Invisible, but not impossible
Citadel Systems has installed a range of CCTV and access control equipment from Norbain SD at Dyson Appliances’ research and development facility in Malmesbury, Wiltshire. Known as Dyson 5 and 6, the ultra modern steel and glass building had recently been doubled in size, meaning the security system needed to be upgraded, but also had to be non-interactive and invisible so that it wouldn’t interfere with the impressive design and construction.
Citadel achieved this by installing a networked, PC-controlled Cotag Granta hands-free system, replacing the readers with loops installed around 25 doors in the building. The installers overcame the potential problem of interference created by the large amount of stainless steel in the building, including the floors and ceilings, by using multi-core cable and by connecting the coils in a manner developed by themselves.
Citadel also installed an extensive CCTV system, featuring 18 Vista 1/2in mono cameras with Vista lenses and Watec 1/4in mini internal domes.
Out with the old, in with the new
Leeds-based security solutions specialist White Group has replaced an ageing CCTV system at the Christian Salvesen’s Industrial Division depot in Wakefield.
With 225 employees and 80 vehicles operating out of the busy 10.29-acre site, which incorporates a 70,000sq ft warehouse/transit area, CCTV monitoring is required to cover a wide area, including warehousing and reception as well as site entrances and exits. White Group installed a 14-camera PC-based system that comprises a combination of static and fully functional colour DSP cameras with Octar 2000 digital recording.
“It was a very busy operational site which required rigorous application of Health & Safety requirements for our engineers and others working simultaneously on the site,” says Martin Ackroyd, White Group Operations Director. “A particularly difficult task was gaining access to the 50ft-high roof where the cabling was installed. In addition, utilising the existing equipment we maintained a working CCTV system up to commission and hand-over of our system. The work was completed on time, within a three-week turnaround time, and to the great satisfaction of the client.”
Victorian challenge
Chubb (Northern Ireland) has installed Vicon multiplexers, VCRs and monitors in a major CCTV project at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast, widely regarded as the biggest integrated hospital security initiative in Europe. It was imperative that the security equipment should be unobtrusive and in keeping with the aesthetics of the 26-building Victorian structure.
Chubb used an Andover Controls software package that allows expansion to guard tours, asset tagging, baby tagging, building management, multiple workstations and control point workstations.
Other aspects of the project included 156 colour digital cameras, 230 proximity card readers, 42 intruder alarms and a system to guard against nurse attacks. It was also important that the equipment should be able to withstand multiple cable cuts within the fibre optic network and allow for re-routing when a cable is severed.
Swiftly does it
Swift Fire and Security has installed an extensive CCTV system at St George’s Shopping Centre in Preston, the largest indoor shopping complex in the area.
All public areas within the Centre, such as aisles, escalators and the exteriors of shops, as well as external locations, are covered by 20 Baxall CD9000 range monochrome cameras, which can operate in both daylight and very low light. Pictures are monitored in the Centre’s own control room, where guards operate the pan, tilt, zoom, focus and iris, plus camera sequencing, via two Baxall ZTX6 series telemetry transmitters.
Aesthetic considerations
West London Security (WLS) has designed and installed a CCTV system at The Royal Exchange in the City of London to aid the prevention of potential terrorist attacks.
WLS fitted seven external cameras to the Royal Exchange itself and a further four to surrounding buildings, including the Bank of England and the London Stock Exchange.
Images from these are beamed across to the Royal Exchange’s control room using infrared links. In order not to compromise the look of the building, the cameras and infrared links were mounted on the rooftops and high balconies. WLS used purpose-built camera housings, which needed prior approval from the Corporation of London’s planning department. A number of internal cameras were also incorporated into the system. Two duplex Montage multiplexers display images, which are recorded on to timelapse VCRs.
“We were particularly pleased to have been chosen for this project as it incorporated not only a high degree of technical expertise but also important aesthetic considerations,” says Jeremy Ewen, WLS Managing Director. “The project was completed on time and within budget.”
Doing well in Dingle
Liverpool-based PFM has installed a community CCTV scheme in one of the city’s most depressed areas, driving drug dealers out of business. The GB pound 180,000 scheme, a partnership between Liverpool Council, the police and the Dingle regeneration board, aims to make this area of south Liverpool a better and safer place to live. PFM used six JVC TK-C1360E low light cameras with Pentax lenses, fibre-optically linked and monitored remotely from neighbouring Netherley by a company called Vant Vision.
There is also a remote monitor inside Merseyside Police Headquarters allowing officers direct access to pictures from Dingle.
Since the installation, Merseyside police has reported dramatic cuts in car crime, too. “The scheme is giving everyone a feeling of well-being,” says PFM’s Pat Garragher.
Lewisham extension
Hornchurch-based Comfort Zone has installed a further 18 cameras to the CCTV system that covers four town centres in South East London – Deptford, New Cross, Catford and Lewisham. This brings the total number of cameras to 50, all of them plettac models.The cameras were chosen because of their peak-light and integration capabilities. The control room in Lewisham comprises a bank of 14 monitors, which are being replaced with plettac units.
