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| DVTEL'S Latitude allows for enhanced monitoring and event investigation capabilities |
Background
Intercontinental Terminals (ITC), is one of the largest independent terminal companies on the US Gulf Coast, and comprises 265 acres strategically situated on the Houston Ship Channel. ITC handles chemicals, petrochemicals, and liquefied gasses. More than 16,000 tank trucks and 10,000 rail cars pass through the facility each year. ITC services barges and deep water tankers. The terminal’s extensive pipeline system connects to a 7 million barrel capacity tank farm. Security Challenges The US government estimates there are over 15,000 chemical facilities nation-wide, including more than 100 in heavily populated areas. Such plants can store enough deadly chemicals to kill or injure hundreds of thousands of people. Chemical plants are often in the forefront of any discussion involving the Department of Homeland Security and the pressing need to implement upgraded security solutions at such critical sites. The US Senate drafted legislation that would shut chemical plants down if they failed to submit security plans. Against this backdrop of possible congressional action and the ever-present threat of terrorism, Intercontinental Terminals initiated a security upgrade program, financed in part by Transportation Security Administration grants, to better protect their facilities and customer assets.
The DVTEL solution
DVTEL’s Latitude NVMS
- 60 fixed, PTZ, and IR cameras monitoring the perimeter and strategic locations
- A fibre optic network that greatly reduced installation time and cost
- 24/7 video monitoring and recording, viewed from multiple locations any-where on the network and remotely
- Camera integration into an alarm management system that on alarm, jumps to 30 fps at 4 CIF.
- 23 days of video stored on the hard drive for ready access and review.
The highlights
- Enhanced monitoring and event investigation capabilities
- Video quality and system ease of use have improved staff response and greater sense of security at facility.
- System’s integration capabilities far outmatched the competition
- Security system has caught numerous security breaches on video, enabling staff to respond quickly and be better prepared for similar incidents
- Increased employee accountability and response through video verification allowed for better management practices
Results
- ITC plans to further exploit the DVTEL Latitude due to its ease of integration by adding intelligent video tofurther refine alarms and focus staff more effectively on the most significant threats.
- Additional integration with access control and facility maps also planned.
Customer testimonial
“If I had to cable this entire terminal with traditional coax, I can’t even estimate the material and labor costs that would be incurred.” Joe Fallon, ITC Security Engineer.
“I’ve been involved with installation of traditional systems and they were often a mess—DVRs, matrix switches, and coax all over the place. With DVTEL, we have an excellent, well-integrated base that can be expanded as budget is available. It couldn’t have been easier.”
“If we had to monitor all cameras constantly, it would require four people full-time. By integrating alarm management, we need only one person to monitor the cameras. ITC achieved 100% return on investment on the alarm management part of the system in less than a month.”
