Carried out in preparation for a change of premises, the project has enabled the authority to make a smooth transition from one property to another without any disruption to its monitoring capabilities.
The project was designed to facilitate effective observation and protection of a number of public spaces and council-owned properties from a new, dedicated control centre in the town hall. It entailed the relocation of existing recording equipment and the installation of a new matrix, cameras and fibre-optic cabling.
The scope and sequencing of the work were agreed through discussions with Tony Hollinrake, principal officer of Wigan Council’s Risk Management & CCTV Section. Scheduled to run over a six month period in 2008, the project began with the installation of a Meyertech Multi-Site Matrix 256×128, which required a substantial amount of wiring on the part of UIS engineers.
New systems
In order to use the relocation as an opportunity to extend the capabilities of the existing CCTV network, Wigan Council asked UIS to fit a number of new systems including Bosch cameras, IFS fibre-optic transmission equipment, Addlestone video distribution amplifier equipment and Dedicated Micros DVRs.
The new control room features rear screen projection units and Genie flat screen monitors.
The short timeframe meant that UIS engineers had to liaise frequently and effectively with council staff and other parties in order to ensure that work could progress efficiently. As a result, the project was completed promptly and within the agreed budget, allowing the new control centre to open a month ahead of schedule.
Credit to engineers
Hollinrake said: “Facilitating the relocation of the new CCTV monitoring suite was one of the biggest tasks that our section has undertaken in the past decade. Working closely with UIS ensured that what was a complicated and demanding project was delivered with the minimum downtime, which is a credit to the UIS engineers involved in the project.
“From the design stage to full implementation, we worked very closely with UIS to ensure we delivered a fantastic purpose built CCTV monitoring suite that now rates amongst the best in the country. I feel it is a fantastic achievement and something that Wigan Council and UIS are very proud of”.
Wigan’s CCTV system featured on “CCTV Cities” – a UK Channel 5 documentary with Donal McIntyre.
“Wigan is rightly proud of its reputation – it’s one of the safest town centres in the country,” McIntyre said. “A crucial part in that well-deserved reputation is the part played by CCTV.”
The episode can be viewed on the Five website.
