HIGH BANDWIDTH BACKBONE FOR KINGSTON SECURITY SYSTEM
Kingston Communications has just completed a major exercise to harmonise electronic security at all of their UK sites. With the help of integration specialist Pointer, and the use of smart technology from their own tool kit, the company has been able to upgrade security technology and procedures to create an efficient anti-crime network.
(PRWEB) April 5, 2002
Kingston Communications has just completed a major exercise to harmonise electronic security at all of their UK sites. With the help of integration specialist Pointer, and the use of smart technology from their own tool kit, the company has been able to upgrade security technology and procedures to create an efficient anti-crime network.
Kingston's dilemma was one of growth and success. Throughout the late 80's and 90's the company grew through the creation of new business units, the acquisition of niche services and by geographical expansion of UK coverage. Kingston found itself with 15 operating units and an estate with around 35 properties including depots, warehouses, call centres and offices with many diverse security systems developed for local needs, using different hardware.
Restructuring within the company was the engine for change. Kingston infrastructure is the division that manages the communications network, with responsibility for security. Heading up the security operation is health, safety and security manager Carl Fothergill, "My remit was to create a universal standard for the company, ensuring efficient operation, high levels of security and reliability."
The first stage for Pointer was a thorough review of equipment in use and the development of a unified corporate standard covering access control, intruder defence, detection and response. Many of the legacy systems had Europlex panels of advanced design. These met the new criteria for access control and intruder detection and it was decided to make them standard throughout the whole system.
Kingston infrastructure offer a high bandwidth voice and data Ethernet connection and this provides the two-way communication backbone for both access/alarm systems and for the high definition CCTV. Panasonic hardware is used throughout the CCTV network and at the communication nodes.
With the new system Kingston can monitor all sites around the clock. Personnel can access sites easily using tokens that are simply swiped through readers to unlock doors. These tokens identify the person and specify their access profile. They can be easily reprogrammed should shift patterns or needs change, while lost or stolen tokens can be easily cancelled. The system provides a full audit trail of personnel movement.
High resolution CCTV monitors all sites. The centralised control room can scrutinise visitors, authorise entry and discreetly track them through the premises. Outside normal hours, motion control on cameras allows operators to pinpoint intruders and start the appropriate security response. Again all incidents and actions are logged.
Carl Fothergill explained, "We have taken what was a fragmented security infrastructure and created a unified network that protects our property and personnel. Using our own advanced communication network we have been able to ensure transmission of high resolution images as well as two-way voice traffic giving us efficiency and flexibility. We can even undertake remote diagnostics should any part of the system go wrong."
A high res picture for this text is on the web at www. ainsmag. co. uk/po192/3249po1a. htm (http://www. ainsmag. co. uk/po192/3249po1a. htm)
