BMS Integrated Services - Experts & Thought Leaders

The largest ski and outdoor sports resort in North America required a high-performance HD video surveillance system that can ensure visitor and employee safety, protect company assets and reduce theft in its retail and rental division. Located just 125 km north of Vancouver, British Columbia, Whistler Blackcomb is a worldclass ski resort that accommodates over two million skiers and snowboarders annually. One of the main venues during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, Whistler Blackcomb is the largest ski resort in North America and home of the world-record breaking “Peak 2 Peak” Gondola. Security personnel at Whistler Blackcomb manage the Avigilon high-definition security system from their control room using the Avigilon Control Center (ACC) 5 network management software (NVMS) with High Definition Stream Management (HDSM) technology. The resort uses over 100 Avigilon HD Dome and HD Bullet cameras, ranging from 1 MP to 5 MP in both indoor and outdoor settings, to monitor retail and rental stores, inventory locations, public loading areas, financial vaults, employee service areas, and numerous doors and gates. Whistler Blackcomb uses Avigilon video encoders to leverage the resort’s 100-plus existing analog cameras Whistler Blackcomb uses Avigilon video encoders to leverage the resort’s 100-plus existing analog cameras. The team also uses ACC Mobile to view live and recorded images remotely and Avigilon Network Video Recorders (NVRs) to store up to 30 days of continuous surveillance footage. Benefits Create a safe environment for visitors and staff Cost effective installation Prevent accidents and theft Meet insurance requirements Reduce investigation time Upgraded video surveillance In recent years, the resort had relied on an outdated, largely analog-based video surveillance system to oversee its security initiatives. But with 8,171 acres of skiable terrain along with over 100 buildings and facilities on the property, it was inevitable that Whistler Blackcomb would need to upgrade to a versatile, high-performance video surveillance solution that can efficiently manage the area. “Our video coverage for viewing was antiquated and not effective,” said Carl Rochon, IT Systems Administrator at Whistler Blackcomb. We felt that Avigilon offered the complete package of quality cameras at a good price" “The number of buildings, the terrain and the multiple business units that we operate certainly posed a challenge and made it difficult for us as a security department to analyse footage right away.” With the assistance of the Vancouver-based security integrator, BMS Integrated Services, the resort considered several surveillance camera manufacturers before ultimately selecting Avigilon. “We felt that Avigilon offered the complete package of quality cameras at a good price and an excellent interface to maximise the effectiveness of those cameras,” said Rochon.  600 cameras and NVR installation “We are continually impressed with this combination.” Whistler Blackcomb has been so satisfied with the Avigilon system, the resort has plans to install over 600 more cameras and 12 NVRs in the next few years. “We are moving closer to our goal of greater employee safety, external guest safety and the protection of company assets by utilising surveillance technology with better evidence,” Rochon said. “We are certainly moving in that direction with our Avigilon solution.” Security personnel at Whistler Blackcomb use the ACC 5 software to efficiently manage the resort’s HD surveillance system. Due to the scope of Whistler Blackcomb, the resort has multiple users within each business unit (60 in total) that have 24-hour access to cameras within their designated area. Whether security personnel are monitoring from their desktops or from their smart phones and tablets using ACC Mobile, they can quickly locate and assess certain incidents. HD video surveillance has enabled security officials at Whistler Blackcomb to monitor large outdoor areas with greater efficiency, which has been a key asset in locating lost skiers or assessing any incidents. Avigilon Control Center software “The Avigilon Control Center software is a tool that enables our security and management team to be more efficient in their jobs,” said Rochon. “Our staff can view video, both live or recorded, and immediately address situations.” Rochon attributes the software’s ease-of-use and advanced playback and search functionality as the ACC software’s key benefits. “We used to literally spend hours searching individual camera footage on local DVRs to hopefully find anything useful,” Rochon said. “Now, it takes less than a minute to achieve significantly greater evidence. The search capability is mind-blowing to say the least.” Given the vast terrain and multiple business units that Whistler Blackcomb is home to, ensuring the safety of guests and employees can be challenging for security officials at the resort. Each separate division within Whistler Blackcomb’s umbrella of operations has their own security and safety concerns. “Our Guest Services Division would cite employee and guest safety as their top priority,” Rochon said. The Avigilon solution has also proven to be a