Page 90 - Security Today, November/December 2020

Security Platform
"Improved security with new capabilities Security personnel at Mount Royal have noticed major improvements since the switch, like the ability to bring up cameras on areas of interest."
The school that would become Mount Royal University, in Cal- gary, Alberta, was founded more than a century ago. Through- out its long and rich history, Mount Royal has changed its offerings and location while continuing to meet the needs of the community it serves. Today, that community includes nearly 15,000 students and 1,700 faculty and staff.
In 1972, the school moved from downtown to the Lincoln Park neighborhood in southwest Calgary. Prior to Mount Royal’s arrival, the area had been used as an air force base. This meant that the uni- versity provided open spaces with little intrusion.
In the decades since, however, a lot has changed. As Peter Davison, director of security for Mount Royal, described it, “We basically sat on our own little island. But now, because of urban expansion, the campus is surrounded by commercial, residential and retail environ- ments.” The area around Mount Royal now includes an industrial campus and business park as well as suburban housing. While there are several benefits to this increased urban density, it does present new security challenges. In 2017, the university began looking into expanding its physical security system. What started out as a 10-year plan that would encompass several stages quickly became a two-year plan that changed everything.
Some of the Challenges of a Legacy System
In the early 2000s, following increasing threats worldwide, Mount Royal deployed a video surveillance system. The University had a bud- get to spend, which led to camera deployment with limited planning.
“There was money spent but not with a lot of thought as to how the system was actually laid out. We used to look at a lot of hallways. And the system didn’t cover many of the areas that needed surveillance,” Davison said.
Additionally, the video system could not keep up with technologi- cal advancements or meet the University’s emerging security needs. “We tried to put a multi-image sensor into one of our buildings, and the old system just couldn’t handle it. We were constantly having cameras drop,” said Candice Merrill, Mount Royal security manager. “We really needed an overhaul of the backend too.”
Switching to Security Center
“Our original plan was to bring 16 cameras into Security Center and then, over the course of the next three to 10 years, start phasing out the old system. But, as soon as we got a look at the quality of the platform and the new cameras, that timeline quickly became two years,” Davison said. The program that initially was to have taken until 2027, is now complete.
Convincing the university to allocate the funds over the reduced timeline was relatively straightforward.
“Once they got a look at the system and its capabilities and we had defined a plan of how we were going to layout the cameras, they quickly signed-off,” Davison said. For the security team, the decision to select Genetec software was greatly influenced by the open archi- tecture and true unification.
“One of the deciding factors in going with Genetec and Security Center was the ability to include our intrusion alarm and access con- trol systems,” Merrill said.
After the university finished switching to their new cameras and
38 campuslifesecurity.com | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020