Earth moving

IDS Fire & Security won the bid to specify and design the integrated system at Hebburn Business Park, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne.

HM Plant is Hitachi's official importer of mid-range excavators and its leading European distributor. At any one time excavators worth £10-20 million are held ready for distribution.

"Securing that stock within a factory and distribution environment calls for examination of all the key security and site management factors that could affect the smooth operation of the business," said General Works Manager, Tom Worrall.

He invited a number of installers to supply a tender bid and on awarding the tender to IDS he met with Colin Dowson, director, IDS Fire & Security, to evaluate and finalise potential solutions for the site.

"We discussed every security and management scenario HM Plant faced,” he said. “Being NSI NACOSS Gold approved and accredited to ISO 9001:2000, overall, IDS's professional solution provides us with an integrated CCTV, access control, traffic management, perimeter protection, and intruder and fire alarm system; to provide an extremely high-level of protection, 24-hours a day.”

IDS needed to make watertight the site's perimeters, entry and exit points, and access to internal areas. Monitoring the factory and stock had to take account of the possibility of theft, vandalism, or arson.

High quality images of incoming and outgoing vehicles and their loads were needed to monitor precise condition of stock, perhaps as evidence to confirm a customer query, or an insurance claim.

Said Worrall: "Recently, a third party haulier transporting an excavator en route to a customer collided with a low-level bridge, causing quite an amount of damage. On examination of CCTV video footage of the carrier's vehicle leaving our premises, we could see and substantiate that the fault lay clearly with the haulier, who had not properly loaded the excavator for transportation."

Faster installation

The site's main gatehouse houses the control equipment for 24-hour monitoring. To achieve image quality from full sunlight to night-time floodlighting, IDS specified Mark Mercer D150 QuickSwitch Discovery external dome cameras.

The QuickSwitch domes have all external mount versions supplied pre-wired so offered fast installation. A Static Address Management System function retained the dome's identity in a separate cradle mounting. Windows-based Dome Installation Assistant software simplified camera set-up, enabling storing and restoration of camera settings.

Fitted with Hitachi VKS454-E ¼ inch colour/mono camera and 23:1 zoom lens, the D150 QuickSwitch Discovery dome gives high-resolution imaging at 470 TV lines and automatic day/night time switching, with low-light sensitivity down to 0.02 lux. They cover the entire site, including the main entry and exit roads, electrified perimeter fencing, outdoor storage compound, visitor and staff car parks and internal warehousing areas.Controlled by a Digital Sprite and keyboard, the 6inch diameter domes have 130 presets, auto patrols and tours. A Mark Mercer alarm interface unit allows zoned alarm inputs from the 2.4m high perimeter fence.

IDS installed a road traffic management system with hydraulically operated steel ramps at the entry to the compound. Two static cameras are used to provide close-up surveillance of vehicles and their number plates, whilst an access control reader allows staff entry through automatic rising steel bollards, to and from the staff car park.

A turnstile used by factory staff is linked to an employee payroll system, providing an automated tally of attendance and, incase of fire, a roll call document.

Worrall concluded, "IDS's ability to provide us with in-depth product and technical support has meant that they have delivered a high level of security and safety for our site, stock, and personnel."