cost-effective surveillance solution for the resort HD video surveillance “It is from this perspective that we endeavor to leverage practices and technology to minimise these concerns.” HD video surveillance has enabled security officials at Whistler Blackcomb to monitor large outdoor areas with greater efficiency, which has been a key asset in locating lost skiers or assessing any incidents. “As we upgrade our cameras across our mountain operations, the only question I am constantly asked from the various business units is, ‘When can we get that new camera solution installed at our location?’” said Rochon. “It makes a much-needed difference for improved safety, security and protection.” Despite the size of Whistler Blackcomb, the Avigilon solution has also proven to be a cost-effective surveillance solution for the resort. “We were always told that Avigilon was too expensive to install for a site like ours,” said Rochon. “We found the opposite to be true.”  With over two million annual skiers and snowboarders, as well as 1500 full-time and 3500 seasonal employees, minimising theft was a challenging task for Whistler Blackcomb. Since deploying the Avigilon HD solution, the security team at Whistler Blackcomb has been able to effectively protect the resort’s retail and rental stores, inventory locations, public loading areas, financial vaults, employee service areas, and numerous doors and gates. The resort has also been able to use the high-definition footage to identify and prosecute individuals who commit theft Aid in crime-prevention The resort has also been able to use the high-definition footage to identify and prosecute individuals who commit theft. “With each camera installation, it gives us greater evidence to apprehend the culprits as well as deter those that may be contemplating such actions,” said Rochon. “Our local RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) detachment doesn’t hesitate to request video evidence anymore since we have installed our Avigilon cameras.” Almost immediately after deploying the Avigilon solution in the ski rental shop at the resort, the security team was able to catch two individuals stealing expensive snowboards and equipment. “Because of the clarity of the image captured, we were immediately able to clearly identify our suspects and push that picture out to all our managers in the area,” said Rochon. “The perpetrators tried to flee Whistler quickly and it didn’t work for them.” The Avigilon solution also positively impacts the resort’s ability to affect the costs associated with vandalism and theft. Once the resort completes its Avigilon camera expansion, Rochon estimates Avigilon’s end-to-end solution will help Whistler Blackcomb recover $250,000 worth of product per year. “All in all, we probably have half a million dollars worth of theft or damage to property that shouldn’t occur,” said Rochon. “Avigilon will not only help us cut that cost in half, but it will also lower our liability insurance cost.”

The integrated solution brings together EntraPass software with exacqVision NVRs and VMS, and DSC MAXSYS intrusion alarm panels Camosun College is a multi-campus, community college with a student population of approximately 16,000. Located in Victoria, British Columbia, the college is known for its diversity with a yearly student population of more than 1,100 Aboriginal students and 1,500 international students from over 70 countries. Camosun College offers more than 160 academic programmes and includes two campuses: its Lansdowne Campus in Victoria and its rural Interurban Campus in Saanich, a nearby suburb. As a community college, Camosun College offers a broad range of academic programmes that include trades such as welding and construction, technical degrees in computers and engineering, and medical and nursing degrees. Camosun College also offers online degree programmes. Between its Lansdowne and Interurban campuses, which are located 10 km apart from one another, Camosun College operates, maintains and secures more than 50 buildings, including nearly one million square feet and 120 acres of land. Its facilities include a public dental clinic where dental students in training see patients, two child care centres, invigilation (exam) rooms that are monitored remotely by CCTV, executive offices, classrooms, cafeterias and study areas for students. Camosun College security expansion project The latest stage of the college’s security expansion project included the Trades Education and Innovation Complex, the Dental Building and the Paul Building. Camosun College is known for its technical training programmes and planned to open a new state-of-the-art Trades Education and Innovation Complex at its Interurban campus in 2016. The Dental Building, another part of the project, is home to the college’s dental hygiene programmes, including classroom and clinical practice space, radiography rooms housing expensive diagnostic equipment and computer labs. It also houses the school’s dental clinic, which provides direct dental care to patients from the community and includes a reception area for patients. The Paul Building, the third building in the project, is a college administration building. Integrated security solution required With the