Plaisir is a vibrant town, located 20 miles from Paris in the Ile-de-France region of France. Plaisir has the seventh largest population in the Yvelines area, with over 50% of its inhabitants in work and 30% under the age of 19. The town has 1,254 companies making it an attractive and innovative hub for businesses. Its high-quality sporting and cultural facilities offer Plaisir's residents a wide variety of daily activities (e.g. Palais des Sports Pierre de Coubertin: a multisport facility with around 8,000 members; Espace Coluche Theatre: a cultural centre with a large 868-seat auditorium). The educational infrastructure of the town has the capacity to educate over 5,500 pupils across 33 schools and colleges. Plaisir has also successfully preserved its heritage such as its castle (listed as a historical monument) and benefits from a high standard of living.
The situation
The town of Plaisir wanted to create a major cultural centre with a regional influence worthy of a city with 32,000 inhabitants. In 2003 it started the complete refurbishment of the old "Espace Coluche", originally designed as a mixed-use facility (culture and sport) which no longer complied with security standards.
The new "Espace Coluche" Theatre is a building with a floor space of 5430 square metres spread over three floors and is home to three different cultural centres. The largest is the 868-seat theatre and its associated facilities (administration, reception, entertainers accommodation, dressing rooms and restrooms) covering a surface area of approximately 3650 square metres; the Clé des Champs, occupies 540 square metres and houses a large hall with standing space for 300 people, 2 recording studios and an "acoustic and convivial" bar area and facilities (administrative offices, technical control rooms, ticketing counter, dressing rooms); the third entity is a dance school covering 837 square metres. The remaining floor space is made up of "technical" rooms and staff accommodation occupied by the facility caretaker.
The "Espace Coluche" Theatre was opened on 20th October 2006. Refurbishment of the security system was completed in April 2009.
The customer's expectations
A key element of the building's security was to replace the old, faulty security system and integrate it with the building's fire system to meet insurance requirements. The council also wanted to reduce its security costs, in particular monitoring costs associated with the protection of its multiple centre facility. This required a security system capable of functioning in a multi-group setting.
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| The "Espace Coluche" theatre security system consists of Galaxy Dimension solution |
Due to the building's diverse range of users, each requiring access to different areas of the building depending on their specific needs, the security solution needed an effective access control system. Other important criteria were to find a security installation company that could be both responsive and flexible in meeting the needs of the project, and was also capable of completing the installation on time, in compliance with certain time constraints i.e. completing the work during the school holidays only and taking into account theatre rehearsal and performance times. It was therefore essential that the security system be proven and reliable, as well as being easy to install with the flexibility to adapt to the building's complex configuration.
The solution
Following an invitation to tender, the town of Plaisir awarded the contract for the installation of the "Espace Coluche" Theatre's new security system to security installation company - Alarme Chez Vous (ACV). ACV won the contract based on its experience and results, having already successfully installed 32 Galaxy control panels in the town, meeting the diverse security needs of different types of building (see next page). ACV's responsiveness and its ability to understand the exact needs of such a project were also key in its selection. With over 10 years' experience in the field, ACV worked in close collaboration with the Department Manager for Building Heritage and Fire Safety/Intrusion in Plaisir, from the initial design of the project, including submission of detailed plans, to completion of the installation while providing customised technical support.
The Galaxy Dimension integrated intrusion and access control solution by Honeywell was selected by the town council for several reasons. Firstly, it addressed the key issue of managing building access of multiple users. Through the use of badges, the system effectively manages building access for a large number of users with various access profiles (e.g. dance school teachers, performers, the caretaker, technical and administrative personnel, maintenance services etc.) through programming authorised time schedules. Galaxy Dimension's automatic setting feature also helps reduce alarm monitoring costs as the alarm receiving centre (ARC) no longer needs to intervene if people forget to activate the system. The system also incorporates audio verification operations on a group by group basis, offering up to 32 microphones; this is a useful new function for ARCs. In addition, the security system is managed by a single Galaxy Dimension control panel that can manage up to 32 groups. The control panel can also be used to manage over 200 smoke sensors, thus meeting insurance requirements for fire prevention.
The "Espace Coluche" theatre security system consists of one Galaxy Dimension GD-520 control panel (capable of covering up to 520 zones), one Galaxy TouchCenter touch-screen keypad, eight Max3 badge readers, ten Smart RIO EN and twenty eight I/O expander modules allowing the management of 315 zones, 72 doors and 480 users for intrusion and fire detection as well as technical management. The system is ideally suited for the "Espace Coluche" building as the venue has several floors used for different purposes.
The benefits
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| Through the Galaxy Dimension solution, Honeywell and ACV have been able to provide protection for Plaisir's buildings |
A solution adapted to the needs of local authorities:
"What particularly attracted us to the Galaxy system was the ability to upgrade and expand the system," explains Mr Lepineux, Deputy Mayor of Plaisir and responsible for Works- Infrastructure and Prevention-Security. "This means relatively low general and maintenance costs. Another benefit is the number of user-specified badges that can be utilised with Honeywell products. This is particularly suitable for local authorities whose premises and sites are used by large numbers of people." In addition, the town council's, technical services department has the option of using software to remotely connect to Galaxy security systems where it can receive key system information and therefore remotely control the maintenance and management of all the city council's buildings' security.
Remarkable adaptability
"The Galaxy Dimension system is especially useful because it can be adapted to all types of installation, primarily through its system architecture in terms of cabling and programming but also through its capacity to manage a large number of connections - approximately 300 points are wired in the Espace Coluche," explains Mr. Gallois, Manager of ACV. "This means access and monitoring can be adapted to the actual users. All technical data related to the building is collected by the Galaxy control panel, classified by group and then sent to the alarm receiving centre. In order to save time for personnel on duty, we also send information via text message directly to their mobile phones - they are quickly brought up to speed so that they can intervene immediately on site."
A user-friendly system thanks to the touch screen keypad
The Galaxy TouchCenter touch-screen keypad allows direct access to information such as the events log, and easy user management with a scroll list display for easier comprehension and to help limit errors. "This is a highly dynamic solution giving the user an interactive interface which has the advantage of rapid data management," explains Mr. Gallois. "The keypad is fully configurable and highly responsive. In addition, the system can also be configured using the TouchCenter's virtual MK7 Galaxy keypad."
A reliable and certified system
The Galaxy Dimension system, with dual NF&A2P type 3 (for intrusion detection and access control) and EN50131 certifications, meets all the necessary quality standards expected by insurance companies and end users. "The reliability of Galaxy products is excellent," says Mr. Lepineux. "Some Galaxy control panels installed within the town are around 10 years old, and despite being subject to intensive use, the equipment remains reliable. Yes, we would certainly recommend Galaxy systems to other council officials."
The results
Through the Galaxy Dimension integrated intrusion and access control solution, Honeywell and ACV have been able to provide protection for Plaisir's buildings, by meeting its requirements, delivering systems on time and adapting to specific building's needs.
"The main risk for local authorities is vandalism to buildings," explains Mr. Chanseaume, Department Manager of Building Heritage and Fire Safety/Intrusion in Plaisir. "The Galaxy system's total security coverage and its reliability allows early detection of intruders, helping us to limit damage to our properties. It is important for the town that our investment in the Galaxy systems delivers a rapid return on investment. Three buildings, where Galaxy systems were recently installed, have already been saved through their integrated intrusion and fire detection systems. The castle is one example of the town's heritage that has been saved in this way."
