Client Comment
“Like any public service, we have unfortunately had instances where individuals have threatened staff. People cruise past the building and turn up unannounced in the early hours. Being able to monitor these activities easily is very reassuring. When staff members finish their shifts in the early hours, we are able to ensure that they get to their cars safely. They, and we, feel more secure.”
Ian Arbuthnot, Head of IT at the EAAT.
Project Background
The EAAT’s Control Centre staff works shifts and enters and leaves its building throughout the day and night. Following a number of incidents of abusive behaviour from members of the public, the EAAT wanted to provide better protection for its employees. A comprehensive renovation of the control centre provided the ideal opportunity to upgrade their existing surveillance equipment, and the trust approached Chris Lewis Fire & Security to install a new CCTV system to monitor and protect its staff and premises.
Head of IT at the Trust, Ian Arbuthnot, said, “Previously we had some CCTV cameras linked to a video recorder, but we realised that this solution was less than ideal. The monitor was a small eight-inch black-and-white screen in the corner of the control centre – hardly state of the art! We wanted the new control room to be efficient, but comfortable and secure, so we took the opportunity to update the security. Externally, the building was vulnerable to vandals. Our old system simply couldn’t cope. It was well past time to replace it, so we did.”
The Solution
The CCTV technology installed offers unique levels of accuracy, speed and configurability, which strongly appealed to the Trust. It is easily connected, has a high specification, and installation and maintenance is quick and easy.
In addition, the cameras used undergo extremely rigorous physical testing to ensure they are very robust. Given their vulnerability to vandalism, that presented a great advantage to the EAAT.
The digital video management system that we installed is uniquely capable of supporting both IP (Internet Protocol) and analogue cameras simultaneously. It was therefore completely compatible with Trust's existing analogue cameras.
Chris Lewis Fire & Security’s IT Director, Justin Rhodes commented, “The system we have installed is seamless, powerful, reliable and of high specification. Each camera can be set individually to record in different modes at different times of the day or on different days of the week. This offers the potential to vary security where activity levels alter throughout a 24 hour period, and between weekdays and weekends. It can even be programmed to change recording modes for holidays.
This outstanding flexibility is ideal for a wide range of premises such as retail sites, corporate venues, museums, banks, educational institutions and logistics centres. It also allows control rooms that monitor many cameras - such as those in airports, casinos and sports grounds – the ability to quickly and efficiently identify and investigate incidents.”
The Results
The EAAT’s new CCTV system includes superior motion detection with frame progression and advanced search facilities. Recorded video can be duplicated, sent and stored anywhere using standard IT and network storage solutions. This has provided the EEAT with a cost effective, secure and virtually limitless storage capacity.
Each camera can be programmed individually and controlled remotely, enabling the system to be controlled and monitored via an authorised users' personal computer or laptop, over the Trust’s IT network.
On the strength of results to date, the Trust now plans to extend its IP-CCTV system to protect a variety of additional sites, including its 34 ambulance stations.