Category: Case Study

Chubb is helping to protect employees, visitors and property through a significant new contract with Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service to install, upgrade, maintain and monitor fire alarm systems throughout the Service’s entire estate. Chubb, a leading provider of security and fire-safety solutions, is a part of UTC Climate, Controls & Security, a unit of United Technologies Corp. Michael Johnson, Environment, Energy and Engineering Officer, Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service, says that Chubb was chosen over four other suppliers because it scored highest against benchmarked requirements: “The presentation was highly informative and professional, which has proven to be the hallmark of the service we receive from Chubb,” said Michael. The contract includes 28 fire stations, two community safety centres, Cheshire Fire and Rescue’s Sadler Road site and the new innovative safety centre based in Lymm. Each site is a different size and specification, requiring detailed individual assessments. Some stations required new custom systems to be designed; in other buildings, existing systems were upgraded. A combination of addressable fire alarm systems and conventional alarms were used, depending on the individual site’s requirements. “The fact that Chubb is a national brand with a local office was another important factor in our supplier decision. The service we have received has been second to none. Communication has been excellent with regular updates, and challenges were met with a common sense approach. I felt my requirements were always championed by our Chubb account manager. We have found that the customer is at the forefront of the Chubb approach,” said Johnson. The primary goal of the new contract is to ensure all sites meet BS5839 L2 fire alarm safety standards. These standards are designed to provide automatic fire detection on all escape routes within a building and rooms leading onto those escape routes. For Cheshire, it was also important that the supplier have the expertise and capacity to complete installations and upgrades on a very tight deadline. “The Service has been extremely impressed with the speed in which the contract has been mobilised. Even though we needed to add another fire station, all works were completed safely,” said Johnson. All alarms are monitored by Chubb’s alarm receiving centre, which notifies keyholders and relevant emergency services if a fire is detected and alarm raised. The contact also includes maintenance and servicing requirements.

Solar Power Station at Bragin was built in August 2016 and is currently the biggest solar power facility in Belarus. Its power capacity amounts to 18.48 MW with an area equal to 60 football fields. The project is implemented not far from Chernobyl and serves as an example of alternative development of the territories affected by the nuclear disaster. Solar Power Station at Bragin has won the nomination ‘Technologies and projects based on renewable energy sources’ and also the 1st place at the Republican contest ‘Leader of Energy Efficiency 2016.’ Uniview provided video surveillance solution for the Solar Power Station. Solution highlights Anti-static: Usually, a power station generates a lot of static which would influence devices’ working. UNV IP cameras are all certified by CE and tested through ESD (Electronic Static Discharge). All of cameras are able to bear 4KV contact discharge and 8KV air discharge which are in the highest level of the industry. The project used NVR516 which features 32/ 64ch strong decoding ability and redundant design, and RAID for the highest level data safety. Perimeter protection: UNV IP cameras are mainly used along the fence. Occupying such a huge area, it would be difficult for security staff to discover if someone breaks into the area. With intrusion detection, UNV IP camera would send and alarm within seconds and help security staff react quickly.

The Odyssey Complex, a premier entertainment venue in Belfast that plays host to many of the city’s high-profile concerts, exhibitions and sporting events, has installed a futureproofed IP security solution that ensures its 1,000,000 visitors each year can enjoy the facilities in a safe and secure environment. The vast 23-acre site comprises the SSE Arena; a pavilion including restaurants, shops and a cinema; the W5 Science and Discovery Centre; as well as a 1,500-space car park. The new system, consisting of more than 140 IP cameras from Axis Communications, replaces an analogue CCTV solution which was nearing the end of its technical life cycle. It produces better quality images and makes it easier for the onsite security teams to investigate crimes and identify individuals of interest. The IP camera system was installed by Diamond Systems, an Axis Partner and specialist in electronic fire and security solutions. The inclusion of HD IP cameras, which feature Axis’ innovative Lightfinder technology with extreme light sensitivity, provide security teams with more life-like colours in low-light conditions, vital within the arena during sporting events and concerts. Brian Hughes, Group Head of Facilities at The Odyssey Complex, states, “The safety of our patrons is of paramount importance to the complex, which is why we have taken this step to invest in a future proof system. Upgrading to HD IP camera technology made complete sense to us as we strive to maintain our status as the leading event facility in Northern Ireland. “Through the use of intelligent applications such as Lightfinder we can be confident that we have the technology to support our unique security needs. Working closely with Axis and Diamond Systems, we were also keen to ensure the system had capacity to include analytics in the future. This could include customer footfall and queue management, bringing benefits in terms of operational effectiveness, guest satisfaction and, of course, visitor safety,” says Steve Snoddon, Managing Director at Diamond Systems, “We installed the original CCTV system 17 years ago when the complex was first developed. While providing value at the time, technology has progressed at such a rapid pace since that it was time for us to re-evaluate the technology available to support its requirements.” Peter Dempsey, Key Account Manager at Axis Communications, comments, “We wanted something that would not only incorporate today’s leading technology and maintain a high level of cybersecurity, but also prepare the complex for its security needs in the future. As the leading entertainment venue of its kind in Northern Ireland, the Odyssey’s security requirements are continuously evolving. Our commitment to really understand the business, and partnering with organisations such as Diamond Systems, ensured we could deliver a solution that was tailored to its needs.”  

