On the Case

Gresham Wood Technical Furniture & Design has designed, manufactured and installed new security control room furniture for WestQuay Shopping centre in Southampton.

WestQuay houses 99 retail outlets, including cafes and restaurants, and two car parks. Security is integral to shopping centre management, and the design of the control room furniture needed to be compliant with both the DDA and H&S requirements.

The monitor wall was designed according to these requirements, enabling operators to view a greater number of cameras throughout the site at any one time. The control room also has a greater amount of storage, freeing up more space for the operators - a constant problem when designing CCTV control rooms.

Gresham Director George Ruston says: "As specialists in security control rooms, we have designed the control room furniture to be made from the most hard wearing and durable material available."

Jo-anna Tallack, customer services manager at WestQuay, says: "George at Gresham Wood certainly grasped a clear understanding of our needs and requirements and the product he produced was both innovative and of an extremely high quality."

For the project, Gresham Wood worked in close collaboration with shopping centre specialist systems integrator G1 Ltd.

Intrepid Pringle

Intrepid Security has introduced electronic security tagging and digital CCTV at all of Pringle of Scotland's flagship UK stores. CCTV cameras cover both the inside and outside of the stores and have helped Pringle keep shrinkage at a very low level.

Intrepid has supplied Pringle's Sloane Square site with an access control system. The site houses the company's international office, as well as a store, showroom and stockroom.

The company says its use of CCTV provides it with benefits besides security. It analyses recorded footage from in-store surveillance cameras to monitor footfall and discover shopping trends.

IP for MFI

Pacific Computers Ltd has installed a new IP surveillance system for furniture company MFI.

MFI needed a flexible and scalable security solution that could offer both central and local management of such security problems as break-ins and vandalism, internal and external theft, and fraud. Physical guard services for the Home Delivery Centres to man the gatehouses were costing approximately £55,000 annually per site.

Milestone Xprotect Enterprise software is being installed at multiple sites and supported by Pacific to operate Panasonic network cameras. In addition, the company is using Milestone Xprotect Central and Xprotect Matrix for integrated solutions that provide facial recognition and access control at entrances. Cameras have been set up at trucking bays, warehouses, administration and computer facilities, reception areas, gates and perimeters.

Pacific Computers produced an integrated solution between the Milestone system and MFI's entrance barriers so the gates can be opened using the software. The camera recording is triggered to start as soon as there is motion - when a vehicle or person approaches.

Authorised persons enter a code and the barrier rises automatically. A visitor with no access code presses the intercom button; inside their image pops up on a computer screen that allows an MFI employee to see and talk via the intercom, and say 'come on in' - or not.

Back on track

TSI Technologies Ltd, in association with Harry B Litherland and Co Ltd, has been asked to design a recording system to monitor the on-track activity of one of the most prestigious motor racing circuits in the UK - Donington Park.

For 2006, Donington Park has undergone modernisation of the pit lane buildings for the Moto GP race, and this extends to the recording equipment for the on-track activity. The company has designed a dedicated system for monitoring high speed track action. The operator monitors the 16 cameras in case of incidents where marshalls can then be alerted around the circuit. The DVR is also for team use in the case of a dispute, and if there were a serious accident, to examine the footage for the purposes of insurance, health and safety.

TSI sales manager Richard Soame said: "We have highly adapted one of our PC-based CCTV systems for the purpose of giving Donington Park the facility of recording 16 cameras with 16 audio feeds, making the editing of their recording much faster and easier".

State of the art

Wigan-based Fire Sound and Security has updated the security protection for Stockport Art Gallery, home to one of the north of England's most eclectic collections of paintings, drawings prints and sculpture.

Due to the importance of a number of works within the collection, the need for an up to date protection system was deemed essential. Using equipment supplied by Genie CCTV, the system installed is comprised of a single LG LDV-S154 Triplex 16-channel DVR with internal DVD re-writer and 10 Genie VRCD 5351 digital noise reduction vandal resistant day/night dome colour cameras.

Simon Greene, Genie's national sales manager, says: "When Stockport Council agreed to upgrade security at the Art Gallery, they wanted a system that incorporated the latest technology in a value for money package. We were able to deliver a state of the art system that met all their requirements and this was installed by the council's Security Services. The cameras are now in use 24 hours a day for security surveillance."

Olympian effort

GE's Security business was heavily involved in providing fire and life safety, explosives trace detection, intrusion and video equipment and systems throughout Torino for the Winter Olympics.

The security measures were deployed throughout Torino and included areas such as the Athletes' Village, and will continue to protect residents and visitors in future.

In the Athletes' Village, GE Security worked with its business partner Securpoint, supplying GE DP2051 and DP2061 optical smoke sensors and fire control panels to provide early detection and signalling of any fire outbreaks. GE's KSA701 fire control panels, IP-networked to management software with a GUI, monitored the hospitality area, which is to be converted into residences.

