A completely IP CCTV system has been installed at The Enterprise Park, Forres, to support its high-end positioning and to ensure tenants are confident with the security measures in place.
The Enterprise Park, Forres, has been developed by Highlands and Islands Enterprise as a long-term investment, designed to bring talent and jobs into the area. Already home to a number of innovative and successful businesses, the Park continues to expand and attract new companies.
Having experienced some low level vandalism, fly tipping and so on, Highlands and Islands Enterprise wanted to ensure that their tenants felt entirely secure and confident in the security of the Park. “Although there’d only been a couple of minor incidents, we decided to nip the problem in the bud and invest in a CCTV system,” notes Scott McKnockiter, Development Manager at Highlands and Islands Enterprise. “We knew we needed a flexible system that could evolve with the needs of the Park, which is expanding all the time and our consultants Rybka specified the need for an IP system.” Local company Bartec won the resulting tender thanks, in part, to the value of their proposal, but also because of their understanding of the Park’s requirements. “Originally, the brief was to create a wireless network across six buildings on the park all feeding back to an NVR in the main Horizon building,” explains Gerry McAloon, Operations Manager at Bartec. “However, we suggested that they decentralise the recording so that, should transmission be lost in one area, the whole system isn’t affected.”
25 Vivotek 2MP external cameras using power over Ethernet (PoE) have been positioned around the park, with recording back to six Vista Graphica Sabre NVRs, each located in buildings local to the cameras. An RDT radio transmission system uses receivers on the host buildings to transmit images back to the central monitoring station in the main Enterprise building. In addition, a Vista VK2-540 BX camera has been positioned to cover artwork that will be placed on the entry roundabout of the park. All footage is managed through the Vista Graphica2 Video Management System.
An old hand at CCTV, a new eye for IP
Although very impressed by the quality of images the system produces, Gerry is the first to admit that he never used to be a fan of IP. “I’ve often struggled to understand its popularity,” he comments. “But this project has completely reversed my views. As well as the image quality, the flexibility and scalability of the system is fantastic and I’ll certainly be using IP more in the future.” As newcomers to the technology, Gerry decided to use Norbain Service Plus to give them a helping hand on-site. Service Plus offers customers a range of resources, designed to complement their own skill sets. This additional support can be used to reduce the risk of installations, minimise time spent on-site by engineers and, in Bartec’s case, to make new technologies, such as IP surveillance, more accessible.
Mike Holt, Norbain’s Configuration Centre Manager, spent two days on-site , giving Bartec the perfect opportunity to work with him and learn on the job. “Having Mike there was fantastic for our knowledge and confidence moving forward,” says Gerry. “Not only did we fit a system that exactly meets our client’s requirements, but we’ve equipped ourselves with the knowledge to fit similar systems elsewhere, allowing us to tackle projects that might otherwise have been unavailable to us. In fact, we’ve now priced for another three very large IP systems with the support of Norbain.” Gerry also intends to use the pre-assembly and pre-configuration service in upcoming projects. “It really takes a lot of time and potential for error out of the equation, which in turn allows us to be more efficient.”
An eye on the future
Highlands and Islands Enterprise are very pleased with the system they’ve received. “Not only does it provide the quality of images we need, but the placement of the cameras has been carried out very intelligently to reduce the number required. The Vista Graphica2 software is also very impressive – user friendly, easy to learn and, as with the rest of the system, scalable to meet our growing requirements.” Gerry goes on to explain, “We don’t plan to be long term landlords – our aim was to set up the park and encourage innovative companies to come into the area. One of the advantages with IP is that you can easily remove areas and sign them over to other companies. This makes it ideal for our purposes.”
Bartec’s attention to detail has not gone unnoticed by Scott. “Gerry has been great to work with, always on top of any teething problems and very pro-active in keeping us informed as to the status of the project,” he comments. “Because we’ve not worked with CCTV before, Gerry’s advice on issues such as CCTV policy and compliance with the information act was much appreciated.”
Looking at the system now in place, Scott concludes, “The CCTV system supports our positioning as a high-end business park. Just as we look for companies with innovation in their process, so the system matches this aim.”