project’s mix of new construction and renovation, Camosun College sought an integrated security solution that could blend the school’s existing Kantech access control system with updated readers, controllers, new and existing cameras, new VMS software and video recorders and existing intrusion panels. The goal of the project was to secure the perimeter of the college, as well as the new Trades Complex and Paul and Dental Buildings, with plans to deploy the same systems in additional buildings across its two campuses. “We wanted to work with the facility security team to shift the approach to security to move from an incident response-based approach to a more holistic outlook for an overall integrated security solution,” said Don Laidlaw, Senior Project Manager, BMS Integrated Services, Camosun’s Vancouver-based system integration firm. “We also wanted to future-proof the security systems and for new installations to be scalable, according to need.” The solution enables college security staff to have comprehensive overview of campus security at Lansdowne & Interurban campuses The Trades, Dental and Paul buildings are each home to a wide variety of activities involving students, faculty, visitors who use the buildings for day and night classes, dental care, study groups, exams, executive meetings and other daily activities. With such diversity in access and use, the school wanted to set up areas to control access to specific doors and sections of the buildings with greater precision, granting and revoking access to specific groups of users as needed and matching video cameras to doors for better integrated management of the campuses’ security. In addition, Camosun College wanted to extend administrative user access to the integrated system to include staff members outside the security department, such as IT staff, invigilation room monitors or managers of computer labs, so those staff members could manage some of the access rights within their respective areas. The college also was seeking a one-card system that required integration with its human resources department’s software, so that access cards could be easily initiated by the HR department and with multiple access levels of access for different types of users. Therefore, they needed a security system that could be easily used by anyone with minimal training. “For these buildings, we had a long list of requirements: fully integrated security, easy remote access, a seamless video/access/intrusion integration and superb technical support and training,” said Joe Matthews, Security Specialist for Camosun College. “We wanted to be able to use the magnetic stripe cards and DVRs that we already had together with new IP-based access controllers and video, and with our intrusion system, and to be able to migrate to these new technologies over time as our budget allows.” Remote access to the integrated access control, video and intrusion platform was essential to the smooth operation of the new system. With a limited number of security staff members, the college needed a mobile and web-based user interface that would allow operators to manage the system from a smart device or home computer with relative ease. Tyco Security Products solution With help from BMS Integrated Services, Camosun College chose and integrated a security solution from Tyco Security Products that brings together the EntraPass Corporate Edition security management software with exacqVision network video recorders and video management system (VMS) software, and DSC MAXSYS intrusion alarm panels for the multi-building project. Through its native integrations with exacqVision and DSC intrusion, EntraPass allows for the remote management of access, intrusion and video, including existing cameras, analogue access control and video systems, using a web browser or mobile app, one of the college’s ‘must haves’ on its list of requirements for a new, integrated security system. “The built-in integrations between EntraPass, exacqVision and MAXSYS are intuitive and at such a deep level that you just know they are going to work,” Matthews said. “It truly becomes one less thing you need to even think about.” Using the EntraPass Go mobile app and EntraPass Web, a web-based platform, Camosun security officers can manage the college’s integrated system from any authorised Internet enabled device. Security staff can easily grant and revoke access to specific buildings and doors as needed, and also access camera feeds and recordings when needed. With the integrated system, staff can designate doors to computer labs, invigilation rooms and other areas easily and know who is coming and going through the two campuses. Using EntraPass Go mobile app & EntraPass Web, Camosun security staff can manage integrated system from any authorised Internet device “The Tyco Security Products and Kantech development teams are truly willing to listen to the needs of both the end user and Integrator as they add features to releases,” said Laidlaw. “In this case, the web-delivered application fits perfectly and continues to evolve as required.” EntraPass’ graphical mapping makes the overall management of the security system easier and more time-efficient. Using defined nested maps, end users can quickly navigate