Opportunity knocks

There is growing pressure in society for key public facilities like schools and hospitals to house cutting-edge, world class security and safety systems that will guarantee the ‘defence’ of visitors, staff, patients and pupils. One company TAC Satchwell has decided to play its part in the move towards a ‘digital tomorrow’ by becoming deeply involved in a massive project that could provide the blueprint for genuinely integrated security and building control systems in the years to come.

The company is an integral strategic partner in the consortium that if you’ll excuse the pun is literally breathing new life into Manchester Royal Infirmary, itself the focal point of a £400 million Private Finance Initiative (PFI) project that will witness the wholesale redevelopment and amalgamation of a cluster of out-of-date teaching hospitals into a first generation ‘Super Hospital’.

TAC Satchwell is working on the technology that will eventually control, monitor and interact with each and every aspect of the building, with the planned security network including a comprehensive CCTV system, staff and patient panic alarms and bespoke access control. The latter, of course, is absolutely vital.

Indeed, work on the 1600-plus bed facility which is due for completion in 2009 has already begun. TAC Satchwell has provided details of the complex systems that will underpin the six-storey Centre of Medical Excellence designed to house more than 30 theatres and what is billed to be “the most secure car park in Europe”.

The scheme is now around 20% complete. The Mental Health Outpatients Ward has been finished, and incorporates security code entry and fire alarms. Meanwhile, the Rehabilitation Building and the Mental Health Inpatients Ward are due for imminent handover.

Security’s next direction

The aforementioned car parking facility is worthy of detailed attention. It too boasts security card access and a zoned fire alarm capability, as well as fully-integrated panic and attack alarms. Virtually every inch of the facility is monitored by 127 CCTV cameras designed to record one million hours of images per annum. The ratios work out at one camera for every 12 cars. That’s pretty mind-boggling in itself, but it’s really the networked approach to CCTV in the parking facility that could be pointing security systems provision in a new direction.

There remains a 24-hour security patrol in place to monitor the premises and check the CCTV feed, but the images are also relayed to Greater Manchester NHS Trust’s main CCTV Control Room which monitors other camera feeds from across the 44-acre site.

Here, the Human Resources implications are obvious. The increased cost of security guarding has been driven by the much-needed Security Industry Authority regulation and licensing and quality assurance, each of which help to maintain high standards. The end result is fewer officers on site of better quality who now rely upon the greater use of technologies that not only talk to each other, but intuitively provide real-time information for the security operative to help them do their job in a less stressful way. In this situation, integration is three-dimensional – electronic-to-electronic and electronic-to-human.

Undermining the role of CCTV

Certainly, all of the relevant research on CCTV monitoring points towards long, difficult and stressful periods for Control Room personnel who constantly scan screens. This undermines the image of skilled operatives who monitor and control the cameras, and are able to interpret and then act upon rendered images.

It’s little wonder that subtle incidents can occur and pass by unnoticed to the distracted human eye. In turn, this undermines the important role played by CCTV in crime reduction. Now, the technology is in place to make sure that reduced staffing numbers doesn’t mean corners are being cut. Security levels are higher than ever.

“This networked approach is something that we are going to see more and more of in the future,” suggests Matt Coulson, security business manager at TAC Satchwell. “Digital technology is the dominant force behind the security sector at present. Sales of digital systems and interfaces are increasing year-on-year, and look set to carry on doing so. It’s easy to see why they have become so popular. They offer better performance, are friendlier towards the end user and bring functionality that’s unheard of in analogue solutions.”

Central points of management are being realised, then? “Yes, they are,” replies Coulson. “Internet-based security solutions are ideal for using a central point of management to monitor surveillance footage from anywhere. Networked Video Recording is fully compatible with the office-based PC. That being the case, it should start to bring the best possible security provision within the reach of smaller and medium-sized businesses already likely to have had an IT network installed at some point.”

Are we at the crossroads?

According to Coulson, despite the rapid advancement of technological change, the security sector finds itself at an interesting and unusual crossroads. “The existing installed user base for surveillance remains dominated by analogue cameras,” he asserts. “Around 85% of all installations still rely on analogue technology. The rush to embrace cutting-edge NVR technology is hamstrung by an understandable reluctance among end users to upgrade cameras that may only have been procured and installed relatively recently.”

It would appear that the news isn’t all bad for those clients aiming for ever-tighter security on an even tighter budget. The industry, it seems, is learning lessons quickly. Coulson takes up the line of argument.

“There are ways of both bridging the gap between analogue and digital, and also preparing fully for the arrival of systems that embrace IP and graphical user interface technology. There are now systems available that are compatible with existing analogue cameras, but which are also future-proof enough to allow security networks to evolve along with current technology and the needs of individual organisations.”

For Coulson, adopting this approach will allow gradual upgrading – replacing the infrastructure and operating system separately without any massive outlay to sustain entirely new security solutions for the customer.

The British Security Industry Association (BSIA) recently published its own Code of Practice for handling digital security footage, ending any lingering doubts about whether the images rendered by digital cameras would be capable of securing convictions in the Courts. In following BSIA guidelines concerning the integrity and traceability of footage, security managers can be 100% confident about the images their installations produce.

Security systems are increasingly becoming IP and networks-based. However, installing a separate CCTV system and a dedicated network is still an unwanted drain on often minimal resources.

“This is particularly relevant when you are dealing with PFI projects,” adds Coulson, “where public and media scrutiny over budgets and costs is more intense than ever. That’s why the management team at the Manchester Royal Infirmary decided to take a broader approach to integration and included security on the same network as the building controls. Equal emphasis is placed on patient and staff comfort as well as security.”