NG Bailey IT Services - Experts & Thought Leaders

The British Security Industry Association (BSIA) has announced its regional security personnel winners for 2024, recognising frontline security officers across the United Kingdom for their commitment to keeping people, property and places professionally protected. The BSIA’s regional security personnel awards are part of the Association’s British Security Awards, which will be held from 2024 at the Royal Lancaster London. All regional winners will now go forward as national finalists – the full list will be published on 16 May along with the security business finalists. Exhibited by frontline security personnel Regional awards have recognised the talent, dedication, skill and bravery shown by frontline guard For 25 years, the regional awards have recognised the talent, dedication, skill and bravery exhibited by frontline security personnel in their roles. In 2024 the five categories, Best Newcomer, Best Team, Outstanding Act, Service to the Customer and Security Manager of the Year, saw a record number of entries. Mike Reddington, Chief Executive, BSIA said: “It is our honour to be able to recognise through the British Security Awards each year the work of security officers across the United Kingdom for their role in keeping people, property and places professionally protected. This year’s winners should be immensely proud of their achievements, and we wish them the best of luck as they now go forward to the national finals of the British Security Awards on 3 July.” Regional winning companies The 2024 regional winning companies are ABM, Bidvest Noonan, Dyson, G4S, Lodge Service, Land Sheriffs, Ministry of Defence, MAN Commercial Protection, Mitie, NG Bailey, OCS Group, Rockfort Secure, Samsic UK, SecuriGroup, Securitas UK, SGS, STM Group, Vigilance, Westgrove Group. The security personnel categories of the British Security Awards are sponsored by Darwin Clayton.

NG Bailey provided a full systems migration to a centrally managed, IP-converged environment NG Bailey’s IT Services division has announced the completion of the second phase of Birmingham City University’s technical redevelopment initiative, consisting of a root and branch upgrade to the institution’s security facilities, including a full systems migration to a centrally managed, IP-converged environment. Centralised security control room During the eighteen-month implementation NG Bailey has installed a 150 circuit intruder alarm system, 16 video intercom units and 170 networked IP-CCTV cameras across the campus, providing a full view of the entire site from a new centralised security control room. The physical security systems are interfaced by fully integrated headend software, which is complimented by a full cause and effect matrix designed and developed in conjunction with Birmingham City University. The cause and effect matrix triggers operational alerts according to specific events, allowing security personnel to direct their resources more efficiently when incidents occur, improving response times and enhancing campus security for both staff and students. Cisco dual core switch network The installation follows thecompletion of phase one, a£1.2m state of the art ICTinstallation at BirminghamCity University’s Instituteof Art & Design The system is deployed on a Cisco dual core switch network with 92 Cisco edge switches, 4500 cat6 outlets and uninterrupted power supplies for all 28 communications cabinets. In order to accommodate fluctuations in site scheduling with the building, NG Bailey ensured that the full network hardware was commissioned, pre-staged and racked at its specialist off-site manufacture facility. Taking these steps dramatically reduced the number of man hours needed to install the solutions on site and enabled the university to sign-off the network build before onsite integration began, ensuring the project was delivered on time. Benefits to Birmingham City University The installation follows the completion of phase one, a £1.2m state of the art ICT installation at Birmingham City University’s Institute of Art & Design. This second phase was commissioned to NG Bailey by technical consultants Hoare Lea. David Stanley, Assistant Project Director at Birmingham City University said “The completion of the security installation will guarantee that we offer our staff and students the highest level of security across the campus. NG Bailey has provided us with state-of-the-art systems which, as one of the UK’s leading Universities, helps make our proposition to both current and prospective students even stronger than it was before.” Indi Sall, Technical Director – IT Services, NG Bailey, commented: “NG Bailey’s unique experience in delivering complex installations, together with our understanding of how these systems are deployed as part of a wider build has enabled us to deliver real benefits to Birmingham City University. "Our ability to build the full network off site ensured we were able to begin the installation the moment the site was fit for purpose, allowing the project to be delivered on budget and on schedule.”

