On the Case

IP travels well

Romec Electronic Security is providing a range of pioneering security solutions to protect high street travel retailer Thomas Cook.

Around 600 Thomas Cook outlets across the UK will benefit from the introduction of Romec's NetSec IP system, an alternative to traditional monitoring systems said to offer increased security, greater flexibility and significant cost savings.

"This is one of the largest roll-outs of its kind in the UK," said Romec's National Security Director, Tony Cahill.

The introduction of NetSec IP is part of a wider, three-year contract for the provision of maintenance and monitoring.

Romec has developed NetSec IP in conjunction with leading manufacturers in communications. The range transmits encrypted data over a range of media including customers' own IP networks or broadband DSL network.

Dual signalling using GSM, GPRS, PSTN and ISDN is also possible.

Safer Orange

Chubb is protecting employees of Orange with a mobile telecomms and security monitoring solution.

The two companies have devised a system that can identify, locate and assist lone workers out in the field in the event of difficulty. Orange has upwards of 200 staff working alone at any one time, performing installation, service and maintenance duties to its nationwide network of masts and ancillary telecommunications equipment.

Orange engineers can find themselves in remote and potentially hostile environments at all times of the day or night.

Chubb devised a way of integrating existing mobile technology, which all of Orange's engineers carry, with their own security monitoring. This allows Orange to get to any worker in trouble within a specified time period and also meets new provisions in the Health & Safety at Work Act.

Each of the mobiles carried by the lone workers has its own URN and a dedicated line through to Chubb's Security Monitoring Centre. The client agrees a specific time period for each engineer to report in or be contacted. Details are displayed at the monitoring centre and verified.

If, for whatever reason, the engineer fails to report, this is immediately flagged and the monitoring centre calls the engineer's mobile. If he fails to respond, a mobile patrol is despatched by Chubb's Emergency Response operation.

At all times Chubb keeps the customer fully informed of developments, and a precise log of all calls received and made, and the time taken to respond.

Brian Bussey, Chubb's National Control Room Manager, said that unlike traditional 'fixed site' systems that relied on radio frequencies, for example, there is no hard wiring or installation costs.

Zoom powered

Industrial Covert Unlimited based in Michigan supplied CCTV equipment to the fourth largest coal fired power plant in the USA.

Zoom lenses from Rainbow CCTV have recently been installed at the Monroe Power Plant on the shores of Lake Erie, Michigan (below). The units are being used on perimeter cameras around the 800 acres of the plant – described by Reuters news agency as “one of the most efficient coal-fired generating plants in the United States”.

Clearly a success

Chelmsford-based ClearView Communications won the contract to carry out an innovative installation at the port of Southampton.

Vicon's VFT external domes from their Surveyor range are being used in the installation for Associated British Ports.

The networked installation covers the three main passenger terminals, including the berthing area used by the QEII.

The Southampton project is unusual in that in order to install cameras to provide coverage of all the areas required by the customer it was necessary to use a variety of techniques to transmit the captured images across the network including wired and wireless IP. The Surveyor VFT dome provided an ideal solution as in addition to twisted pair output, the VFT dome offers three additional on-board transmission options – IP, fibre and, if required, coaxial cable.

The TCP/IP network module offers direct-to-network, digital video for recording and viewing on any ViconNet PC workstation or Kollector Elite recorder.

Paul Main, Commercial Director of ClearView, said the Vicon Surveyor VFT dome was chosen because it has twisted pair output. Conventional coaxial cable did not have to be used as twisted pair can be run over long distances, an important factor in the installation.

The customer had also specified that the equipment could cope with high wind resistance and high levels of salt.

Fully in control

Integrated CCTV systems specialists, G1 won the contract to build a new security control room for The Mall Selborne Walk in Walthamstow, East London.

The Mall Selborne Walk has been operating for 18 years and is one of 22 malls operated and owned by the Mall Group in the UK.

The new CCTV system includes the video monitoring of the interior of the shopping centre building, retail shop fronts and car park using Pelco Spectra III series high speed dome cameras.

Inside the control room are 4 JVC 17-inch high resolution LCD monitors, mounted on Ergotron stands and located on the operator's desk.

These are used for monitoring alarms, CCTV camera images, shopping centre car park images and spot monitoring. For recording of video images, the system incorporates an Integral DigitalSentry digital recording system by Tour Andover Controls enabling any event to be located within 3 to 4 seconds. Motion detection is also being used for the first time.

Six JVC TM-A210G high resolution colour monitors are installed in a monitor wall at eye level for CCTV image monitoring.

Alex Bagnall, Operations Manager at the mall said "The service from G1 has been very good and the quality of the CCTV images and monitors are excellent."

Advanced motoring

A sophisticated vehicle number plate recognition system installed by Security Design Centre at a business park in Uxbridge is said to be "one of the most advanced in Europe".

The installation at Stockley Park completes security measures at the 400 acre parkland site by Security Design Centre Ltd, who upgraded and expanded the original CCTV system over four years ago. The ongoing development of the contract included a new state of the art control centre.

Number plates of vehicles entering the park are automatically recorded via CCTV cameras and relayed to a secure database. The two-lane system is designed to capture vehicle identification day or night and can be programmed to record speeds of up to 100mph

The information is used to measure traffic flow and automatically control access through barriers, allowing entry to official company personnel, selected customers or disabled drivers. It also alerts control centre staff to unauthorised vehicle movement, and will 'police' pre-selected speed limits entering the site.

