Siemens singled out with IFSEC Security Industry Award

From left to right: Breda Kenealy, sales manager IFSEC South Africa; Lester Potter, sales director Siemens; John Sergeant, broadcaster and author

Siemens has been awarded a prestigious IFSEC Security Industry Award in recognition of its innovative ‘state of the art' car parking solution for Heathrow's Terminal 5. Widely regarded as the industry's premier event, the Awards celebrate best practice and acknowledge the products and technological advances which are shaping the industry. The presentation was made by broadcaster and author, John Sergeant at a black tie event held on the opening night of IFSEC at the Hilton Metropole, Birmingham.

Siemens developed and delivered an innovative ‘Car Finder' system that integrates CCTV, digital recording, advanced automatic number plate technology, bay monitoring, barrier control and customer information kiosks, all controlled from the NCP Terminal 5 control centre. Heathrow's new £4.2bn Terminal 5 building, which opened in 2008, became the first airport in the world to use this smart technology. James Blue, director of fire and security for the Award organiser, UBM Live said "What we saw from Siemens was an exceptional level of commitment and a desire to exceed the requirements of the brief.  Siemens explored every possible option to achieve the best result for the client and incorporated emerging technologies to deliver a world class solution. Siemens is a very deserving winner of this Award."

Lester Potter, sales director for security solutions at Siemens explained: "To put the project in perspective, the Terminal 5 building is the size of 50 football pitches, spread over many floors, with nearly 4,000 car parking spaces. We wanted to go that extra mile for the client and to do this we had to drive the equipment harder and smarter. Our in house capabilities, which include expertise in both security systems and emerging information technologies, allowed us to do that. Naturally we are delighted that our work for BAA and NCP has been recognised by our peers."