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SECURITY AWARDS 2013
2013 AUSTRALIAN SECURITYINDUSTRY AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE As the saying goes ‘winners are grinners’. There was much grinning on shows as the winners of the 18th Australian Security Industry Awards for Excellence were presented at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Melbourne on the 2nd May. Over the following pages, we take a look at the stories behind the winners of the various awards presented on the night. Integrated Security Solution – Projects over $250,000: Blake Systems, Brisbane City Hall Restoration Project
In 2008 Brisbane City Council committed to a $215 million project for the preservation and restoration of the heritage listed City Hall, a building with immense cultural significance for Brisbane, Queensland and the nation. As a People’s place the building requires both open flow and high level access restrictions incorporated into its day to day functionality. Security of the facility had to achieve a highly evolved, integrated, yet unobtrusive controlled environment to protect visitors, tenants, their property, council stall and this major physical asset Following Brisbane City Council’s (BCC) undertaking to preserve and restore the icon that is City Hall, Blake Systems were approved to provide the electronic security facilities as part of the overall restoration project under the control of the lead contractor, Abigroup. Technology: A centrally managed Gallagher access control system running in a virtual environment on the council’s
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data network is installed at over 170 Council facilities used by almost 14,000 card holders. Most of these facilities are also equipped with AXIS IP cameras operating on a Genetec video management platform. Incorporated in the system is the Ekahau WI-FI duress system which differentiates the City Hall solution. It provides BCC with an allocating system that secures assets while removing the need for visible equipment and reduces the potentially labour intensive monitoring of this diverse building.To support this, specified video analytics has been expanded to include moveable objects recognition. At City Hall, the CCTV cameras act as sensors silently watching for out of character changes in defined circumstances. For example, a painting is fitted with a wireless tag that is electronically monitored for movement. These movements are then tracked and the nearest camera is notified to record at a full frame rate.The plan manager feature of the video management system then alerts the control room staff that a situation has occurred and they are able to focus in on a particular area, without the need to monitor all 215 cameras and 127 channels of video analytics at any one time. The advantage of utilising the 127 channels of video analytics with a people counting capability included provision of both a health and safety and a marketing tool for BCC and other tenants (ie the monitoring of traffic flows, grouping of people and visitor destinations as well as the unexpected movement of people or assets and left objects).This high level of integrated analytics both increased the security of the facility and provided cost saving through the reduction of staff required to monitor the system. Project Management Challenges: The staged demolition, re-construction and reoccupation of the building posed a significant constraint on management of
the project in terms of labour requirements and project delivery. Cable access and the need to maintain the aesthetics of the building meant that specified pathways were not always achievable or practical.This was managed by working with BCC and Abigroup to limit the physical and financial impact of these changes. The achievement of excellence on this project is the relationship Blake Systems was able to build with their clients (Abigroup as their direct employer and Brisbane City Council as the end-user). Since first engaging Blake Systems as its principal electronic security solutions provider in 2009, BCC has worked with them to develop a platform for all future systems.The installation at City Hall will be a key node in the city wide security and surveillance network.
Technical Security Solution - Projects under $250,000: Macquarie University, Multi channel emergency communication system
Macquarie University is the first Australian university to introduce a comprehensive emergency alert system across its campuses. In 2012 it implemented the alerts system (alerts.ms.edu.au) to communicate with staff and students in emergency situations. The system can reach staff and students at any of the University’s campuses at any time to provide information and advice on what measures to take to stay safe.These messages can be targeted to small or specialist groups as necessary.The cloud based