Vicente López, one of the 135 districts that make up the Buenos Aires province, started a project at the end of 2011 to modernize and expand the city’s video surveillance system. In addition to capturing criminal activity, the project’s main goal has always been to reduce crime through preventive measures. Stretching over 33 square kilometers, Vicente López is home to about 300,000 people. In recent years, the flow of population that moves through the district has risen considerably. Thousands move daily through the region on their way to and from the federal capital, via personal or public transport. These demands, together with other phenomena, made a high demand for the city’s video surveillance system to be improved. “Today, we have 1,000 cameras in public channels and another 100 connected in the local security guards’ and civil defense cell phones. In addition, we count on the urban monitoring center, the heart of our video surveillance system, and ten local preventive detachments that use their own monitoring centers. This decentralizes security to key areas in the district,” said Martín Gasulla, Deputy Security Secretary of Vicente López while remembering that in the past the system had only 60 cameras, not all of which functioned properly. The city benefits from a wide array of cameras made by Pelco, Bosch and Axis Communications that range from PTZ to anti-vandalism, in both dome and fixed models. In addition, Vicente López has different alarm systems, panic buttons, lights and a digital dispatch console, which are connected to police cell phones. Unifying technology The project’s main challenge became finding a platform that supported all these security systems. “The first step was to unify the three existing video management systems into one, which worked until we reached a certain growth point, when we opted for a more robust solution,” explained Gustavo A. Vilches, Director of Exanet S.A., the integrator company involved. Exanet chose Milestone XProtect Professional video management software (VMS) to manage the project’s demand for a growing number of cameras. “One of this solution’s biggest advantages as an open platform that allows us to offer additional solutions to our clients,” Vilches explained. The Vicente López system is connected by fiber network optics: the cameras capture an image, the content moves through the network to the VMS and is displayed in the urban monitoring center, which also includes a data center and storage servers. Normally, the protected information remains there for 30 days, unless there is a special petition by judicial authorities or police to use or view it. Santiago Espeleta, Vicente López Secretary of Security says, “One of the biggest changes in daily operations is being able to integrate other solutions like analytics technology, which has led to better results for crime prevention and decision-making.” According to him, one of the project’s biggest challenges was the financing by public resources. “This is our residents’ money, and for this reason every decision was made extra carefully. We couldn’t afford the luxury of making errors, so we searched for top-of-the-line providers, analyzed them and made a decision,” he affirmed. The advantages According to district authorities, the objective between now and 2019 is to increase the video system to 1,500 cameras that record in full HD, 365 days of the year. Vilches says they are studying the possibility of upgrading to Milestone XProtect Corporate VMS to leverage its federated architecture.  

