The installer NW Systems Group has partnered with Swedish-based company Kentima, as both seek opportunities for integration of IP video with Building Management Systems (BMS) in the UK.
NW Systems says that it has been deploying IP video monitoring systems in UK-based schools, retail outlets, factories, warehouses and large office complexes for some years. It has been looking for specialist open platform software to help it in the BMS market.
Kentima offers products based on HMI/SCADA (Human Machine Interface/Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) and compatibility with a interoperability standard called OPC, which enables inter-connectivity between systems even if they are using non-IP based communications protocols.
For NW Systems’ founder Frank Crouwel, pictured, the real power of IP video can only be fully realised in intelligent buildings if cameras are fully integrated with other systems supporting centralised Building Management Systems. BMSs now need to take in real-time data feeds and alarms from ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition), asset tracking (within buildings), cabling services, access control, fire prevention, intruder detection, perimeter detection, HVAC (Heating Ventilation and Air-Conditioning), energy efficient lighting and more, he suggests.
Smart buildings, he adds, are about bringing the disparate control and security systems across a site, into one BMS which enables facilities and security teams to see threats and take action.
Frank Crouwel, managing director at NW Systems Limited, said: “The highly visual, OPC-based solutions Kentima has in its arsenal make light work of pulling data from numerous control systems and displaying this data meaningfully for building management staff. We believe that the combination of our IP video expertise and Kentima’s interoperability capability will make centralisation of numerous systems possible for many more UK building and facilities managers.”
And Mads Bo Frederiksen, area sales manager, Kentima, added: “NW Systems is a great integration partner for us in the UK. They can add value to our BMS deployments because of their IP video monitoring expertise and prior experience in the sector.”
