The IFSEC South Africa Securex 2009 showcase is here at last. Following the successful IFSEC UK show in May, the local exhibition promises to be better than ever. This section of Hi-Tech Security Solutions is devoted to covering some of the products as well as an opinion or two in the run-up to the exhibition.
Visitors to the IFSEC South Africa Securex exhibition at the Sandton Convention Centre from 30 June–2 July 2009 (www.ifsecsa.com), will be able to see high-tech systems that allow security service providers to give their clients 'more bang for their buck' by impacting positively on the bottom line.
Steve Conradie, chief executive officer of the Security Industry Alliance (SIA), a body that represents all sectors of South Africa’s R50-billion industry, became involved in security initially within the mining industry. All spheres of commerce and industry require security in one form or another and Conradie says companies sourcing security services need to ensure they get payback from the security systems and services implemented for them.
“Security is very much a hands-off product that companies and organisations generally outsource and often the bottom line benefits of that security only really become apparent when the security service is stopped. Many companies with no security or inadequate security in place do not know what they lose on an ongoing basis unless they discover a problem by chance.”
He stresses that security is not a once-off but rather an ongoing facet of doing business, whether it is a gold mine or a stationery store. “There is invariably more than one hole to plug and security must strive at all times to be one step ahead because the impact of theft, shrinkage, malicious damage, sabotage, embezzlement and losses caused by other means can be crippling.”
Good security translates into lower insurance premiums and any prevention of loss goes straight onto the bottom line – just as any undetected loss goes straight off the bottom line and may remain detected unless there is effective security. New technologies, such as radio frequency identification (RFID), biometrics, video analytics, wireless communications and the Internet are having a major impact on the efficacy of security.
Some of this technology is locally designed and developed, such as the aptly named 'Bloodhound' solution from Cape Town-based Bloodhound Technologies. Patented locally and now in some overseas countries, the Bloodhound uses RFID, mobile communications technologies and the Internet to accurately monitor security guards deployed to secure residential, commercial and industrial estates or complexes.
“The system enables us to track, in realtime, the movements of security guards during their deployment from signals emitted from RF tags with unique numbers placed at key points along pre-determined or random patrol routes. The system immediately reports online via e-mail or SMS any interruptions or deviations from the norm directly to the company providing the security service,” says Bloodhound Technologies sales manager John Wilson.
Advantages of the system are complete transparency of information between the client and the security service provider, significant improvements in security efficiency as it ensures patrolling is executed properly and, most importantly, better value for the client company from its investment in the security service as loss prevention immediately boosts profit. Wilson adds that the system is being used by shopping malls, golf estates, housing developments, multistorey office blocks, factories, warehouses and mines, among others. Because it is online, the tracking service can be obtained from anywhere, as long as there is an Internet connection.
Other areas where new technology in the shape of automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) and high resolution, high speed CCTV camera systems are used to control vehicle theft, vehicle access and egress, including parking security and control at multi-entrance locations such as shopping centres, office complexes, casinos and airports. Technology in this sphere and for traffic management and control locally developed by Protoclea Advanced Image Engineering will be promoted at IFSEC South Africa Securex.
SS&ES will be launching a range of cutting edge products at the show, including control room monitoring software, a system offering central automated monitoring, off-site video alarm verification and IP cameras, an outdoor detection system, wireless alarms and long range outdoor microwave detection, a spectral outdoor biometric fingerprint reading system and integrated security solutions involving access, CCTV, alarms, biometrics and building management.
Network Video Technologies will be promoting UTP (unshielded twisted pair) transmission mediums for CCTV that can also be used to transmit low-voltage power and telemetry data, saving costs and time for installers The UTP infrastructure can also be used for composite video and IP-enabled video. A wide range of UTP-based solutions will be on show, including new digital EQ hubs, power, video and data supply hubs, passive receiver hubs and multimedia products.
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