur either on demand or more usually as an automated process.  

An 84-year-old woman was attacked and mugged in a public toilet in a quiet market town on Tuesday morning. The woman, who has not been named, suffered head injuries in the attack in the Yorkshire Dales. North Yorkshire Police said the pensioner was hit on the head four times before her handbag was taken. She was said to be in a stable condition. The bag was later found in a separate block of public toilets with its contents missing. With heightened security now paramount, it is imperative to have a durable and reliable system. Tensor will provide a business premises with just that, as our gates, barriers and turnstiles prevent unauthorised access while providing minimum inconvenience to those who do have authorised access to your site. Our turnstiles, which are available as either single or double half height, even adapt to control access to toilet facilities. They are suitable for prestige access points and can come in attractive glass models.  

A raid on a warehouse fetched thieves £120,000 worth of high-value metal and cabling. Police are appealing for witnesses after the criminals stole supplies intended for the Great Dorset Steam Fair. The thieves broke into locked shipping containers in the store sometime between 12pm on Sunday, October 30, and 11.30am on Wednesday, November 16. Officers are especially keen to hear from scrap yard dealers or anyone who has been offered any of these items under for a particularly low price. Visitor Management Systems (VMS) from security experts Tensor use the latest PC technology that controls, records and monitors the arrivals and departures of an organisation’s visitors and contractors. Unlike paper-based systems VMS provides individualised, bar-coded passes with monitored expiry dates and biometric fingerprint recording of visitors and contractors, plus signature recording. VMS can print different styles of pass documentation depending on the type of visitor or contractor. These can be produced in advance of a scheduled appointment or impromptu on arrival.

A former Manchester United player has been jailed for 15 months after being involved in a stolen car parts ring. The ex-soccer star Ronnie Wallwork, now retired from the game, was found breaking up the parts at a scrap yard and as a result he admitted three counts of receiving stolen goods earlier this year. Among the activities investigated by detectives, he was observed driving a Mazda Furano into the scrap yard three days after it was stolen from a car dealer. The T34xx Biometric Access Control Scanner combines Tensor smart card technology with a fingerprint reader which provides irrefutable proof of identity. In an elegant case and easy to use, this high-end security product is for those companies who want the absolute peace-of-mind, certainty and the assurance that only the right people can gain access to a site’s sensitive or dangerous areas. The unit can be directly connected via a peer to peer cable connection, or be part of a network using your existing Ethernet IT backbone.