Page 110 - Security Today, April 2018

SURVEILLANCE DESIGN
ADDRESSING THE CHALLENGES
Dealer puts emphasis on providing safety measure on large metro university campuses BTy Jennifer Hackenburg
oday, university campus applica- tions offer many challenges for a surveillance dealer with student and faculty safety being para- mount. Add in the complexities
of an urban setting, integral public parks and student housing, and no barriers separating students from the greater community. Cities can be truly a part of the massive metropolitan campus. Hence, this must become part of the design dynamic for dealers.
When addressing the challenges of design- ing video surveillance for a large metropoli- tan campus the highest priority for campus security is to protect people, property, and structures, as well as to thwart crime and pro- vide situational awareness. These challenges couple municipal and educational concerns to create opportunities to provide innovative solutions to address the challenges.
Dahua’s 4-Star dealer partner, Custom Video Security of Los Angeles has done their fair share of educational surveillance design and consulting. Whether a local elementary or high school to a large campus, the lessons learned can provide additional design insights to all industry verticals.
Take Custom Video Security’s end user—a large Midwest metropolitan university as an example.
“Our main challenge was quantity. The campus is so large that it takes many cameras to monitor the interior and exterior of the buildings,” said Raymond Shadman, president of Custom Video Security. “In order to blanket the campus, we needed cameras for multiple entrances, hallways, common areas, parking lots, security gates and cafeterias.”
Another challenge was transforming their system from analog to IP; a networked solu- tion was sought to expand and completely overhaul security on the sprawling campus. The new installation would include both indoor and outdoor cameras for three-story student housing structures—along with a Conference Center, the university’s business and event hub.
In replacing and expanding the outdated analog system, the dealer needed to find a cost-effective solution that offered higher resolutions, the ability to scale, easier system and user management, and multiple camera options, such as PTZ, built-in microphones and PoE. In addition to cost, many universi-
ties have other priorities such as, warranty, payment and shipping terms, and technical support that needs to be considered.
PRE-PROJECT PLANNING STAGE
Dealers with robust pre-planning activities can alleviate complications during the instal- lation by providing product reviews with the customer, which outline the benefit of prod- ucts even down to accessories such as brack- ets and mountings. This will ensure successful and efficient installation even when using in- house campus IT and facilities staff as a cost- saving measure.
Custom Video Security recommended equipment through a process using a camera design map, and it allows the end-user to align their expectation with the designer’s recommendations. This design map provides vital information to the end-user in terms of angles and pixel density coverage before they purchase or install equipment.
“Occasionally, end-users may not request a camera design,” Shadman said. “In these instances we typically use the camera’s posted horizontal field of view (HFOV) to meet the project’s requirements and we explain the advantages and disadvantages of using a wid-
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er-angle fixed-lens camera versus a vari-focal or motorized zoom option.”
Keeping all of the priorities of the univer- sity in mind, Custom Video Security worked with them in several ways, including letting them try out different models, helping design the system, and educating the educators on the best options for their campus. A vital goal of any successful large installation is to ensure your end-user understands and is satisfied with the solutions offered.
PUTTING THE PLAN INTO ACTION
A wide variety of Dahua solutions were rec- ommended to provide complete coverage of the campus, which was the prime objective of the university. For the parking lot solution, Dahua Ultra HD 12MP 360-degree panoram- ic fisheye cameras were used for increased situational awareness, covering a wide area in modest detail.
Additionally, the 1.3MP pinhole cameras were used in the parking lot inside gates to capture vital front license plate information from oncoming vehicles and provide positive vehicle identification.
Also deployed were Dahua’s 3MP PTZ dome cameras which include a built-in
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