Last year TAC took the unique step of commissioning independent research company, Perpetuity Research and Consultancy International Ltd, to investigate the real security challenges in UK schools. The trends across the country showed that the state of security in UK schools needed to be addressed, and urgently.
Now, TAC is putting its security expertise into practice in a GB pound 1.4 million contract in Lancashire to supply and install an integrated security system as part of Lancashire’s Building Schools for the Future project – a Government supported initiative that aims to give all children in secondary education in England access to facilities of 21st Century standard.
We will be responsible for a comprehensive Integrated Building Energy Management System at three schools – Burnley Campus, Pendle Vale College and Shuttleworth College – providing fully automated control of the systems within each building, including HVAC, energy monitoring, access control, intruder detection, integration to the fire alarm, CCTV, door entry intercom and disabled assistance alarms and curriculum tools.
With a rare opportunity to integrate the security systems from the design stage, the whole system will run over the CAT 6 IT network using TAC’s open building controls protocol, BacNet, and will utilise a wide area network design with all schools connected together in a password-protected area of the internet. It will have several levels of authorisation to differentiate between pupils’ and facilities managers’ user access.
Access control is becoming increasingly important in schools. With hundreds of pupils, staff and visitors needing various access levels, security systems must be implemented to accommodate individual requirements. In this instance, we will install proximity smart cards and readers to safeguard user access control – but we have also proposed the implementation of access control via a proximity smart card reader configured as anti pass-back to provide even greater control.
A dedicated PC will administer the access control system and the components of the access control system will be IP based, and therefore integrated with the other control systems installed.
Similar to any business, some areas of a school require additional security, so sensitive internal areas such as the server room and some offices will also be fitted with access controls. In addition, there is scope for the system to be used as an electronic registration system and the cards may also have the facility to interface with a cashless vending system.
As well as access control, the new schools will be fully fitted with an integrated intruder alarm system. A combination of detection and alert systems, the intruder alarm will incorporate door contacts, passive infra-red detection devices (PIR’s) and smash glass devices as well as panic alarms for the receptionist area.
The intruder alarm system will be connected to a RedCare GSM Subscriber Terminal Unit (STU) which transmits alarm signals to the Alarm Receiving Centre and which is interfaced with the CCTV system so that the nearest external CCTV camera is automatically trained to the incident location to record it in real time. Static internal cameras will also be enabled to record footage on alarm activation.
As expected, Burnley Campus and Pendle Vale and Shuttleworth Colleges will be fitted with comprehensive CCTV but unlike most schools, the CCTV will operate state-of-the-art motion detection software to identify intruders and people where they shouldn’t be at certain times of the day.
Computers connected to the network will be able to view the images recorded by any camera at any time, providing the user has authority and passwords. There will also be the facility to view the external cameras via a password-controlled web browser at any of the three school sites.
CCTV cameras will monitor the perimeter of the building and the car parks. CCTV cameras will be fixed to the building wherever possible, or be column mounted in areas such as car parks as well as internal spaces such as corridors, lift lobbies and entrances outside toilets.
Motion detection
All external cameras will be fully functional (PTZ) dome cameras with preset positions and masking while internal cameras will be mini dome static cameras. All cameras will be connected to the school data network, and wired in Cat 6 Ethernet cable. The Data IT system will be designed to accommodate the increased bandwidth required by the IP based CCTV system, to not compromise the performance of the network.
The Lancashire BSF project really is an example of best practice. The right technology, in the hands of competent and capable individuals, can reduce crime, cut material losses and keep people safe.
The most important perception to change is that security measures should not be seen as ‘add ons’ and security equipment should not be installed in isolation. We want to encourage schools to see security as an important factor that should be considered along with the bricks and mortar. Working on this BSF project gives us the opportunity to do this and show other schools how the security industry can bring all of these systems together.
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