Frankfurt Commerzbank Tower: Zelaris IP video management software monitors 800 branches for failure and sabotage  

The bold architecture of the Commerzbank Tower is the source of fascination for many visitors to Frankfurt - behind the mirrored façade a complex software solution takes care of the security required in the Commerzbank network of branches.

VIDEOR's partner, the Frankfurt system house Heer GmbH, realized this by using eneo Zelaris IP.  The system application comprises alarm processing to the central control room, multivendor recording of alarm images as well as scheduled functional tests and sabotage monitoring though reference picture comparison. 

The software package needed for this consists of eneo Zelaris IP Video Management Software, PVis Management System and PVis Extended Risk Management.  The following requirements had to be satisfied:

• Failure and sabotage monitoring of the CCTV cameras installed in the 800 Commerzbank branches
• PC processing and storage of current pictures in the event of a raid

Automatic site plan display

External camera connection in the over 800 branches Germany-wide is performed directly over the network or over the image storage system used in the relevant branch.  Failure and sabotage monitoring is carried out by scheduled picture comparison in the tower central control room and is achieved by retrieving one picture from every external camera cyclically or on a defined time schedule.  This picture is compared with a previously stored reference picture and is evaluated by utilising configurable parameters.

Over 120 CCTV cameras are operated throughout the tower in addition to 70 cameras and 15 PTZ systems in the adjacent foreign currency office where 300 to 500 million euros in foreign currency are traded daily. The cash desks are recorded on 19 Dallmeier recorders with a recording rate of 50 fps.  

Simultaneous picture processing

Gerhard Reinhardt, responsible for central security and branch organisation, said, "We use site-plan based Zelaris software for camera image comparison as no recordings are made.  A total of 800 branches each with at least three cameras are being connected to the system during the course of project, so that over 2,400 cameras shall be processed at completion."

The alarm systems already installed in the branches can be connected to the central control room over OPC servers.  Automatic site plan display with marked, triggered cameras as well as simultaneous picture processing in the control centre has the purpose of evaluating alarm systems and supplying proof.  All displayed pictures as well as the verification pictures for sabotage monitoring are also stored in the control centre.

Multivendor video management

"We have created a dedicated network for this purpose at Commerzbank, and the first 18 branch offices are now connected.  Whilst we use PVis for transmission, Zelaris is used for video management and camera identification based on site plans.  This allows regular automatic picture comparison, a procedure that would otherwise need several months to check all the cameras.  The system is the ideal solution for us, as it can be expanded by stages and by using multivendor components - in this regard it more or less grows with us," is how Reinhardt expressed his satisfaction with the situation.

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