large numbers of cameras according to their physical location, which enhances event management and incident response times. Mapping also lets security staff locate and view alarms on a map and click on an alarm’s icon for more information, such as the controller’s status or to view matching video at the alarm point. The graphical maps in EntraPass make adding alarm zones and devices easier, and can even be graphically interfaced with such third-party applications as Google Earth, giving security staff a literal 10,000-foot view of the campuses. New Ethernet-based Kantech KT-400 door controllers, each capable of supporting four doors, including those still using legacy magnetic swipe readers, answered the college’s requirement for simplified installation with onboard Ethernet ports for quick connection to the college’s network. Kantech controllers connect directly to existing DSC intrusion alarm panels so EntraPass can receive intrusion events and zone status and arm and disarm intrusion partitions. When it came to video surveillance for the three buildings, Camosun College selected the exacqVision video management system, for use with its new video cameras. In an emergency, the exacqVision Enterprise VMS software can allow security officers to monitor data in real time. The new CameraLinks feature gives College operators their most needed Kantech EntraPass access control events at their fingertips in live video mode. They can easily control alarm outputs and triggers from the live camera view through one single interface. Additionally, they can completely control their video and access control from their mobile app. With access, video and intrusion systems running on a common software platform, the college’s security team can now forecast a migration strategy for the school much more easily, as the college prepares for future renovations, construction and upgrades. exacqVision servers provide the high level of reliability needed by the college and are capable of recording up to 64 IP cameras, for a total storage capacity of up to 48TB, another important component in the project. Future system expansion plans With the successful deployment of the new security system in the new Trades and Education and Innovation Complex and Dental and Paul Buildings, college security officials hope to implement the same multi-discipline security system in all campus buildings and in new construction, using this initial phase as a blueprint for the future as the school migrates from analogue to IP-based systems. Future plans include the potential expansion of the system throughout both campuses, followed by incremental updates of other security systems. According to Matthews, the new integrated security platform gives Camosun College the flexibility to expand and future-proof its investments, providing the college community with the secure environment needed for its continued success.

The system’s graphical mapping capabilities provide easy to understand visual representations of alarms and events Tyco Security Products announced recently that Camosun College of Victoria, British Columbia, has deployed an integrated access control, video and intrusion solution to centralise security monitoring and response activities across its two main campuses, including its newly constructed Trades and Education and Innovation Complex. Easy and more time-efficient security system To secure its student population of more than 16,000, Camosun College selected a Kantech access control system with EntraPass security management software and exacqVision video management system (VMS) software and exacqVision network video recorders, which integrate with the college’s existing cameras, analogue access control hardware and DSC MAXSYS intrusion alarm panels for comprehensive security management. The system’s graphical mapping capabilities provide easy to understand visual representations of alarms and events, making the overall management of the security system easier and more time-efficient. Create and manage security zones The integrated Tyco Security Products solution allows security staff to create zones within the buildings, manage access and view camera feeds and recordings through a single user interface using the EntraPass Go mobile app and web-based platform. Staff members can use the single interface to designate doors to computer labs, testing rooms and other areas and to monitor traffic across the two campuses. “The comprehensive user interface allows our staff to assess alarms and events right from their smart phones, which improves our response times and ultimately the safety of the college community,” said Joe Matthews, Security Specialist for Camosun College. “The integrated system also simplifies the process of adding and expanding the security system over time, as the needs of our campuses change.” BMS Integrated Services, the college’s Vancouver-based systems integrator, also assisted with the college’s selection and installation of Kantech KT-400 door controllers, which are connected directly to existing DSC intrusion alarm panels and exacqVision Enterprise VMS software and exacqVision video recorders for its video surveillance. The exacqVision VMS allows operators to monitor video, audio and data in real time.