Arecont Vision® announces the availability of the AV NVR™ all-in-one network video recorder series. “Customers have increasingly requested that Arecont Vision provide them with a NVR platform for their small to mid-sized project requirements,” said Brad Donaldson, Vice President of Product Development, Arecont Vision, “The new AV NVR will address those specific needs, while our ongoing integration with the industry’s leading hardware and software providers will continue for customer projects of all sizes.”     The AV NVR offers the choice of 8 or 16 channel models (one channel = one camera sensor), each with built in PoE network switch, customer-replaceable hard drives, and Arecont Vision GUI interface. Smart plug-and-play technology simplifies setup with both auto discover and auto configuration. Camera licenses are included for a complete all-in-one solution. A free mobile app is available for remote viewing and playback. A power status utility and instant playback capability round out the AV NVR series capabilities. Both the AV NVR AV800 and AV1600 models offer H.264, H.265, and MJPEG compression. Arecont Vision SNAPstream™ (Smart Noise Adaptation and Processing) technology reduces bandwidth without impacting image quality. The 8 channel AV800 model offers up to 10MP resolution recording per sensor, including 4K resolution and 40MP panoramic cameras. The AV1600 offers 16 channels and up to 5MP resolution recording per sensor. For maximum video recording reliability, WD Purple Surveillance Hard Drives from Western Digital are included in with-drive configurations. No-drive configurations are available for customers wishing to install their own hard disk drives within Arecont Vision recommendations. The AV1600 could be configured up to 16 channels in the same manner, using a variety of Arecont Vision camera choices. Designed for use with Arecont Vision-brand single and multi-sensor cameras, ONVIF type S cameras are also supported.  

Gasunie, the leading Dutch natural gas infrastructure and transportation company has recently selected IPSecurityCenter™ to integrate and manage critical security assets across the Netherlands and Germany. The CNL IPSecurityCenter PSIM was chosen following a lengthy and detailed tender selection process throughout 2017, and will be delivered by CNL Software’s Dutch partner, Mactwin Security, as part of a 10-year contract. Whilst PSIM platforms have traditionally focused on core security subsystems, there is increasing demand for companies to address the proliferation of IoT devices, sensors and related subsystems. Being entirely agnostic to the type of underlying subsystem, IPSecurityCenter is perfectly placed to leverage all technologies that support the overall security mission for Gasunie. “We take great pride in the quality of our software, and the people and supporting services that accompany it,” commented James Condron, Global VP Sales and Marketing for CNL Software, on the award, “Not only does this project further underline our credentials in the critical national infrastructure market, it also demonstrates our strategy to partner with best of breed providers in a variety of territories. We are delighted to have been selected for such a prestigious European project and look forward to working closely with the teams at Mactwin Security and Gasunie.” CNL Software’s IPSecurityCenter PSIM Solution provides a single view of organizations critical security and life safety systems, increasing emergency preparedness, delivering intelligence to the point of need and providing process guidance to enhance security responses.  

Milestone Systems’ open platform IP video management software (VMS) helps giving peace of mind to the residents and visitors of Las Ramblas in Cayala City, Guatemala. Milestone Systems’ XProtect® Expert software, an open platform technology, was chosen for managing IP-networked video and maintaining continual surveillance over the city’s projects. Network video cameras from Axis Communications are also used, some with crossline detection video analytics. EMC Isilon servers provide the data storage. The open platform Milestone software is compatible with the previously installed security equipment unifying the interface between differences in brand, while featuring larger capacities (in its servers as well), which optimizes resources. The combined solution also integrates easily with existing human resources and procedures, making the process of obtaining valuable information, taking action and preventing incidents more efficient. Designed by urban planner Leon Krier, Cayalá is located in Guatemala’s capital city. His objective was to create a virtually independent city within the capital, away from crime and the problems known commonly to affect it. The initial project began in the 1980s when the land was purchased. The first residential areas that were built stood out due to their signature white walls but this closed city model led to some criticism related to class division and isolation of the Guatemalan upper class. As a result, the city’s residential community, Las Ramblas, is an open zone that forms a part of the commercial area and the Cayalá offices. Las Ramblas and the project’s future residential phases do not have walls, but are instead open, connected areas. It was exactly this aspect of Las Ramblas that led to its security systems – specifically those designed for open areas – being put to the test. The goal was to maintain the same standard of existing security among the other phases of the Cayalá project. A plan that integrates technology, infrastructure and people In order to carry out a challenge of such magnitude, the city selected Milestone Systems XProtect Expert software as its technological platform. Working together with human resources and processes, it provides the necessary information to take action and prevent security incidents.n Cayalá there are more than 1,500 residences, over 400 offices and businesses, and over 50 lofts. At times, the area involves more than 20,000 visitors daily. Thus, one of the clear and principal objectives was to offer a safe environment for visitors and residents; as a result, Cayalá took on the idea of being a ‘Safe City’ from the beginning. Reaping the benefits of a successful program With an investment of over 2 million dollars in technology, Cayalá has been able to introduce the concept of a ‘Safe City.’ The routes of its residents and visitors alike are monitored thanks to a combination of over 120 elements provided by human resources, processes and technologies, which together make it possible to obtain information, take action and prevent security breaches.