When the Leadership Trust – one of Britain’s top providers of leadership development solutions – wanted to improve the security of its Training Centre (which is set within 10 acres of tranquil grounds in the Herefordshire countryside), it turned to Bosch Security Systems.
The Trust plays host to more than 2,750 visitors each year from private, public and voluntary sector organisations. Its visitors are its clients and, as you might expect, The Trust has a commitment to protect them as well as its Training Centre.
Improving security: assessing the need
Health and Safety officer Ian Beddis and his team members wanted to improve security at the site, and with good reason.
“Our existing system comprised a seven-camera analogue system with traditional tape recoding,” explained Beddis. “This had been in place for a number of years, but had become unreliable through normal operating wear and tear. That was despite regular maintenance, as well.”
Beddis continued: “On top of that, a number of security issues made us realise that the old system was providing low quality recorded images that were difficult to search. It became obvious that the cameras were poorly located. We needed a more up-to-date system that would provide high quality and easily searchable recorded images.”
Future-proof systems required by the client
Beddis wanted a future-proof system that could incorporate the existing cameras. Bosch products were recommended by installer Security Alarm Services, as proprietor Robin Swan-Liddell explained.
“When Ian and his team saw Bosch technology in action, they knew that it was what they were looking for,” he said.
An onsite demonstration of the camera quality, followed by a week’s working trial. Both convinced Beddis and The Leadership Trust that it was making the right decision.
“From the trial we knew that the DiBos recording system would offer us everything that we currently required of our CCTV system,” urged Beddis, “while having enough scope for upgrades to make it viable for years to come.”
What the end result entails
The system was installed by Security Alarm Services, with project management taken care of by Beddis himself. The set-up uses the Bosch DiBos Software on a high-end Hewlett Packard Desktop machine running Windows XP service pack 3.
“On the hardware side of things, we integrated our existing analogue cameras into the DiBos system using Bosch’s VIPX1600 video encoder to send digital images directly over our existing network, which are stored on a Buffalo,” added Beddis.
“We’ve also installed seven new Bosch Autodome dome cameras, two of which are PTZ external cameras with one using Bosch’s Autotrack functionality. The other five are all internal miniature Flexidomes.”
The Bosch VIPX1600 is a modular, high-performance CCTV camera video encoder. The unit accommodates up to four hot-swappable modules, each with four analogue audio/video inputs. The VIP X1600 delivers real-time MPEG 4 video over IP which, for The Leadership Trust, is viewed on a PC using Bosch’s Dibos software.
Client is taking the initiative
Commenting on the installation, Paul Wong – managing director of Bosch Security Systems (UK) – said: “The Leadership Trust is a recognised authority on leadership issues, and we are pleased that it took the initiative to provide enhanced security at its site. Reliable technology has now been integrated with its own IT systems.”
Wong continued: “As IP technology is further embraced by the end user and installer communities, we’ll see more of these types of projects that marry security technology with reliable IT storage.”
In terms of the hardware, Wong feels the Autodome range provides the perfect solution for a site like the one described. “The modular nature of the domes means that, should The Trust wish to update the cameras, this can be done quickly and easily without the need to remove or re-wire the dome.”
Concluding his comments, Wong explained: “The cost of ownership of a system will always be an important consideration for the client, so it makes perfectly good sense for them to invest in reliable, future proof-technology.”