Sears Tower:

Johnson Controls’ Towering

Integration

“They said they could The effects of 9/11 continue to impact

deliver in the timeframe businesses across the country, as
we needed to complete the
access control upgrade.” security upgrades are being done in

Carlos Villarreal buildings large and small. But right after the terrorist
Director of Security, Sears Tower
attacks, major landmark locations like the Sears Tower,

the tallest building in the United States for 30 years,

had to be additionally secured as soon as possible.

Johnson Controls’ Hillside, Ill., office was awarded the

job of installing security hardware, and it won the bid

(out of seven vendors) for the access control upgrade.

Johnson Controls upgraded the building’s access

control system with a Web-based visitor registration

system with ID badging, and added CCTV cameras

to its digital recording system. It also could deliver in the timeframe we needed
installed optical portal units, X-ray metal to complete the access control upgrade.”
detectors and protective barrier systems.
The large-scale project earned the Company Begins With Hardware
integrator Security Sales & Integrations’ to Enhance Population Control
Sales and Marketing (SAMMYs) Awards’ The first phase of the project began in
grand prize of Integrated Commercial December 2001. It consisted of installing
Installation of the Year for 2003. X-ray metal detectors and optical portals on
the first floor in the lobby area. “While doing
After 9/11, Tower is Considered this, the building still had 20,000 people
a Major Threat coming into the building,” Eggerding says.
A day after the attacks, building officials “So we had to keep the existing access
and security consultants began a control system running while doing flow
comprehensive security assessment. control pathways to provide the least amount
They ultimately decided to upgrade the of distribution to the place as possible.”
building’s access control system and install
different forms of security hardware. With six to seven installers on the job,
Johnson Controls started with the optical
The goal of the project was to secure the turnstiles in 34 locations throughout the
core of the building and sustain a safe and lobby area. The installation crew anchored
secure work environment for the tenants. the turnstiles to the floor and ran wire to
“It was an issue of population control,” integrate them into the access control
says Mark Eggerding, senior technical system, which was to be upgraded later
solutions representative Johnson Controls. to meet a June 3, 2002 deadline.
The integrator has been providing the
Sears Tower all of its building automation The turnstiles are made of stainless steel
and security needs since 1983. to match the building’s décor and have
glass doors. People who pass through the
Carlos Villarreal of Trizec properties, director of turnstiles must first present their access
security for the Sears Tower, says the building control card. Optical sensors then determine
population alone is approximately 10,200, with where each person is allowed to go.
up to 20,000 people entering the skyscraper
on a daily basis. “We didn’t have any threats The next step was to install the X-ray
on the building, but it was considered to equipment, which was integrated with the
be a potential target,” says Villarreal. [American Dynamics] CCTV system. This
initial process posed a challenge for Johnson
During the bidding process, Villarreal says Controls, Eggerding says, because of the
Trizec received proposals from six other conduits in the floor. The crew built additional
providers, but Johnson Controls came in glass walls for service door applications.
with a good design and competitive pricing.
More importantly, he adds, “they said they
New System Backbone Enables as a door location, Eggerding says . CCTV
Better Integration Flexibility cameras were also installed on certain floors,
Once the X-ray equipment portion had been such as the building’s sky lobby floors,
completed, Johnson Controls installed a which is a transfer floor to the elevators.
new network backbone with fiber optics and
hardwiring for door and elevator control. Door Johnson Controls also installed outdoor barrier
hardware was added to many locations on protection, but Eggerding and Villarreal could
the first floor – as well as other floors – but not elaborate further, citing security reasons.
the company kept the hardware that had
already been installed on some doors. Crew Transfers Information of 20K
Tenants Into New Access System
“This new system provides more flexibility Johnson Controls worked on the access
for the elevators,” Eggerding says. control upgrade in March 2002, right after the
integrator was awarded the bid. It created a
Next up was installing additional CCTV new access control database and transferred
cameras from American Dynamics. Johnson all of the information from the previous system.
Controls added dozens of cameras on the
first floor – consisting of a combination The integrator worked with the building’s
of high-definition black and white (B&W) operation and security team on this portion.
cameras and some color cameras. “We had 24,000 people who had their pictures
taken, so we had to find a way to convert
The cameras were linked to the Sears Tower’s those people into the new system without
CCTV system, made up of 10 [Intellex] digital having to take pictures again,” Eggerding
video recorders says. The daunting task was done in three
networked together months, making the June 3 deadline.
in the building’s main
control room. “The The fire portion of the security system was not
integrated system worked on much, Eggerding says, only that it
allows the cameras was integrated with what Johnson Control had
to have direct installed. The work consisted of hardwiring the
integration with the smoke, heat and other fire protection outputs
access control to the access control panels (mandated by
portion. It can give signals back to the CCTV code), then wiring them to the optical portals.
system to change location or to begin “We monitor more than 30,000 points on
recording,” explains Eggerding. the fire portion alone,” says Eggerding.

Building Floor Access Providing Service to Sears

Controlled Through Elevators Tower Is an Ongoing Process
After June 3, Johnson Controls worked its way Throughout this process, Villarreal, Eggerding
up to other floors, mounting new equipment and others held weekly meetings and
on top of elevators for access. This was an communicated with each other about three
intricate process since each floor would act times per week. “We would meet with Mark,
electricians and carpenters and go over
blueprints,” Villarreal says. “Then we would System Summary
repeat the process and go forward.” Project:
Sears Tower
It’s been more than a year since Johnson Location:
Controls installed this equipment. Eggerding Chicago, Illinois
says the company continues to upgrade and
Products:
install security equipment to the complex Cameras and Intellex
system. “We’re adding a new addressable
PA system throughout the building. We’re
continuously upgrading to keep current with
codes and with the building’s changing needs.”

So far, it has cost Trizec Properties millions

for the project – and counting. Eggerding
says “We have an obligation to the building.
It’s a partnership with Trizec, so we’re
very cognizant of cost and service.”

Villarreal, who has been security director of

the Sears Tower since 1997, says Trizec is
satisfied with the work and service Johnson
Controls has provided. “We’re fortunate to
have technicians on-site and have a phone
tree system so we can have someone
available on off-hours,” Villarreal affirms. ❑