After an extensive search for the right candidate for the CEO position at Milestone Systems, the Board of Directors is delighted to announce that Thomas Jensen has accepted the role. With his background in Hewlett-Packard and most recently in Europe’s largest IT integrator company Bechtle, Thomas Jensen is an executive leader with a strong global footprint that includes P&L responsibility for international businesses in software and hardware. He has deep business experience with IT and technology, and an understanding for the dynamics of business communities, technology partners and integrators. People are at the core of Thomas Jensen’s leadership philosophy, which resonates well with Milestone Systems’ Scandinavian leadership values and People First approach to management. Thomas Jensen said, “I am both humble and very proud to become part of Milestone Systems. Their strong focus on people was crucial to me when I accepted the position and I’m determined to continue with this as CEO. Combine this with Milestone Systems’ influence in transforming how video technology is used, both in security and in new applications beyond the industry, makes this a dream job for me.” Milestone is a strong company with a strong leadership team. Adding Thomas’ broad experience in strategy and execution puts us in a great position to achieve our goal of long-term sustainable growth for our community partners and for Milestone Systems   Thomas Jensen will join Milestone from Bechtle, Europe’s largest B2B IT service provider, where he was Executive Vice President and member of the Management Board. Before this, he was Head of Worldwide Channel Sales Strategy for HP Inc. in Palo Alto, California, United States, where he drove the global channel development. During the separation of Hewlett-Packard into HP Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, Thomas led the channel separation, and was responsible for preparing the new strategy and organization for the indirect revenue of HP Inc. Before moving to the United States, Thomas was General Manager for Hewlett-Packard’s PC & Print Division in Denmark. Thomas Jensen has also held leadership positions in Vestas Wind Systems and Maersk Line. He holds a Master of Science in International Business Administration from the University of Aalborg and has completed the Executive Board Program at INSEAD in France. Milestone Systems is a leading provider of open platform video management software; technology that helps the world see how to ensure safety, protect assets and increase business efficiency. Milestone enables an open platform community that drives collaboration and innovation in the development and use of network video technology, with reliable and scalable solutions that are proven in more than 500,000 installations worldwide. Founded in 1998, Milestone is a stand-alone company in the Canon Group.  

Monday morning in the office. Fabian starts his working day as usual by booting up his computer and in the meantime he’s preparing a latte in the coffee kitchen. As a municipal administrative employee Fabian works in the city hall of his hometown. All public buildings have particularly high fire safety requirements. But Fabian doesn’t think about that at all; he feels completely safe at his workplace. Various elements play an important role in building fire protection. Many details are specified in building regulations. Apart from the building design, which determines the escape routes, it is mainly the type of materials used and the use of fire detectors and sprinkler systems. The fire behaviour of numerous building materials is optimised by the targeted addition of flame retardants. These ensure that the materials are initially less flammable, and in the event of a fire, further slow down the spread of the fire. The choice of the appropriate flame retardant depends on the type of material and its use within the building. Fortunately, our LANXESS flame retardant experts have the necessary know-how to provide safe solutions. For example, the various insulating foams used in the construction industry are supplemented with the appropriate flame retardant products from LANXESS, such as Levagard® or Emerald Innovation® 3000. Equipment safely connected Fabian does not work alone in the city hall, of course, but together with numerous colleagues. Accordingly, many electronic devices are in continuous use here for many hours of the day. Therefore, not only are the building materials in a public building subject to strict fire protection regulations, but the electronics must also be safe. After all, cables, plugs and housings of computers, printers, copiers and more are exposed to the highest stress in everyday office life. How safe these devices are in terms of fire protection is already decided when the basic materials are put together. So it’s all the better if the right LANXESS flame retardants are added to these different products. Plugs, cables and electrical and electronic housings are made of different plastics – polyamides, polyesters, PVC and other polymers or rubber. Products from our Firemaster® or Uniplex series ensure operational reliability in the manufacture of connectors, as do Disflamoll® or Reofos® in cable production. As highly effective flame retardants in the housings, numerous manufacturers worldwide rely on LANXESS Firemaster 2100® and BA-59P™. For Fabian, this means that he can spend his daily working hours in the office without having to think about fire safety measures – and also get a sure caffeine kick from the office coffee machine at any time. Fire protection in the floor   Today Fabian is going home a little early. His grandmother is in hospital with a broken leg, and he wants to visit her quickly before dinner is served. In clinics and hospitals, safety is of course the top priority. This also includes fire protection as an extremely important safety aspect in the building. One focus is also on what is under the feet of patients, doctors, nurses, caregivers and visitors – the floor coverings. Here in the hospital, it is not only the robustness against mechanical stress that counts, but above all the resistance against fire and heat. Typical requirements for the materials of floor coverings are low flammability, slow flame spread in case of fire and low