UBM, which has offices all over the world and employs around 6,000 people, required a tougher security solution for its headquarters, at Blackfriars Bridge, London. It coincides with the development of a mainline train station entrance and a nightclub next to the building.
Four-year systems overhaul
As part of a four-year systems upgrade, Minerva Integrated Security Services integrated Honeywell’s Maxpro video management system (VMS) with the access control, alarm and CCTV systems at Ludgate House.
The system, fitted into the company’s control room, replaced 11 legacy monitors, CCTV multiplexers, matrices, cables and hard drives. It was also set up to control and monitor access at three other UBM sites in the UK.
Paul Gosnell, head of security at Ludgate House worked closely with John Moran, the managing director at Minerva.
“With such an old video system, the new technology must compliment and be interoperable with the existing access, intrusion and DVR equipment to enhance the overall operation,” he said.
Honeywell’s Maxpro VMS controls multiple sources of video subsystems in a facility to collect, manage and present video in a clear and concise manner. Maxpro VMS intelligently determines the capabilities of each subsystem across various sites, allowing video management of any analogue or digital video device through a unified configuration and viewer.
Designed to collect, manage and present video
“The new system is more user-friendly and it’s improved screen layout enables us to quickly and easily track anyone or anything inside or directly outside the building,” Gosnell said. “One of the key things that Maxpro VMS enables the user to do is to create camera sequences or “salvos” that utilise a number of cameras or PTZ domes to track a typical path throughout the building.”
The VMS is able to control a hybrid of analogue and IP cameras and domes, meaning the publishers did not have to replace existing camera technology.
Integrated access, alarms and CCTV
In 2006, Honeywell’s Win-Pak Pro access control system was installed at Ludgate House. This included several N1000 access panels which controlled over 120 OmniClass door readers throughout the 10-storey building. A slave badging station and printer were also fitted, enabling the security team to create access smart cards for each of the 2,000 employees and the numerous visitors to the building.
A couple of years later Minerva installed the Honeywell Galaxy Dimension Intruder Alarm System and Fusion DVRs at UBM’s headquarters, as well as at two remote sites, so that security staff at Ludgate House could monitor alarms and record remote images by means of the Honeywell Fusion VMS.
A further Fusion DVR was then installed at the building, designed to facilitate the integration of CCTV cameras with the Win-Pak software, allowing video to be linked to both access control and intrusion events and alarms.
Video clips can easily be recalled through the software, based on time or event. With integration, UBM has complete camera control, including pan, tilt and zoom, and can verify live users with stored images using the video verification option.