Unauthorised vehicles wishing to gain access have to use a two way communication system linked to the control centre.

Security Design Centre Ltd manages a number of VNR systems around the UK including the prestigious Blythe Valley Business Park in the West Midlands.

Intelligent 'core'

Reflex has supplied a state of the art integrated access control systems to Thomas Rotherham College in Rotherham, South Yorkshire.

As UK sole supplier of the new Primion intelligent access control solution, Reflex was able to deliver the latest in technology to meet the college's current and future requirements.

Thomas Rotherham College, a modern sixth Form College has 2600 students spread across five separate facilities. It needed a safety and security upgrade to meet the increasing demands on the current systems. The existing access control system had only limited scalability and a more expandable module was required. Some existing additional barrier and gating needed to be incorporated into the new system.

It now has one central technology 'core' which intelligently controls access to all areas of its facilities, which is web enabled and operates effectively over the IP network.

Dave Kynman, group sales director for Reflex, said: "As the college expands further, more sophisticated features such as smart card technology, biometrics and IP-based CCTV systems can be added on with ease."

Integrated biometrics are possible, depending on the customer's exact requirements. The central core controls and manages the entire system. Any PC on the network can access the server via web-enabled authorisation.

IP replacement

Rising costs of CCTV maintenance due to frequent camera breakdowns led Batt Cables plc, a specialist in cable distribution, to look for a more cost-effective security system.

"Our CCTV analogue cameras were costing too much to repair in terms of both time and money," said Steve Morrish, National Operations Manager

The company chose a Mobotix security and surveillance IP system to replace the old system.

Morrish said the IP based system was easily added to their network and with cameras having no moving parts, no maintenance was required. Cameras can be viewed from any PC over the internet with password security.

Twelve cameras were installed, all using motion detection to activate recording.

A camera facing the main entrance captures the registration plate of every vehicle that enters the site. These images are stored locally on a server and can be accessed using search criteria such as the time the image was taken.

The company had suffered nighttime burglaries in the past so the system is now able to cope with poor lighting conditions.

Cameras have 1.3 megapixels and provide high quality colour images with watermarks to prevent tampering, so that the images can be used as evidence.

Academic achievement

Siemens has installed a 32-camera CCTV system at Manchester Academy.

The Academy has undergone a massive transformation with the opening of a purpose-built 'state of the art' comprehensive school with extensive playing fields.

As part of the redevelopment, Siemens installed the Pelco equipment to protect both the inside and outside of the building

The Academy now has nine Pelco Spectra III dome cameras located around the outside of the building, whilst a further two Pelco Spectra fully functional dome cameras are positioned inside the building, one in the café, with the second at the sports hall entrance.

All the cameras are linked to two Pelco DX8000 digital video recorders, housed in the main server room within Manchester Academy.

The system was designed by the client and Siemens who, in turn, worked to a brief provided by the M&E consultants, Buro Happold.

The new academy building houses a range of facilities from fully equipped laboratories and workshops through to teaching rooms, darkrooms, lecture rooms and an auditorium.

Seen and heard

Thanks to a new hospital paging system suppled and installed by Tyco Integrated Systems of Cambridge, the deaf and partially deaf at the advanced Diagnostic Treatment Centre Hospital in Plymouth now enjoy the same facilities as the able bodied.

The system uses special Deaf Alert vibrating radio pagers with alphanumeric messaging and is designed to meet stringent requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) which requires service providers such as hospitals, schools, and public buildings to provide the deaf and partially deaf with the same access to services and safety standards that others take for granted.

It also meets the latest BS5839-1 fire detection and alarm requirements for fast response, self-monitoring and automatic fault notification.

The system is interfaced to a fire alarm system provided by ADT allowing automatic message broadcast in the event of a fire. It's also linked to a Tyco (Zettler) Medical Nurse Call system including Cardiac Alarm Call and other important staff messaging facilities allowing rapid paging of medical staff in emergencies.

Tyco Integrated Systems won the contract after successfully demonstrating the full capabilities of the paging system at the hospital.

Oval improvement

A major part of the redevelopment of the Oval cricket ground in south London centred on the provision of an integrated voice alarm and PA system by Millbank now part of Vision Systems and well-known for its Adpro video security and Vesda smoke detection brands.

Millbank was specified on the project by Hiltons, a leading specialist contracting company with a history of successful installations in sports stadiums.

A powerful, multi-functional system has been designed that combines evacuation facilities with entertainment and presentation capabilities.

Vision's Neil Voce said the design for the new Vauxhall End had been conceived as a complete standalone system, capable of 'instruct', 'inform', and 'entertain' functions.

"It became apparent early on in the project that the system would also need to control sound in the older Pavilion End, and be able to accept inputs from this end for commentary," Voce says.

"The 1980s system fitted at that time was not covering the client's basic requirements. It was only really operating as one single zone, and was totally devoid of any of the main safety features, such as battery back up. That being the case, we entered into negotiations with Surrey CCC to replace the old system."

The installation of the new system, which deploys fireproof cabling and offers eight separately-addressable zones, began in January this year.

"The installation has been a complex project due to the age and infrastructure of the existing main Pavilion, which comprises three different buildings," adds Voce.

"They have now been unified under one system."