Reach for the Sky. Continued ...

Access readers and CCTV

Once you’re inside the building, what about the internal card readers? How do they work, exactly? “They’re proximity readers,” described Mangham. “Again, Legic technology with a Wiegand interface. In this way, the details they hold can be taken directly to the NexWatch access controllers. The system reads the card, connects to the Star 1 controllers and then feeds data into the LAN.”

If access is denied for any reason, the details will flash up in the main Control Room. An alarm signal is generated which can be used to switch CCTV cameras to spot monitoring and activate digital recording. In other words, the access control and CCTV installations are totally integrated. Indeed, this is typical of the VIDEF design throughout.

Andrew Green holds the ‘master data’ for the access cards, with a section of each card devoted to the end user tenant for their own restricted access needs. In practice, a card can be created that affords access to landlord areas and doors, etc. Green would let Campbell’s team at Swiss Re know about this. They can then interrogate the card and allocate their own access data for an individual, whether a member of staff or a visitor.

How’s the system working? “It has taken a fair amount of management time to make sure the configuration was correct, and that the right partitions are in the database such that Gerry can’t see my data and vice versa,” insisted Green. “Now that we’ve accomplished this, the system’s working perfectly well. For the user, only one card is needed for the entire building, which is ideal. The colour coding scheme on each card also makes it easier for First Security’s reception area officers to distinguish exactly who’s who.”

As you’d expect, CCTV plays a major role in protecting 30 St Mary Axe, a designed combination of cameras being dotted in and around the building. One of the main challenges from the outset centred on Foster and Partners’ design for the base of the structure. Here, there’s a criss-cross overhang where the ‘legs’ touch the plaza paving, and an ‘inner colonnade’ where criminals could hide or deposit materials. To combat the threat, a fixed array of JVC cameras have been installed at high level, tucked up underneath the building. Neatly satisfying the security need while placating the architect’s desire for covert security wherever possible.

“It wasn’t an easy remit to fulfil,” commented Paul Mangham. “We couldn’t penetrate the structural steel legs, so in conjunction with Bernard Lockett we designed special clamps for each camera complete with rubber padding, and then matched fitting colour to the RAL colour of the building.”

Once inside the building, the main office floors are monitored by recessed ceiling domes, while in areas like the basement and delivery bay Silent Witness-style ArmourDomes are deployed. Each dome camera is connected to an NVT transmitter. “On larger sites it’s much more cost-effective for the client if this set-up is used,” stressed Mangham. “You don’t need as much trunking. You can also use a multi-core cable which reduces the amount of containment required and saves on cost.”

In practice, the system may be operated over much larger distances without any data loss, helping to maintain far superior CCTV picture quality. Signals from the NVT transmitters are fed into receivers, and converted back to coax.

The most important element, as ever, is the recording function. Images are recorded onto an Integral DVXi Version 4 digital system which offers 31 days’ recording as standard. At Swiss Re, the system plays host to RemoteView. Provided that a given individual has access rights and the correct password, they can select the recorder they want to interrogate and review images on a remote PC. Images might also be extracted and e-mailed as JPEGs or downloaded to disk if the police need them for evidential purposes. Flexibility is the byword here, it seems.

The DVRs capture all images at a very high frame rate for around a couple of minutes. If no alarm is raised, the data collated during that period is discarded. Then the same process occurs again. And again.

However, should an alarm condition be reported the DVXi system can bring back the two minutes surrounding the incident, plus the two minutes before and after. The images are ‘clipped’ together such that the monitoring staff might play back an entire incident from start to finish. Once again, an extremely useful feature for the end user.

The Control Room: security ‘hub’

No less than 18 colour monitor screens adorn the wall of the main Control Room, where a limited space was available. According to Bernard Lockett, that space “has been used to great effect”. The 21” Trident LCD flat screens are monitored by First Security officers, whose consoles were bespoke-designed by SBFI (a specialist in dealer desk design for financial houses). An aluminium track has been fitted to the back wall of the Control Room, the monitors attached to it by way of clamp-on scissor arm bracketry. Consequently, the screens may be swivelled to suit an officer’s seating position and then locked off.

“To this day you can’t really beat a CRT for resolution,” asserted Paul Mangham. “The only problem is that they’re cumbersome, emit lots of heat and could hardly be construed as state-of-the-art. Control Rooms are definitely moving towards flat screen technology, though, and there will come a day when these screens will offer users the same resolution as a CRT.”

Key views in and around the building are monitored at all times, while the images from certain cameras will only appear on screen when movement has been detected in a given area. The Control Room really is the nerve centre of the building, as data from the Metasys building management system supplied by Johnson Controls is also fed through here. Information from the lift monitoring system and fire alarms included. A full-time IT security manager is located on site.

“We’ve trained the First Security officers to cope with far more than a standard security guarding role,” explained Andrew Green. “They’re tasked with monitoring the head ends of each of these core systems. If, say, there were to be a major pump failure on the central air conditioning system, a critical alarm would show. The officers then inform the engineers.”

Building evacuation and invacuation procedures are all in place, and structured practices have been carried out during the first eight months of occupation. “There have been two controlled evacuations due to suspect vehicles and packages in the area,” added Gerry Campbell. “A great learning curve for us all.”

Conferring with the police

The City of London Police operates a local liaison beat (or ward) officer scheme, keeping Andrew Green and Gerry Campbell up-to-speed on lower scale crime trends in the area. It’s an arrangement which the two facilities professionals feel is hugely effective. “The officer concerned is on the beat every day and always passes by our building,” said Green. “He knows the First Security officers, which helps greatly in opening up lines of enquiry.”

On top of that, Green and Campbell are also involved in a more formalised Crime Prevention Association. Most of the major occupiers and building managers in the City attend the regular Association meetings, which focus on general issues such as local fraud scams and current terrorist threat levels – both of which demand constant attention. For his part, Campbell also chairs a Focus Group meeting for managers on a quarterly basis where security is firmly on the agenda.

“Andrew and myself constantly strive to reassure staff about the security and safety measures we have in place here,” continued Campbell, who’s also responsible for Swiss Re’s business continuity planning. “We take advantage of our own Intranet site to publish security-related information on protest group activities and the latest advice from the police.”

Now approaching a year of occupation, how would Andrew Green say the management of the building is progressing?

“As with any new building, it’s pretty much like moving into a new house. We’ve had to become accustomed to new ways of working. Once the security systems were commissioned and handed over, we had to bed them in and manage through any issues that arose. We’ve done that now. All in all, the management of 30 St Mary Axe is progressing exactly to plan.”