smoke density development. In order to gain valuable rescue seconds for all persons in an emergency and to secure escape routes as well as possible, highly effective LANXESS flame retardants such as Disflamoll® or Reofos® are added to the floor coverings. And Fabian and his grandmother? The two of them don’t even notice all the protective additives in the flooring, because they fulfill their safety mission in secret. So Grandma Grete is simply happy about the visit of her grandson – and Fabian is happy that he made it to his grandmother’s hospital as planned before dinner time. Every second counts So that people like Fabian can rightly place their trust in the modern products of our time, we at LANXESS are working systematically on safe and sustainable material solutions. Preventing and suppressing fires therefore plays a crucial role in material development. That’s why our research and development teams work every day to ensure compliance with strict fire safety standards in order to reduce the harmful effects of fires on people, property and the environment as far as possible in advance. This is because flame retardants are not only intended to prevent fires from starting, but also to slow down the spread of fire in the event of a fire. This creates saving seconds or minutes for escape from the danger zone and the deployment of auxiliary personnel. Such a time window can make all the difference in saving lives. We offer one of the world’s most comprehensive ranges of flame retardants and our development, consulting and sales teams support manufacturers in a wide range of product areas. LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 6.8 billion in 2019. The company currently has about 14,300 employees in 33 countries. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manufacturing and marketing of chemical intermediates, additives, specialty chemicals and plastics. LANXESS is listed in the leading sustainability indices Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI World and Europe) and FTSE4 Good.  

  Some technologies that seem to be very common now were first used in military fields – such as radar, GPS, and others. However, over time, the technology matured and products can now be put into mass production, resulting in significant cost reductions and making military technology more widely used in general civilian applications. Thermal technology is another example, and possibly the most exciting right now. Here’s why. Thermal technology works on the principle that objects above the absolute zero (-273°C) emit some amount of thermal radiation, or heat. Due to varying intensities of heat radiation, people, animals, and even inanimate objects can be clearly observed using thermal technology, even in the absence of light. Thermal technology has long been used in the field of security, especially in complex environments such as border protection, forest fire detection, airport security, and so on. This imaging technology remains unaffected by visual impediments such as fog or mist and so offers a unique type of performance in harsh conditions. While thermal technology is fairly well known, experience with thermal cameras is not so common. Users often mistakenly believe that they are only installed in large and expensive projects as they are almost always associated with high-end PTZ cameras. In recent years, with the rapid development of thermal detector technology, coupled with the popularization of the use of thermal products in the application side, the cost of using thermal technology has dropped sharply. So, can thermal cameras be used in small and medium business markets, or even home security? Rethinking thermal cameras For SMBs users, preventing intrusion is one of the most important measures in protecting property. Business owners and operators are usually more focused on alarm accuracy and the ability of a security system to monitor after business hours, most commonly at night. Some core areas such as the power room in an office building have high standards for security requirements. Conventional CCTV systems can cater to the needs of surveillance during the day, but at night, criminals can still quietly approach and damage power facilities under cover of darkness, suspending normal operations. Additionally, increased operating costs due to false alarms is also a hot item for SMBs. The most common false alarms are caused by small animals and falling leaves. Here, thermal equipment is already making life easier for many users. Thermal cameras integrated with deep learning algorithms can classify people and vehicles, alerting security staff only when these two objects enter the monitoring area to reduce false alarms. Therefore, thermal cameras, free from special lighting requirements, can and should be applied in a wider variety of scenarios since they can easily do the job needed. They have strong environmental adaptability and can bolster perimeter protection with high accuracy detection in unpredictable lighting or bad weather. Furthermore, with the implementation of GDPR guidelines, thermal cameras are also increasingly being used in residential communities. According to regulations in residential perimeter protection scenarios, cameras with visible light channels are not allowed to capture images in local neighborhoods due to privacy risks over personal data. Fortunately, the ‘fuzzy’ video rendered by thermal imaging does not violate privacy issues while guaranteeing high-quality detection. Prama Hikvision: Affordable prices, consistent performance With breakthroughs in imaging, algorithms, and intelligent applications, Prama Hikvision has introduced a new affordable thermal camera, which is designed for perimeter protection and fire prevention. This thermal camera is specifically designed for short-range monitoring – up to 70 meters – so they are really best-suited for perimeter protection in SMB markets such as residential areas, office buildings, and factories. When a target enters the surveillance range, an automatic alert can be triggered to inform security personnel – a process unaffected by light or weather conditions. Most importantly, this thermal camera series opens up new opportunities for SMB users, both in terms of affordable prices and outstanding performance.  