Urmet’s IPervoice open platform software is used for resident access and visitor announcement Urmet has supplied its IP video entry and access control solution to a £500m central London residential project on the north bank of the Thames. The development by St Edward (part of The Berkeley Group) at 190 Strand will feature 200 suites, apartments and penthouses around a landscaped square stretching down to the riverfront. Engineering and construction company, NG Bailey, has used Urmet’s IPervoice open platform software for resident access, visitor announcement, system management by concierge staff and lift control interface. The site is within the City of Westminster and opposite the Royal Courts of Justice and in close proximity to cultural institutions such as the Royal Opera House, Trafalgar Square and Admiralty Arch. A team from GRID Architects evaluated the visual impact of all components in the buildings and a combination of Urmet’s Elekta stainless steel and Elekta glass entry panels was chosen to match the exterior of the complex which has a filigree façade and curtain walling. The Power over Ethernet (PoE) Elekta panels feature a 3.5” colour display and allow visitors to record both audio and video messages. Residents gain access using key fobs to activate proximity readers which are an integral part of the entrance panels. Urmet’s Wiegand proximity readers are also located on more than 50 doors that lead to communal areas in the property such as the private swimming pool, business centre, spa, gym and cinema. The readers use the same LAN as the entrance panels so contributing to a seamless solution. Gesture-driven touchscreen Within the residences, users communicate with their visitors and the concierge via Urmet’s recently launched MAX IP Android-powered touchscreen. The 7-inch unit functions as a tablet device based on the swipe and gesture conventions familiar to any user of a smartphone. This new touchscreen builds on Urmet’s already sophisticated lift control interface and includes a lift icon that can either call the lift to the resident’s floor or send it to ground level to receive a guest or delivery person. The lift occupant can then only travel to the floor for which they have permission and they are prevented from visiting other levels. Throughout the project, Urmet has worked to the requirements of Secured by Design (the official UK police flagship supporting the principles of ‘designing out crime’) which mandates intelligent lift management of this kind. Commitment to open platforms The MAX IP touchscreen endorses Urmet’s commitment to open platforms, and at 190 Strand it has been delivered pre-loaded with the developer’s chosen control Apps for home automation. This versatility contributed to the architect’s goal of reducing multiple control panels by minimising the number of devices in the living areas and hallways. The Strand site is also using Urmet’s concierge switchboard software which allows the concierge to manage calls, receive and create alarms, generate usage reports, issue and suspend access fobs as well as sending messages on a global, group and individual basis. The software simplifies these functions by presenting the concierge with an intuitive screen menu and empowers staff through an overall site awareness that contributes to resident security. Additional benefits for Urmet users at 190 Strand include forwarding of calls made at the entrance panel to a smart device when the occupant is off-site or even abroad. Residents simply download an Urmet App from the Google Play Store or App Store and create their own SIP account. Families can exploit this feature as the system will allow up to four devices to be used simultaneously. Mark Hagger, Urmet’s Sales and Marketing Director, said: “190 Strand underlines that Urmet’s IPervoice is a collaborative environment from which we work with chosen third-party manufacturers on the kind of interfaces that will benefit installers and allow them to create optimised home area networks for end-users.” Architecturally sympathetic installations Hagger continued: “This is our second project for The Berkeley Group in recent months. In 2015, Urmet delivered an IPervoice solution at St Joseph’s Gate in Mill Hill, London. In both cases, designing an installation that was in sympathy with period architecture was vital and this is becoming one of Urmet’s many strengths. We’re delighted to be working regularly on these sorts of projects with a client of this stature.” 190 Strand covers a 342,000 sq ft site and is spread across six buildings connected by a ground-level colonnade only 100 yards from the Thames. The site is adjacent to the Grade I-listed St Clement Danes Church by Sir Christopher Wren. In 2017 the area will see the completion of a pedestrian walkway across the river, the Garden Bridge, which has been conceived by 2012 Olympic engineer Thomas Heatherwick and actress Joanna Lumley.

Consolidation – a decrease in the number of companies in a market achieved through mergers and acquisitions (M&A) – has been an important trend among manufacturers in the physical security market for many years. More recently, the trend has also appeared to extend to the integrator market. Larger integrators have been buying up other large integrators; in some cases, they have also been buying up smaller, regional integrators to expand their geographic coverage area. We wondered if this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable has noticed the trend. We asked: Has consolidation among security companies shifted to the integrator/installer market? What is the impact?