Is working abroad an option for a security installer? This report looks at European standards and the highs and lows of installing on foreign shores...
As professionals making a living from the many different types of security systems available, we like to think that the technologies we promote and install in the UK are of the highest possible standard and recognised as such in the wider world. We trust that our home industry is viewed by other countries as technically advanced and innovative and that we have a strong influence on the way harmonised standards are being produced for the future.

We also like to believe that as we travel in Europe we will see somewhat similar installations to those of our own (albeit with some deviations due to local civil engineering preferences and conditions).

BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS

We are now at the stage where we are obliged to become more familiar with European Standards, their relevance and how they affect all those involved with security. It is known and accepted that the purpose of these Standards is to eliminate barriers to trade across the European Union, thereby leading to a more competitive working structure for manufacturers and installers alike.

In the electrotechnical field, it has always been recommended that countries reduce national standards development in favour of work at international level, because national standards that contradict European or International Standards create these barriers.

WRONG ... OR JUST DIFFERENT?

It is vital that we move towards harmonising our standards in an attempt to have similar practices in Europe initially and then on a worldwide scale. However, there will always be local and national preferences and some time-honoured concepts of installing and manufacturing must be slow to change.

As we travel abroad, either on business or on holiday, and reflect on the techniques employed in other countries, we see practices that may seem rather obscure or, in some cases, wrong. This is because we have methods that are time-honoured and understood and so we feel comfortable with them. In addition, we appreciate the marketing reality that in many cases clients do not want to upgrade or change systems, especially where the installation is difficult and would lead to upheaval and related costs.

In such circumstances they will wait until the building is to be refurbished, which may not be for a considerable period of time. Progress can be slow and although we rightly look for harmonisation of electrical standards there will always be local difficulties that dictate how quickly things can change or be brought in line. This can be illustrated if we look at Spain, where I have often worked. My main points are directed to cabling, as in most installations this forms the bulk of the workload.

WORKING IN SPAIN

Spain has long been an attraction. It is easily accessed, has a welcoming climate – particularly around the Mediterranean fringes – and has an economy in keeping with that of the UK.

However, on the working side, it suffers from high youth unemployment, it has high taxes and national insurance contributions, and trading can only be carried out by a business when both opening and fiscal licences are held.

In the electrical area its colour coding, protective earthing and circuit protection differs widely from that of our own. In so far as electronic security is concerned, it has a strong and well-founded access control market, a CCTV industry similar to the UK's, a less-in-demand intruder industry and nurse call sector, but it holds good potential for expansion of its fire alarms and emergency lighting networks.

The vast majority of the population tends to be housed in apartment blocks around the coastal fringes, where it is more affordable, or inland in the major cities, where once again the accommodation is within financial reach.

Spain has a strong and well-founded access control market, a CCTV industry similar to the UK’s, a less-in-demand intruder industry and nurse call sector, but it holds good potential for expansion of its fire alarms and emergency lighting networks

The difficult inner terrain of the land creates difficulty for many housing projects or services so in the main there are pockets of highly populated areas rather than a general spread of housing across the country. This leads to much communal living in apartments or older rows of terraced housing, as detached houses or villas in desirable areas are expensive and specialised.

CABLING NIGHTMARE!

The construction of a building always influences how an installation must be surveyed for cabling and dictates the way in which the security system will actually be used.

In Spain, the practice of running in all wiring at the construction stage of a premises is different to the UK's: there, the technique is to use flexible tubing fed to all appropriate points of the building. The cables are then pulled into these tubes, which are then embedded into the concrete or plaster so that they are no longer accessible. The practice for general mains wiring is to use single insulated conductors, however for access control systems or other security wiring this is essentially the same as that with which we are familiar in the UK.

Once the tubes have been embedded, it is rarely possible to remove or install new or additional wiring within them. It is also impossible to observe cable runs – only simple wiring checks can be carried out at a limited number of inspection boxes.

To compound the problem, most buildings have few or no voids for the installation of further wiring: it is not the norm to build houses or apartment blocks with loft spaces or suspended ceilings, there is little use of skirting boards or carpets, and because of the common use of tiling on walls and floors, cabling becomes even more difficult to route in a concealed manner. In addition, the dividing walls between apartments or rooms in the same building tend to be solid and are often so thin that damage can be caused to the wall of the adjoining property or room if attempts are made to chase them out without extreme care. Hotels employ similar construction techniques.

MARKET POTENTIAL

The Spanish market suggests a different security potential from that of our own, but it also welcomes harmonised systems.

There are many apartment buildings in Spain that have no fire detection or emergency lighting facilities but the sheer complexity of introducing the cables to enable this creates huge difficulties. In the care industry, many old premises even fail to have any nurse call system, despite being licensed.

Surface wiring detracts from any installation and in many cases even this is not an option. The use of an array of containments, such as trunking or conduit, would be a grudge to accept, so the intruder industry generally supports radio systems to negate the wiring problem.

In any event, is fair to say that the intruder market is not as viable as in the UK because of the greater use of wrought ironwork across windows and doors. Indeed, in many apartment blocks the only access point beyond the communal entry door is via the particular apartment door, which can easily be protected physically with support by a code lock with an audible output. The CCTV industry exists only in specialised domestic properties but is becoming more common in commercial and industrial areas.

The access control market remains extremely healthy. All apartment blocks and housing areas with a communal door or entry point have an access control system or basic intercom with telephone facilities to interrogate a visitor at its remote entry point. These have timed entries with tradesman access at prescribed periods, plus door release facilities, and they often also give entry to a car park protected by a barrier with entry granted by a token, code or special key. These access systems may also extend beyond audio access to video imaging. A growth market is the upgrading of the audio-only versions to give visual interrogation.

PLANNING THE FUTURE

European Standards

European Standards are recognised by the prefix EN (Euro Norm); if this is prefixed by BS, it shows that it has also been adopted as a British Standard. In reality, the shift towards European Standards is not new in the electrical sector, but it is becoming more apparent now in the security area so it is something we must gear our operations towards when trading in Europe. Beyond Europe there is a further influx of security standards, often being influenced by North American practices that have well-founded electrical engineering industries, related specifications and firmly established practices.

Meanwhile, in France...

Elsewhere in Europe, the French market for electronic security is increasing by around 8 per cent per year. A great deal of this growth is due to the high demand for remote surveillance and access control by organisers of sporting events, managers of premises located in sensitive areas, high risk businesses and large car parks among others. Access control is growing by 15 per cent per year and is spreading to places such as educational establishments and campsites. Although access is most often granted by the input of a code, new systems developed by the French industry are increasingly incorporating biometric identification, such as fingerprint or iris recognition.