The challenge
The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) operates an Air Traffic Control Centre, 4 long-range radar sites and 2 air traffic radio communication sites spread out across Shannon, Cork and Mayo. From IAA's Control Centre at Shannon some 280,000 over-flights are handled per year, they can handle up to 80% of the air traffic travelling between North America and Europe.
IAA are responsible for the safe transit of air traffic thoughout this busy air space therefore security is paramount to the health and safety of it's staff, visitors and equipment. Gerry Guihen, Property andf Security Manager the IAA says, "To do this, our security system must be able to ensure that all our assets are protected and secure at all times. We must look at new ways of managing the increased threat (since 9/11) and ensuring that people and assets are protected."
Not only is IAA responsible for the providing the management and aeronautical communications services in Irish controlled airspace, but it is also the regulator for safety standards within the Irish civil aviation sector.
IAA needed a remotely managed perimeter and site protection security system that could be used to monitor security (and health & safety), a system that could cover large areas with the ability to monitor several sites from a central control centre for the overall protection of personnel and equipment.
The solution
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| The high mounting of the PRO Detectors ensures the detectors are out of reach |
The IAA had a need to detect breaches to their security by human targets even in low visibility over varying areas and on numerous sites. IAA's security needs extended over several large remote sites, so the high mounting of the PRO Detectors (up to 4 metres high) ensures the detectors are out of reach of possible vandalisation and are tamperproof. The PIR technology can distinguish between a human intruder and other movements that could possibly be picked up by detectors such as animals or the motion from bushes and trees, this therefore reduces the number of false alarms. The installation of Pro Detector’s infrared technology can detect an intruder at up to 150 metres sensing temperature differences between them and the background. Due to the passive operation of the units, the area being protected cannot be determined by the intruder.
The system is very easy to install and reliable in difficult conditions such as low visibility, snow and fog, important when taking into account factors such at the Irish weather. If the Pro Detector identifies an intruder it triggers an alarm that activates Xtralis ADPRO FastTrace system, which immediately sends pictures to a central security control room, making the system a quick and simple solution to managing security over a large distance and on multiple sites. With Pro Detector technology in combination with Xtralis ADPRO FastTrace, IAA can now remotely monitor any breaches to its security (or any health & safety) issues on its sites spanning large areas directly to IAA’s Security Control Centre at Shannon.
Mr Guihen sees the ability to gather digital images across great distances as a break through in modern electronic security, “These new technologies are proving to be essential for today’s businesses with sites spread out over a country and even over the world.”
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| The IAA are responsible for the safe transit of air traffic throughout the busy air space |
The results
IAA found that Xtralis ADPRO FastTrace and the Pro Detector’s infra-red technology was the ideal solution to providing the security that the IAA needs to protect its air traffic control centre and also its six remote locations housing essential radar and communications infrastructure across the region.
The system was easy to install and Mr Guihen is very pleased with the results, he comments, “The system has been installed to protect, this is its primary function and we’re very pleased with results.”
IAA found that Xtralis ADPRO FastTrace and the Pro Detector’s infra-red technology can also monitor potential Health & Safety issues, as footage of any accidents or incidents can be recorded to determine the causes and the issues dealt with quickly and efficiently Mr Smeallie of A1Omada, the systems integrator adds: “The size of the project, the distances covered and the vagaries of the Irish weather have all made this a challenging project, but the results speak for themselves.”