With the rapid technological developments around us, more and more industries embrace digitization. For example, the Internet of Things, automation, virtual and augmented reality, and machine learning take production and business processes to the next step. However, the engineering & construction industry (E&C) – with 13 percent of global GDP the largest in the world – has been notably reluctant to adopt new and digital technology. Disruption of the construction industry But there is a wind of change as building projects get more and more complex. Digital technology is increasingly used to create smart buildings and smart cities. The development is snowballing and already disrupting the E&C industry. New players are introducing digital business models. Change is also driven by the public sector, which sees massive advantages of adopting digital technology, such as 4D and 5D building information modeling (BIM).   BIM, defined as “a digital representation of physical and functional characteristics of a facility,” can be used to manage the information during a construction project. It covers every component of a building and the process from design to operation and maintenance to end-of-life. It improves collaboration across projects as well as efficiency, which reduces time, costs, and errors. The use of BIM models can lower error sources by 60 percent and speed up the communication flow by 50 percent. Small wonder that large organizations and governments are starting to demand the use of BIM, including Finland and the UK. The big German railway company Deutsche Bahn has introduced the use of 5D BIM solutions. Getting the right software 5D BIM brings together design (3D), time management (4D), and budget (5D). With the addition of 6D and 7D, environmental and sustainability, and life-cycle management aspects are also included. To reap the benefits of BIM, you need software that can handle the information about a building or structure. One leading software is Autodesk® Revit®, which is used by architects, structural engineers, MEP (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing) engineers as well as designers and contractors. Configuration tutorial: Axis plugin for Autodesk® Revit® – How to select cameras One of the benefits of Revit is the possibility of analyzing and simulating systems and constructions and creating 3D visualization models. The building blocks of these models are BIM objects, which are digital descriptions of products and materials and can cover practically everything you could imagine. And it is here that Axis enters the picture. Plugin for superior video surveillance The Axis camera family plugin for Revit is a goldmine for anyone who wants to add cameras or other surveillance products when planning entire IP video surveillance systems directly in a building plan. You can download it for free from axis.com, and start downloading cameras and other Axis BIM objects from your preferred BIM library. Explaining why Axis has made these BIM objects available, Mikael Flygh, globally responsible for the Axis Architects & Engineers program, says: “It’s about innovation and understanding our partners. The objective is to simplify and help them be more efficient. Our plugin and the BIM objects let them see how the video surveillance will work, already at the drawing stage.” Experience the final solution Flygh continues: “The 3D animations let you see how the cameras fit into the general architecture. Not only will it create better safety and security solutions; you – and the end-customer – can also experience the final product, which is important.” All Axis cameras are available as realistic 3D BIM objects. Using the selector tool embedded in the plugin, you can quickly choose a suitable camera. Downloaded to your building plan, you get valuable information about the cameras, such as focal range and resolution. You can adjust focal length, pan-tilt-zoom, and other settings. You can experience a 3D view, as seen through the camera lens. It is also easy to change and get the right mounting. When you are satisfied with the camera placement, it is easy to verify the entire solution’s camera coverage. Continuous improvements Axis plugin for AutoDesk® Revit® has been around for some years, but “During the last 12 months, we’ve committed to updating it, listening to and acting on customer feedback,” says Flygh. The improvements will continue, and Axis will add new products to the BIM libraries, and new features upon their release. For example, the plan is to introduce multi-sensor cameras during the third quarter of 2020. It involves the entire value chain, reducing errors and misunderstandings, improving efficiency and communication. “We will continue to invest in this because we believe in digitization,” Flygh says. “It involves the entire value chain, reducing errors and misunderstandings, improving efficiency and communication, but above all, it’s about the end-customer experience.” Covering various needs Axis offers several tools that will help you during the planning and design phase. One example is a plugin for Trimble® Sketchup® that provides 3D CAD models that let you find the right camera and visualize its coverage.