Westminster Abbey puts its faith in wireless security

Westminster Abbey has opted for Monitor AFx wireless technology from Chubb Electronic Security (CES). Although initially being used to manage a wireless intruder system at the Abbey, the system can also be used to control and monitor CCTV, access control and other building systems, effectively combining and controlling the data from two or more previously independent devices onto one software application, with one database, using an existing IT network as host. It also allows various testing and maintenance procedures to be carried out remotely.

“The previous system was a Chubb control panel installed more than 20 years ago, and in clear need of upgrading,” explains Jim Vincent, Westminster Abbey’s Clerk of Works. “Monitor AFx provides us with the level of control and reporting that we need, whilst also giving us the ability to expand or extend the installation in the future without having to run any more cables.”

The wireless nature of the system is particularly significant for a building such as Westminster Abbey, where cabling may be impractical or undesirable as far as the fabric of the building is concerned.

The reliability of wireless products has been helped in the last decade by two specific developments, explains Chubb. The first is frequency hopping, spread-spectrum technology. This effectively means that if the signal is blocked in any way, the transmitter is able to jump (‘hop’) between frequencies to enable the signal to get through. The second innovation is the development of ‘repeaters’ – sophisticated devices that ‘listen’ for messages from transmitters, and then re-broadcast the message at higher power to the system receiver(s).

“We have already had the system run on test for the past couple of months, and it is just as reliable as a hardwired system,” adds Jim Vincent. “Even with the thick walls and masonry within the building. Westminster Abbey is a building of national importance – the setting for every coronation since 1066 – so reliability is everything. I need to know this technology will work if there is a real incident.”

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