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Planning the perimeter

With any security project, one must start by analysing your risks. Therefore, the risk areas of the perimeter must be clearly defined and the ‘hotspots’ clearly identified. The integrator must do a proper survey to be able to do the correct matching of equipment that will be required to provide a fit-for-purpose solution. A proper design must then be done and presented to the estate.

Proper backbone

A proper network must be installed and extremely well protected. Clients tend to look at the cost of equipment, not realising that without a well planned and well protected network backbone, for example, a fibre optic backbone, the equipment cannot function at 100% efficiency.

The fibre link must be future proof and redundancy must be planned as part of the project.

Video management platform

The client must be advised to install a proper VMS, able to accommodate the client’s requirements now and in the future. This VMS must be able to seamlessly integrate with the CCTV cameras used with the project as well as other perimeter security technologies. A proper VMS will ensure that more flexibility is allowed to eliminate nuisance alarms that might otherwise be conveyed from the cameras to the VMS.

When a proper compatible VMS is used, it enables the integrator to integrate not only the CCTV cameras, but additionally the access control system and the electric fence. The VMS should be able to display incidents from all these systems on a single dashboard, irrespective of a camera trigger, the person using the access control or a possible problem on the electric fence.

Therefore the client should be advised accordingly to plan for a ‘future proof’ solution.

Surveillance cameras

Modern surveillance cameras are available with intelligent line crossing, human detection, vehicle detection and other video analysis functions and should be set up accordingly. These features, when compatible with the VMS, will relieve processing strain from the VMS’s server as intelligent analytics or artificial intelligence are resources hungry and tend to draw a lot more from the server’s processing and memory resources.

A very handy additional feature that some of the manufacturers are using on their cameras is the combination of a pre-recorded voice clip and a strobe light when the camera’s analytics has been triggered. This warns a possible perpetrator that he has been detected. At the same time, the trigger is sent to the onsite or offsite control room.

In summary

With proper planning, a client will be able to do upgrades to cameras, access control readers, etc. without needing to spend huge amounts of money on another layout on a new VMS and backbone.

We have to add that a proper maintenance plan must also be in place. Experience has shown us that all systems that receive regular preventative maintenance last almost twice as long as those where only the faulty items receive attention.

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