Torino International Airport operator SAGAT chose to work with GE Security and its business partner Seteco to deploy GE's CTX9000 explosives detection system, the world's fastest operational TSA-certified explosive detection system, to monitor checked baggage.

The airport also uses GE's VaporTracer portable explosives trace detectors to heighten security with on-the-spot sampling capabilities.

Back to school

Cheadle Heath Primary School in Stockport has installed a security camera package supplied by Genie CCTV, to help protect against unwanted incidents.

The DVR and Genie six day/night camera package forms part of the school management system and is remote monitored during normal school times as well as out of hours. The system has already proved successful in reducing unwanted incidents at the school including congregating by local youths and potential vandalism.

High tech move

When Phones International moved to a new building in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, it was not surprising that they wanted a 'high tech' solution for a number of facilities management applications including access control, car park entry, vending and use of the staff deli.

The company approached Kaba Integrated Systems Division prior to the move. Phones International wanted cashless vending with a cashless restaurant facility so Kaba involved Lyons (as Kaba's partner) in the discussions. The principles of common LEGIC media were discussed and a joint meeting between client and the partner suppliers was arranged.

The technical team worked together to put forward a proposal to Phones International that would provide an integrated system, for ID cards generated by the Kaba Card Bureau to be used on the Kaba exos 9300 Access System to control staff and visitor movement throughout Network House, as well as barrier access for staff going into the company car park.

In addition, the cards could also be used in the company restaurant and for drinks/snacks from the vending machines.

As part of the overall proposal Lyons suggested cashless vending and a cashless till for the purchase of meals in the restaurant. Phones International wanted to give an added benefit to its employees - they wanted to contribute £25 per month towards food and drinks for each employee.

The Lyons Systopia system was able to facilitate this as well as generate comprehensive reports for management and control purposes. And employees are able to check on the value on their card through the company's intranet.

Dome in paradise

Above is evidence of Bewator's Solaris dome system in action at Pattaya Beach in Thailand (On the Case, Security Installer April 2006).

The project included 44 Solaris domes along with 16 of Bewator's more conventional pan and tilt cameras, covering the resort's three kilometres of white, sandy beaches.

Tag in the library

An electronic tagging system from Intrepid Security Solutions has enabled the Met Office to keep tabs on all items in its Library collection.

The tagging system was required as the Met Office Library and Archive is open to the public as well as staff. Electromagnetic tags are attached to all of the library's books, journals and research papers. These are activated and deactivated by library staff at the issue desk.

Three detection antennae have been installed at the main entrance to the library to create two aisles, for exiting and entering. The antennae alert staff if someone attempts to leave the library with an item that has not been checked out.

Furnishing Bolton

Thinking Space Systems has created and installed a new state of the art control centre for Bolton at Home's newly upgraded CCTV monitoring system. The project, worth around £100,000, was to make major changes at the housing organisation's concierge control centre, which monitors around 200,000 homes owned by Bolton Council. It involved a re-design of the control centre, the creation of bespoke technical furniture, as well as building work, including the installation of new walls and door widening.

Wayne Palmer, Thinking Space MD, said: "At the initial consultation we listened to and observed the requirements of the Bolton at Home CCTV control centre staff. Our engineers then devised a modern design solution."

Bolton at Home's CCTV service manager Tony Partington said: "We now have a great state of the art CCTV control room which allows staff to fully monitor the service in complete comfort."

NICE Spanish work

NICE has been selected by multinational Prosegur Group to protect its cash in transit division at sites across Spain.

The NICE digital video solution will be integrated with over 1000 CCTV cameras at these sites to provide an accurate record of all cash and documents being processed. The project is being completed with NICE's partner Alava Ingenieros, providing local expertise and support to Prosegur's surveillance technology division, which will execute the rollout across all cash in transit division sites.

"The high quality video images recorded by NICE provide us with the ability to rapidly play back the complete handling process, from the moment a package enters the room, when it opened, and the counting process, in order to verify the validity of the discrepancy," says Prosegur's Oscar Esteban.

Security system delivers

DHL has secured its Orebro warehousing facility in Sweden with a solution from Bewator, installed by Botkyrka Installations.

The 60,000sq m facility is now protected by a Bewator 2010 system, which fully integrates intruder alarm, access control, video management and fire warning systems.

It controls access to 150 equipped with card readers and monitors nearly 900 alarm points.

Tommy Nielsen, security manager at DHL Solutions Sweden, said: "We need to have full control of our business.

"The combination of Bewator 2010 and Eventys enables us to control access into and out of the facility, and keep track of all personnel, whether they are part-time or full-time, and whenever they are working, 24/7."